THIS week’s image is of the home of James Byrn Richards and his wife Jane at Kelso in 1871. They named their home Carwinyan.
One can see the bearded Mr Richards on the right. J.B. Richards was a retired surveyor who had surveyed the 1833 Bathurst Town map and named many of the early streets.
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Unfortunately, the negative from which this image was taken had many faults and I suspect there is only one or two images known of the house.
J.B. Richards was a surveyor in the Department of the Surveyor General from July 1824. In the late 1820s, he worked on a survey of the Macquarie River below Bathurst and also on the road to Wellington.
Legal occupation by graziers began late in 1829, and tiny settlements grew up on the properties and in connection with Wellington Road.
In 1844, Surveyor Davidson was sent to check on encroachments on to the land reserved for a village, and to advise on the location for a township, the choice being Frederick's Valley, Pretty Plains or Blackman’s Swamp. Blackman's Swamp was decided upon and proclaimed a village and later named Orange by Major Mitchell in 1846, in honour of Prince William of Orange.
James Richards was also a land commissioner under the directions of Thomas Mitchell, then Surveyor-General in 1832, who signed off on the town map of Bathurst in 1833.
This then allowed blocks of land to be sold. Not long after, Richards surveyed the boundary of Mount Pleasant for Lieutenant Colonel William Stewart.
In January 1845, the mail coach from Bathurst to Sydney was robbed by three armed bushrangers. One of the passengers was J.B. Richards.
They took 18 shillings and a one-pound Union Bank note from a purse. From another pocket, they took eight one-pound Bathurst Union Bank notes (marked with ‘JBR’ on the corner of each) and a silver cigar case.
By 1848, Richards had been appointed a J.P., as well as sitting on the Bathurst Court of Quarter Sessions and Court of Requests. The discovery of gold in May 1851 on the Turon saw Richards head out to Sofala in search of gold, but he also saw an opportunity and sold livestock to the prospectors.
Richards was still an assistant surveyor around Bathurst at this time. He had employed Hiram Abiff Bedford, an ex-convict and millwright, as his overseer in 1851.
Both the men found gold, allowing Richards to later purchase land at Kelso and Bedford.
On June 8, 1861, the Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal reported that: “School of Arts - We have much pleasure in stating that a very valuable collection of mineralogical specimens has been presented to the above institution by J.B. Richards, Esq., Carwinyan, of Kelso.” This collection was later housed in the museum in the Technical College before being later thrown out to Bathurst tip by the museum staff from Sydney.
On, April 26, 1862, the Bathurst Free Press gave several columns in the newspaper to report on the Agricultural Association’s Show at O’Connell.
It mentioned there were four samples of colonial wine, with the prize awarded to T.J. Hawkins Esq. The other three samples made by J.B. Richards Esq. were very highly recommended by the judges, who proposed to the committee an award of an extra prize for one of the samples. A silver medal was therefore tendered to Mr Richards for his samples of colonial claret.
The Richards were very involved with Holy Trinity Church at Kelso. Mr Richards was a churchwarden for many years and his wife, Jane, played the organ for a period of 30 years.
She has a stained glass window in the church in her memory. Jane died in 1876 and James died in 1881. They are both buried in the grave nearest the church - just outside the clergy vestry door.
