James Fitzpatrick

James Fitzpatrick had a long and eventful life. He was born in Limerick about 1800, and in 1822 was one of 43 Irish protesters transported to New South Wales aboard the Mangles. His charge was "attacking a dwelling with firearms" and he was sentenced to seven years. After his arrival in the colony, he was ordered to work on the roads. Large and powerfully built, James would've been a valuable asset to a potential employer. He escaped the road gangs and on recapture was returned to the road, until he was offered to the explorer Hamilton Hume.

James first came into prominence as a member of the Hume-Hovell expedition which went overland from Appin to the Geelong district in 1824. James was one of six convict servants who accompanied Hume and Hovell. Not a lot is known of James' experiences on the expedition. There is however, one amusing story. The crossing of the first river the party encountered provided one of the lighter moments of the journey, and a story that followed James Fitzpatrick for years afterwards. He hadn't learnt to swim, and when crossing Hume told him to hang on to the tail of one of the bullocks. He followed Hume's orders but was just enjoying the triumph of his arrival on the opposite bank when the beast covered him in excrement. This resulted in raucous laughter from the party.

Another interesting incident encountered by James was almost fatal. He wrote, "I went shooting ducks about half a mile or a mile from the camp, when five blackfellows ran me for my life. I sang out as I ran towards the camp; the blacks got close up and had thrown some spears at me, when Mr Hume and Boyd came to my rescue."

James was a great admirer of Hamilton Hume. After the Hume and Hovell expedition, he wrote, "I positively assert that the journey would never have been accomplished but for the indomitable perseverance of Mr Hume and that he was, in fact, the sole leader of the party."

James Fitzpatrick was given his ticket-of-leave on July 5, 1825 and acquired land in the Appin district. His sentence expired in 1829 and the following year he married Mary Ann Atkins. From his base in Appin, Fitzpatrick returned to the southern districts that he helped discover. By 1833 he had a squatting run in the Cootamundra-Yass district named Cucumla.

From the late 1840s, James purchased many farms south and west of Campbelltown. In 1859 he purchased Glenlee near Campbelltown. Glenlee, during his occupation, remained a dairy farm and a cattle-breeding stud of some note. It had 14 rooms, kitchen, pantry and cellar. The farm contained 1000 acres of grazing land and had a mile frontage to the Nepean River. It still stands today.

Glenlee taken in 1979 prior to renovation

James Fitzpatrick married a second time after Mary died in 1866. This was to eighteen-year-old Elizabeth Cummins and they had three children. She died in 1882 aged only 32. Three months later James Fitzpatrick died at Glenlee, leaving three young children without a parent and vast estates. He is buried in Campbelltown's St John's Catholic Cemetery.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Liston, Carol 1988
Campbelltown: the bicentennial history
Campbelltown City Council

Mackilin, Robert 2016
Hamilton Hume: our greatest explorer
Sydney: Hachette Australia

The Unknown German

Our local graveyards contain many interesting headstones. Sometimes they might reveal a little about the life of the person buried there. The grave of Karl Mettenheimer is unusual as its headstone is written entirely in German. Despite knowing about his German background, there is little else in the records that we can find on Karl.

This is what we do know: Karl Mettenheimer was born on September 7 1862 in Frankfurt, Germany. He was a farmer in the Appin area. The church register described him as a "Gentleman". He was 31 at the time of his death in 1894 and he was buried in St Peters Anglican Cemetery in Campbelltown. He died intestate and with no family.

Karl was obviously thought of highly by someone because he was provided with a decent headstone. Perhaps it was a lover, close friend or an employer? Maybe it was someone with connections to Germany, who was as proud of his homeland as Karl. We will probably never know.

Unfortunately Karl Mettenheimer's gravestone has been vandalized and now lies broken in St Peters Cemetery.

Written by Andrew Allen

The Notebook.

We receive many requests for information in Local Studies, and answers to many of these queries are often found in our pamphlet files. I always love to open a file and find a facsimile of notes from Jim Munro's notebooks, written in his neat cursive script. His contribution to our knowledge of the history of Campbelltown is immeasurable.

A sample of Jim's notebook entries

James Bertram Munro was born on the 28th April 1925, in Trangie, New South Wales, to parents Henry Walter and Irene Claire. He enlisted in Victoria on the 2nd June 1943, having just turned 18, whilst serving in the Citizens Military Forces. He had previously been working as a postal assistant for the PMG. Initially he served as a Signalman in the 13th Australian Linesman section at Bonegilla Army Camp and Balcombe Army Camp, both in Victoria. He then served in the Pacific in Morotai and Balikpapan. He suffered from pneumonia whilst overseas and was returned to Australia in February 1946, and was eventually discharged from the army in June 1946 suffering from rheumatic carditis.

James Bertram Munro, enlistment photo.

In 1951 Jim married Joan Annabel Chambers. They moved to Campbelltown in 1957 to raise their family of three children, Dennis, Ann and Judy. Jim had a passion for history, and joined the Campbelltown & Airds Historical Society a couple of years later. He was particularly interested in bushrangers, the Boer War, war memorials, and St John's Parish. He was the author of the book "Where Pioneers Lie : St John's Cemetery Campbelltown" and co-authored the book "Campbelltown and the Boer War, 1899-1902". He recorded headstone inscriptions, not only in local cemeteries but also those he visited whilst travelling, he donated photographs to the collections of both the CAHS and the Campbelltown Library, and he wrote copious notes about many subjects pertaining to the Campbelltown area. Jim was awarded a Life Membership of the CAHS in 1984, the Campbelltown Heritage Medallion in 1999 and a Certificate of Achievement by the Royal Australian Historical Society in 2001.
Personally Jim was described as much admired, a thorough gentleman, and having a cheeky sense of humour. He passed away on October 19th, 2001, at the age of 76, and was buried in his beloved St John's Cemetery.

Jim with an old Boer War Medal, 1997

Written by Claire Lynch

Sources:
Grist Mills Vol 14 No.3, Vol.15 No.3, Vol.12 No.3&4
Macarthur Advertiser 24.10.2001
National Archives of Australia Service Records