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Early Hunter Valley Settlers

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James Phillips
   

James Adair John Boughton Edward Collison Close - Green Hills George Cobb Edward Gostsyck Cory Gilbert Cory John Cory william cummings Andrew Dixon Robert Corum Dillon Leslie Duguid William Dun William Evans George Frankland William Hicks Beresford Hudson William Innes Richard Jones James Kelly Andrew Lang - Dunmore Robert Lethbridge Alexander Livingstone James McClymont Thomas McDougall George Muir Find out more about Maitland Timothy Nowlan Henry Dixon Owen Richard Pritchett James Phillips James Read (Reid) George Shaw Rutherford Walter Scott Gentleman John Smith John Galt Smith Hugh Torrance John Tucker Susannah Matilda Ward Susannah Matilda Ward William Charles Wentworth John Wighton Gorge Williams Caleb and Felix Wilson Marie Steamer at Paterson

 

Captain James Phillips

Bona Vista

Captain James Phillips, veteran of the Peninsula wars and free settler to New South Wales, arrived in Port Jackson 20 May 1822 on board the female convict transport Mary Anne. Accompanying him were his wife Lydia, and five children.  The Mary Anne had departed Portsmouth on Christmas day five months before with the Phillips family and 102 convicts on board. There were a total of 12 children on the ship.

The Phillips family may have resided for a time at the female orphan school at Parramatta where their good friend Susannah Matilda Ward had been appointed matron. No doubt they were all pleased to be re-acquainted. Phillips' wife Lydia applied for a Government position for him at this time.

Phillips was granted 2000 acres of land and six convicts were assigned to him in 1822. After gaining permission to travel to Newcastle Phillips soon set out on the journey with seven men accompanying him. After reaching Newcastle, he would have travelled up the Hunter River then to the Paterson, his convict servants rowing part of the way until the tide turned and sails were unfurled. He selected land on the banks of the Paterson River naming the grant Bona Vista. The town of Paterson now adjoins this land. He later arranged for his belongings to be shipped to Newcastle also. Phillips was allowed 20 head of cattle from the government herd and soon had wheat and corn crops planted

Along with many other Hunter Valley settlers he was granted a town allotment in Newcastle in 1824.

In 1825 he requested that the government assign a carpenter to him in place of carpenter Charles Watkins who had been assigned to him in 1822. Watkins and Cotteral were probably two of the six convicts who accompanied Phillips to the Paterson river to select his land in 1822. He had the usual problems with assigned servants and in 1825 requested that he be assigned six convicts to replace those that had absconded. One month later he requested that servants assigned to him but presently in Sydney gaol, be returned to his service.

Phillips later (1840) subdivided part of his property to sell by public auction. Like other landowners in the Hunter he also commenced tobacco manufacturing in 1844.  The tobacco factory on Bona Vista was a large slab building with the slabs set into the ground and not sunk in sleepers. It was divided into three apartments. The overseer slept in one and tobacco leaf was stored and the manufacturing process carried out in the other two. The Factory was broken into in 1849 and approximately 1000lbs of tobacco was stolen. The chief suspects were later found not guilty and were discharged from court.

James Phillips died at Bona Vista in 1851 and the estate was auctioned in 1855

 

 

 

 

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