James Goyen

The builder, James Goyen (10 May 1905 – 3 April 1984), constructed many houses and other buildings in the St George District, south of the Cooks River, New South Wales, Australia. Initially he had trained as a carpenter. His ability, leadership skills, personal qualities and business acumen transformed him from an employee to a builder of note. Many local tradesmen were employed by him, making him an asset to the district in which he lived.

James' company was registered as J A Goyen Pty, Ltd and is listed in relevant phone books. By 1972 the company was in the names Goyen, J A and McIntyre, C R. His works depot was at 18 Montgomery Street, Kogarah and, later, at 4 Montgomery Street, Kogarah.

The first house built by James ("Jimmy") Goyen was a modest dwelling built for his sister, Martha Mannins, at 36 Gibbes Street, Rockdale in 1924. Apart from bricking in the basement the house remained unaltered into the late 1990s. (Martha's son, Charles Nicholas Mannins, later became a builder as well. Mannins Avenue, Kingsgrove is named after him because he constructed the houses in the street.)

The Depression of the 1930s disrupted his building work. During this period he found work as an employee of a greengrocer.

Many of the houses built by James have a distinctive, decorative brickwork which was often used as a signature to his work. Goyen Avenue, Bexley was named after him for he was responsible for the construction of the houses in the street. Houses with this unique style of brickwork are characteristic of many houses in the avenue. Other houses with his typical style of brickwork are dotted around the district. These include houses in George Street, Rockdale and in Bay Street, Brighton-Le-Sands (on the south side of the street, just east of West Botany Street, Rockdale).

After World War II there was a housing shortage leading to a frenzy in house construction. Building materials became very scarce. James and his business partner, C R McIntyre, won the tender to construct houses in a new estate in Brighton-le-Sands in what is now McIntyre Avenue. The contrast in housing design and construction between the pre-war houses in Goyen Avenue and those in McIntyre Avenue reflect this difficulty in obtaining suitable and adequate building materials. This contrast is further reflected by the differences in building materials used in McIntyre Avenue and in the house built nearby several years earlier at 6 Carinya Ave for James' cousin. James was engaged to build the house. But he saw how scarce building materials were becoming and he was not free to start the construction for some months. So James passed the responsibility for building the house at 6 Carinya Avenue to his bricklayer, Mr Cheyney, to ensure that adequate building materials were available for the construction of the house.

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