James Oddie (31 March 1824 – 3 March 1911) was an Australian merchant, banker, landowner, scientist, astronomer, and patron of the arts, who had been a direct witness of the events leading up to and involving the Eureka Stockade on 3 December, 1854.
As a Wesleyan Methodist, Sabbatarian and lifelong abstainer, he was an active lay Methodist. As a former gold digger and scientist, he was an advocate for technical education and scientific research. As "one of Ballarat's wealthiest citizens", he was also a benefactor and philanthropist who contributed to many aspects of his community.GO.1.
Family The oldest of the four children of James Oddie (c.1776–1839), and Margaret Oddie (1787–1877), née Hargreaves,Miscellanea, The Ballarat Star, (Saturday, 12 May 1877), p.4. James Oddie was born at Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, on 31 March 1824.
He married Rachel Riding (c.1820-1849) in 1847. Their daughter Alice was born in 1848. James, Rachel, and Alice, as well as Oppie's younger brother, Thomas Ralph Oddie (1830–1927),Deaths: Oddie, The Argus, (Tuesday, 28 June 1927), p. 1. Rev. Dr. W.H. Fitchett, and one Mary McCormick (who later became Oddie's second wife) were all on the notorious typhoid-affected voyage of Rev. Dr. John Dunmore Lang's Port Phillip Colonisation Company's chartered immigrant ship The Larpent that arrived in Geelong on 28 June 1849.The Wreck of the Larpent, The Geelong Advertiser, (Saturday, 1 July 1899), p. 5.
Both his wife, Rachel, and his daughter, Alice, died in Geelong on 13 July 1849 (a fortnight later) of the typhoid they had contracted on the voyage to Australia.Alice: Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria Death registration no.2703/1849.Rachel: Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria Death registration no.2704/1849. Oppie never forgot the generosity, care, and compassion that had been displayed by the Rev. Francis Tuckfield (1808–1865),Death, The Gippsland Guardian, (Friday, 27 October 1865), p.2.The Late Rev. Francis Tuckfield, The Portland Guardian, (Thursday, 23 November 1865), p. 2 and his wife, Sarah (1808–1854),Deaths, The Launceston Examiner, (Tuesday, 20 June 1854), p. 3. of the Yarra Street Methodist Church in Geelong, who threw their house open to those Larpent passengers, such as Rachel and Alice, afflicted by the typhoid they had contracted on board."At the time of the arrival of the Larpent sickness was raging on board, and the Rev. Francis Tuckfield, of the Yarra street Church, threw open his home as a hospital for the sufferers." (GA.1) In 1906, Oppie, "the senior surviving passenger of the ship",Personal, The Geelong Advertiser, (Wednesday, 28 June 1905), p. 2. contributed to the memorial tablet that was unveiled in the Tuckfield's Geelong church on the 56th anniversary of the Larpent's arrival in Geelong.A Moral Tablet, The Geelong Advertiser, (Tuesday, 20 March 1906), p. 2.Reverend & Mrs Tuckfield, Monument Australia.
He married Mary McCormick (1817–1884), in Geelong in 1850.Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria Marriages registration no.28/1850.Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria Deaths registration no.11192/1884. They had no children.
Career Originally apprenticed as a tinsmith, Oddie went on to work as a foundryman and journeyman moulder at the Bridgewater Foundry in Patricroft, near Manchester where he observed James Nasmyth's early trials in the development of his steam hammer."The Vagabond" (pseud. Julian Thomas), "Ballarat: The Garden City", SL.1, pp.2–9, at p.4.; GO.1.
Inventions He had many interests, including the early developments of the telephone; and he was the very first subscriber to the Ballarat telephone system in February 1883.Withers (1887), p. 315. His inventions included: The Shackleton Polarizer (a,k.a. The Shackleton Vaporizer): Mechanical apparatus, demonstrated to a group of his scientific colleagues Dr Thomas Cherry, Director, Victorian Department of Agriculture;Cherry, Thomas (1861–1945), The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation. Mr. Benjamin Deakin, Manager, Electric Supply Company of Victoria Death of Mr. B Deakin, The (Melbourne) Sun News-Pictorial, (Thursday, 26 May 1938), p 10. Mr. Thomas Percy Long, President, Ballarat Benevolent Asylum Committee;Mr. T.P. Long, The Box Hill Reporter, (Friday, 12 January 1945), p. 3. Mr. Frederick J. Martell, Director, Ballarat School of Mines;Obituary: Mr. F. J. Martell, The Argus, (Tuesday, 8 February 1938), p. 2. Professor Alfred Mica Smith, Ballarat School of Mines;Prof. Mica-Smith: Death at Ballarat at Age of 82, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Saturday, 15 May 1926), p. 9. and Professor Daniel Walker, Ballarat School of MinesPeople, The Age, (Thursday, 12 June 1930), p. 10. at Oddie's residence on 29 April 1910.In principle, rather like a Coolgardie safe, the apparatus contained an electric fan that forced air over 12 concentric rows of steel netting, each covered with dampened hessian. It was designed to cool the atmosphere within a house "during the oppressive weather". During Oddie's April 1910 demonstration the room's air temperature reduced from 102 °F (39°Celsius) to 86 °F (30°Celsius).Weather Forecast, The Ballarat Star, (Saturday, 30 April 1910), p. 4.Official Forecast, The Ballarat Star, (Tuesday, 24 May 1910), p. 2.Oddie also noted that James Young Simpson, the Physician to the Queen in Scotland, had expressed the view that "at no distant date medicine would be taken by respiration, and so direct into the circulation"; and, from this, in addition to its value as "a house cooler", Oddie suggested the equipment could also be used in the treatment of "miners' complaints" in health facilities "as a dispenser of vaporised sanatives, including oxygen".Oddie, J., "The Shackleton Polarizer (Letter to the Editor)", (Wednesday, 4 May 1910), p. 1; such an approach had been anticipated by Thomas Beddoes and his promotion of "factitious airs" at his Bristol Pneumatic Institution (c.1800).Oddie, J., "A Sanatorium for Miners' Disease (Letter to the Editor)", (Monday, 6 June 1910), p. 1
Philanthropy and benefaction Lalor statue
In April 1890, Oddie announced that he had commissioned a bronze statue of Peter Lalor, which he would donate to the people of Ballarat and place "in a prominent site in Sturt-street".Memorial Statue to Peter Lalor, The Age, (Wednesday, 23 April 1890), p. 5.The 3-metre-high statue,Peter Lalor, Monument Australia. created by the London sculptor, Thomas Nelson McLean (1845–1894),Thomas Nelson McLean: 1845–1894, ArtUK. was unveiled on 26 January 1893 by Duncan Gillies, the former Premier of Victoria (who had "worked as mate" with Lalor on the Ballarat goldfields in 1853), in the presence of Lalor's son and grandson.Memorial of the Late Peter Lalor: Unveiling of his Statue in Ballarat, The Argus, (Friday, 27 January 1893), p. 6. Richard Everist (2006, p. 121) noting that "many of the surviving diggers stayed away from the unveiling", observed that "perhaps they wanted to remember Lalor at the height of his radical glory on the diggings, not as the conservative parliamentarian in robes and a wig that he became (and that the statue represent[ed])."
Offices and Affiliations Offices Chairman: First-ever chairman of the Ballarat Municipal Council.Ballarat, The Argus, (Tuesday, 8 January 1856), p. 3.Mining Intelligence: Ballarat: Municipality, The Age, (Friday, 18 January 1856), p. 3.Mining Intelligence: Ballarat: Municipal Election, The Age, (Saturday, 19 January 1856), p. 3.Ballarat, The Argus, (Tuesday, 22 January 1856), p. 5. President and Member of Committee of Management: Ballarat Benevolent Asylum. Benevolent Asylum, The Ballarat Star, (Monday, 21 January 1861), p. 4.Unveiling of an Oil Painting of Mr James Oddie, The Ballarat Star, (Tuesday, 26 October 1880), p. 3.BA.1.Kinloch (2005). Founder, First President, and Patron: Art Gallery of Ballarat. President: Ballarat Field Club and Science Society.Ballarat Field Club and Science Society: Annual Meeting, The Ballarat Star, (Thursday, 28 June 1883), p. 3. Vice-President: Ballarat School of Mines (1881).He was elected vice-president to replace the retiring Robert Fawell Hudson, M.D. (1834-1898) (see: The School of Mines, The Ballarat Star, (Thursday, 10 February 1881), p. 4).
Affiliations Associate member: Institution of Electrical Engineers, London (1891).(News item: "It is not generally known ..."), The Ballarat Star, (Tuesday, 20 January 1903), p. 2.Associates, List of Officers and Members, London: Institution of Electrical Engineers, (31 January 1893), p. 65. Country member: Royal Society of Victoria (1882).Annual Report of the Council for the Year 1911, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, Vol.24, (March 1912), Melbourne: Royal Society of Victoria, p. 454. Fellow: Geological Society of London, (1888).Fellows: 1910, List of the Geological Society of London, London: Geological Society of London, (10 May 1910), p. 44. Fellow: Royal Geographical Society, London (1888).List of Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society, Royal Geographical Society: Year-Book and Record, London: Royal Geographical Society, (1902), p. 150. Fellow: Royal Astronomical Society, England (1889).Elected Fellow on 8 November 1889: "Obituary", Royal Astronomical Society. Member: Zoological and Acclimatization Society of Victoria (1874).Annual Members, Proceedings of the Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria, and Report of the Annual Meeting of the Society, Held 23rd February, 1874, Vol.3, (1874), p. 20. Member: Society of Chemical Industry, London (1887).List of Members, Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, Vol.22, (1903), London:Society of Chemical Industry, p. xxxv. Member: The Australian Historical Records Society (1896).Wanliss, T.D., "An Australian Record Society" (Letter to the Editor), The Ballarat Star, (Monday, 20 January 1896), p. 3; Oddie, James, "Australian Record Society" (Letter to the Editor), The Ballarat Star, (Tuesday, 21 January 1896), p. 4; An Historical Record Society: An Important and Interesting Meeting, The Ballarat Star, (Saturday, 25 January 1896), p. 4.
Death Oddie died (suddenly) following a "paralytic seizure" at his Ballarat residence on 3 March 1911.Deaths: Oddie, The Ballarat Star, (Saturday, 4 March 1911), p. 4.A Pioneer Citizen at Rest: Close of an Honorable Career: Unique Record of Public-Spirited Service, The Ballarat Star, (Saturday, 4 March 1911), p. 1. At the time of his death Oddie was Ballarat's "oldest pioneer".(News Item), The Ballarat Star, (Wednesday, 22 March 1911), p. 2, col.C. Oddie's funeral was held on 5 March, and he was buried at the Ballaarat New Cemetery.The Late Mr. James Oddie: The Funeral: A Great and Representative Attendance: Pulpit Tributes, The Ballarat Star, (Monday, 6 March 1911), p. 2.
Tributes One of the many tributes to his memory was a poem by Bella Guerin-Lavender (1858-1923),Guerin-Lavender (1911). the daughter of Patrick Guerin (1824-1893), Governor of Ballarat Gaol from 1881 to 1891. She had taught Matriculation classes at the Ballarat School of Mines over five years (from 1887 to 1891).(News Item), The Ballarat Star, (Wednesday, 30 March 1887), p. 2, col.F.Education Classes: School of Mines, Ballarat, The Ballarat Star, (Tuesday, 28 June 1887), p. 3.(News Item), The Ballarat Star, (Friday, 12 June 1891), p. 2, col.F. Another was from the former Mayor of Ballarat William Little (1839–1916).Lambda (pseud. William Little) (1911), "In Memory of James Oddie" (Poem), The Ballarat Star, (Saturday, 4 March 1911), p. 1.
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