James Brown (Australian pastoralist)

James Brown (ca.1819 – 7 February 1890) was a Scottish-born pastoralist of the South East of South Australia, noted for the philanthropy exercised in his name by his widow, Jessie Brown. Two great charitable institutions — the Kalyra Consumption Sanitorium at Belair and Estcourt House, near the Grange were founded in his memory, and out of the proceeds of his estate.

James Brown was born in East Fife, Scotland, and in company with his brother, Archibald, left Liverpool on the barque Fairfield on 1 November 1838. After a wearisome voyage of 185 days they arrived in South Australia on 4 May 1839. In 1840 they settled in Allendale in the Hindmarsh River valley, the owners of 640 sheep. By 1844 they owned 1,290 ewes, 14 cattle, 6 pigs and 14 acres of wheat. In 1849 James moved to the South East where he founded the Avenue Range station consisting of 69 square miles of country, which was secured for an annual rental of 10/ per square mile. The area was subsequently enlarged to 83 square miles, some 50 miles north-east of Guichen Bay where the wool was shipped. The greater portion of it was covered with water during the winter, and the stock suffered from footrot and coast disease. Mr. Brown built a fine 10 roomed stone house with a verandah. The sheep were shepherded until June 1864, when Avenue Range and his other leases were fenced at a cost of £6,000. Soon he had 24,000 sheep besides cattle and horses. Another name for the Avenue Range run was Kalyra, a native word meaning "hop bush."

A drawback to this property was the volume of public traffic passing over the run. It lay on the overland route to Melbourne and Mount Gambier, and about 60,000 sheep crossed the best part of the station during the first three months of every year. Bullock teams passing from Victoria and the Tatiara district were continually breaking gates, and pulling over the posts. Accordingly, Brown had posts at one gate put eight feet into the ground, and awaited the arrival of the next delinquent. Before long a teamster appeared, and carelessly ran a wheel against one of these deeply embedded posts. It would not budge, and much to Brown's delight, the "bullocky" had to take out his team and pull the waggon back. Retribution followed, and Brown later had the mortification of finding that his stout posts had been burnt to the ground.

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