James Squire, alternatively known as James Squires, (bapt. 18 December 1754 – 16 May 1822) was a First Fleet convict transported to Australia.HMS Daedalus first arrived in Sydney in 1793 Squire is credited with the first successful cultivation of hops in Australia around the start of the 19th century. First officially brewing beer in Australia in 1790; James later founded Australia's first commercial brewery making beer using barley and hops in 1798, although John Boston appears to have opened a brewery making a form of corn beer two years earlier.
Squire was convicted of stealing in 1785 and was transported to Australia as a convict on the First Fleet in 1788. Squire ran a number of successful ventures during his life, including a farm, a popular tavern called The Malting Shovel, a bakery, a butcher shop and a credit union. He also became a town constable in the Eastern Farms district of Sydney. As a testament to the rise of position in society (from shame to fame), his death in 1822 was marked with the biggest funeral ever held in the colony.
Early years
Birth James Squire was baptised on 18 December 1754 in Kingston upon Thames. Squire's parents were Romanies (Romanichal), Timothy Squires and Mary Wells, who were married on 8 December 1752 in West Molesey, Surrey. Their families had been embroiled in a dramatic incident (the Canning affair) which polarised England in 1754, the year of Squire's birth.
Early crimes In 1774, when Squire fled a ransacked house, he ran straight into several members of the local constabulary and was arrested for highway robbery. This was actually a lucky break. By escaping through the front door, which opened onto the highway, he avoided a more serious charge of stealing. Although Squire was sentenced to be transported to America for 7 years, he elected to serve in the army and returned to Kingston as a free man within 4 years. He then managed a hotel in Heathen Street, Kingston. This hotel was a popular haunt for highway robbers and smugglers.
His next attempt at a life of crime was similarly unsuccessful. Squire stole five hens and four cocks and diverse other goods and chattels from John Stacey's yard, just when the British Government needed people for the transported convict program. On 11 April 1785, he was sentenced to join the First Fleet at the General Sessions of the Peace for the Town & Hundred of Kingston upon Thames, England. Squire was sentenced to 7 years' transportation, beyond the seas.
Wife, mistresses and children In 1776 Squire married his local sweetheart, Martha Quinton. Martha was baptised on 15 November 1754 in Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire, England. Her parents were John Quinton and Elizabeth Harris. Martha bore 3 children to James—John (born 1778 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey and baptised on 16 August 1778), Sarah (born 1780 in Kingston upon Thames and baptised on 23 August 1780) and James (born 2 May 1783 in Kingston upon Thames and baptised on 2 May 1783). When James was convicted and transported to Australia as a convict, it was very rare for convicts or their family to attain permission, or even afford to join them in their exile, so Martha and his children were left in England alone.
While Squire was separated from his wife and family he met Mary Spencer. Mary was born in 1768 in the town of Formby. She was tried in Wigan on 9 October 1786 for with theft at Crosby of one cotton and one black silk handkerchief, a green quilted tammy (glazed material partly wool) petticoat and a black silk cloak, of unknown value. She was sentenced to transportation for 5 years, and left England on the Prince of Wales aged about 19 at that time (May 1787). She had no occupation recorded.
Mary gave birth to a son, who was named Francis (born and baptised on 1 August 1790 on Norfolk Island). Unable to care for Francis, James enrolled him in the British Army at just 15 months of age. Francis was enlisted into the New South Wales Corps as a drummer, starting on the payroll on his 7th birthday. Francis died aged 61 on 20 September 1851 in Melbourne.
In 1791 James began a relationship with Elizabeth Mason (born 1759 in London, baptised 20 February 1759 in London, died 10 June 1809 in Sydney), who was his live-in convict servant.State Records Authority of New South Wales List of persons employing female servants, dated 7 October 1798 James and Elizabeth had 7 children together—Priscilla (born 29 May 1792 in Sydney, died 1862 in Ryde), Martha (born 2 March 1794 at Kissing Point, died 15 November 1814 at Concord, Sydney), Sarah (born 7 August 1795 at Kissing Point, baptised 13 March 1796 at St. John's C of E, Parramatta, died 23 May 1877 at Kingston, now a part of Newtown), James (born 16 November 1797 at Kissing Point, died 3 July 1826 at Kissing Point and is buried in Devonshire Street Cemetery), Timothy (born 1799 at Kissing Point, died 7 October 1814), Elizabeth (born 16 May 1800 at Kissing Point, died 12 May 1830 in Sydney) and Mary Ann (born 1 August 1804 in Kissing Point, died 1 September 1850 in Ryde).
James then maintained an affair over a number of years with his live-in housekeeper Lucy Harding (aka Lucy Vaughan-Harding). He eventually moved into her private residence on Castlereagh Street, Sydney in 1816.
Convict years
First Fleet In 1787, James was released from Southwark gaol to voyage to the British penal colony in Australia in April 1787. The document was signed by Evan Nepean on 10 March 1787. Though James began his journey on the Friendship, he transferred himself to the Charlotte in a reshuffle of the women passengers.Watkin Tench's Journal. A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson by Watkin Tench. Later published as the book '1788' On 18 January 1788, the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay, Australia. The openness of this bay, and the dampness of the soil, by which the people would probably be rendered unhealthy, had already determined the Governor to seek another situation. He resolved, therefore, to examine Port Jackson, a bay mentioned by Captain James Cook as immediately to the north of this. There he hoped to find, not only a better harbour, but a fitter place for the establishment of his new government.The Voyage Of Governor Phillip To Botany Bay by Arthur Phillip The first fleet then moved to Port Jackson by 26 January.
In Sydney town On 5 March 1789, Squire gave evidence on the theft by two fellow convicts of six cabbages. The thieves received 50 lashes each.From the Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society Vol.82 part 2, pp. 153–167, by David Hughes. Titled: Australia's first brewer. He was then arraigned before the magistrate, charged with stealing 'medicines' from the hospital stores where he worked at Port Jackson. These medicines were, in fact, one pound of pepper (or paper) and horehound (a herb that imitates the tangy flavour of hops), belonging to surgeon John White. Though Squire claimed the stolen horehound was for his pregnant girlfriend, he later revealed at the Bigge inquiry that he began brewing beer on his arrival to Australia, which he sold for 4d per quart. Indeed, he was brewing beer for the personal consumption of Lieutenant Francis Grose and William Paterson over that time. Perhaps that explains Squire's possibly lenient sentence when petty theft was often severely punished. His sentence of 14 November 1789 read: "one hundred and fifty (lashes of the whip) now, and the remainder when able to bear it".
On 19 August 1791, Squire and another man were fined £5 each for buying the necessaries of a private. They both protested that they did not know it was a crime.
Post convict years
Land grant Somewhere between 1790 and 1792 James Squire's sentence had expired and he was now a free manEntry for 22 July 1795 in the return of Grants of Land, 1792—95, ML, Bonwick Transcripts, Box 88, p. 13, says Squire was a 'Convict whose sentence is expired'. and he was able to start his life over again. On emancipation James was granted at Eastern Farms (Kissing Point) on 22 July 1795,Colonial Secretary Index, 1788–1825 , On list of all grants and leases of land registered in the Colonial Secretary's Office (Fiche 3267; 9/2731 p. 54) and he noticed other emancipists had not claimed the nearby land. Displaying his resourcefulness, James marched them into the Colonial Secretary's office (position held by David Collins) to claim their land grants, and then purchased each property for one shilling.
James was an extremely enterprising man and by mid-1800 he had ten sheep, 18 pigs and 35 goats. were sown in wheat & another ready for planting maize and barley. Two years later he owned with cleared and in grain. His household was composed of him and Elizabeth Mason, six children, four free men and two government servants and was self-supporting.
On 3 January 1813, Aboriginal interlocutor Bennelong was buried on the grounds of Squire's property, where he had often wandered. James had erected a plaque to commemorate his dear friend.
On 3 May 1817, James advertised his estate for sale in the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. This may have been instigated because he had moved in with his mistress, Lucy Harding, in Sydney. Evidence shows that the estate did not sell as James was the name of the licensee until at least 1822.
Hops and brewing James stated at the Bigge inquiry into New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land in 1820 that he had been brewing for 30 years and that he made it from hops he got from the Daedalus.From the Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society Vol.82 part 2, by David Hughes. Titled: Australia's first brewer. This statement highlights the fact that James had been brewing beer since 1790, which makes this the first evidence of brewing beer with hops in Australia.
1802 saw the revelation that the British Army was trafficking rum. This created an uproar in the fledgling colony and Governor King was gravely concerned about the corruption spread by rum, so he began to officially endorse the brewing of beer. English hops and brewing equipment were regularly transported on convict ships at the government's expense; in fact, part of HMS Porpoises botanical cargo was hops.Correspondence concerning the outfitting and equipping of HMS Porpoise for a voyage to New South Wales, 1797–1801A List of the Culinary & Medicinal Plants Vineyard Vines Fruits &c &c Planted in 18 Boxes & now Remaining at the Royal Gardens at Kew...' , 11 October 1798 There were 3 parties that were the most likely recipients of the shipment of hops, those being: The Government Gardens; John Boston (who was a potential rival for Australia's first brewer); and James Squire.
It is unclear what became of the hops on HMS Porpoise, as there is no evidence of them being propagated within the first two years of its arrival in Sydney, on 6 November 1800.Correspondence concerning the outfitting and equipping of HMS Porpoise for a voyage to New South Wales, 1797–1801. State Library of New South Wales Then in 1806, after 3 seasons of toil, James successfully cultivated the first Australian hops.
On 11 March 1806 James Squire attended Government House with two vines of hops taken from his own grounds. On a vine from a last year's cutting were numbers of a very fine bunches; and upon a two-year-old cutting the clusters, mostly ripe, were innumerable, in weight supposed to yield at least a pound and a half, and of most exquisite flavour. Governor King was so pleased with the flavour and quality that he: "directed a cow to be given to Mr Squire from the Government herd".By 1806, the Squire estate now stretched across approximately , from the current Gladesville Bridge to the Ryde Rail Bridge and from the harbour to north of Victoria Road.