James Hill
Peter J Hill’s father, James Hill, arrived in Australia in 1924 as one of Mr Barnardo’s boys. This is his story as captured in ‘Beyond Barnardos’ by Ann Howard and Eric Leonard (ISBN 0-646-35113-3).
James Hill – 5 May 1909 – 17 April 1992
James Hill left his life story for his children, written in the third person, in the name of ‘Jim’. He suffered from infantile paralysis causing a deformity tin the toes and right thigh, leading to a curvature in the spine in later life. He could not walk until he was four years old. He states that he owes his life to Dr Barnardo, who died the year before he was born, a ‘man whose work will never be forgotten’.
He was boarded out aged five in a village in Bedfordshire, in a house where all the water was carried in from a large wooden rainwater cask and the children, cloths and dishes were all based in a galvanised tube in front of an open fire. His kind old foster mother would put red hot coals in a warming pan and warm the beds.
One of the saddest days was when a horse and cart pulled up outside to return him to the Homes. His sobbing foster mother gave him six shillings.
The Governor’s policy was to rise at 6 am, make your bed, wax the floor and polish it, and shower and parade before 8 am.
At Woodford Bridge, he did not learn a trade because he was semi-literate.
Jim had his fifteenth birthday crossing the Equator, enjoying the ceremonial ducking in the steaming heat. He arrived in Australia on June 4th and after a welcoming ceremony was taken to Barnardo’s in Ashfield. At 8 pm he was taken to Central Station to catch the Temora Mail to proceed to his first job
The property, 800 miles of wheat, was 416 miles from Sydney on the Lake Cargelligo line. The employer met him on the siding with a horse and sulky.
“Are you the Barnardo boy?”
“Yes.”
“Hell, I asked for a man, not a bloody boy.”
He asked him how old he was. Jim told him he was fifteen.
“Ah, well, get in the bloody sulky and if you’re no bloody good, I’ll send you back!”
On his seventeenth birthday, he was sent to a 27,000 acre property in the Hunter Valley. The owners were from the old British style of aristocracy. Jim lived in an old unlined tin hut, with two round saplings cut from the bush, nailed to the wall and covered with chaff bags, with a chaff bag stuffed with straw for a mattress. He had his meals, mostly bread and mutton, in the laundry among the dirty washing. He had to wash in the creek and there was no furniture in his quarters.
Living in a tent on the property was a Mr Mawson Tindal. He had also come from high society and been educated at Sydney University.
Mr Tindal was a very plausible, diplomatic and sympathetic type of gentleman. He was no a great deal concerned with the society he had been brought up in, and was said not to have any respect for their snobbishness. In fact, he was more sympathetic to the working class. Mr Tindal had also married into high society and they had owned a large station at one time. However, his wife was very extravagant in entertaining and they had gone bankrupt. His wife had left him with only personal belongings and a tent.
Mr Tindal took an interest in Jim and said to him, “I’ve been observing for some time how clever you are with your hands. Australia is a large continent and there is a small population for its size. There is a tremendous scope for building construction such as housing and factories, dams… also in the field of cabinet making”
Mr Tindel lent Jim books, put in the balance of money needed to buy a set of tools, and helped him study, so that soon he was being asked to do jobs around the station. Jim was able to repay Mr Tindal by building him a beautiful little dwelling with a verandah, a door and two windows, fitting it out with furniture.
Jim eventually bought a block of land and built a workshop on the outskirts of Scone. He made toys and furniture. He hadn’t been married long when he lost four fingers of his right hand caught in the twelve inch planing machine. Eleven days later, he got a leather guard made for his hand and went back to work.
In the second world war, Jim served with the Civil Construction Company in the Torres Strait Islands, at a times coming under fire.
Jim became active in the Trade Union movement and for many years was an organiser with the Building Workers Industrial Union. Many hungry men were given food at his home. He was also involved in community affairs having almost single handily built the Merrylands pre-school.
James Hill’s widowed mother, Sarah, married James Hill, a labourer, who deserted her before James was born in the workhouse. James and his older sister Esther were placed in Barnardo’s in 1910, Sarah signing the Cananda clause and thereby surrendering any claim she had on her children. At that time, she was living on six shillings parish relief and times were very hard, although she was said to be a hard worker and always kept her stove black and the brass polished. James’ admission report describes him as two feet high, thin with scattered areas of impetigo. His father was described as having a ‘roving disposition’, with claims that he ill-treated the mother. The mother ‘bears a good character for general conduct and motherhood.’
Peter J Hill - Australian Bush Artist 