Niall, James - Chairman
James Niall (c.1823 – 1877)
Chairman, Campbelltown District Council, 1873 — 1875 (Woodforde Ward.
James Niall (also Nihill) was a farmer, auctioneer, and property owner, originally from County Limerick, Ireland. He arrived in Adelaide from Launceston, Tasmania, in 1839. He was the second owner of Chilpanunda Station near Streaky Bay, a sheep run of approx. 212 square miles (549 km²).
James Niall & Co.’s auction mart, Rundle-street, Adelaide, appeared in various newspaper advertisements between 1854 and 1863. The firm were also listed as commission agents and corn-factors from 1858 onwards. After 1860, James Niall was increasingly involved in land transactions.
One of his sisters, Frances Fox (nee Nihill), was married to Arthur Fox of Marybank Estate, Rostrevor and Athelstone. And he was appointed one of the Trustees of the estate, following Arthur Fox’s untimely death in 1853.
“Frances (Nihill) Fox, from County Limerick, Ireland, was a capable manager [of Marybank Estate], and her brother James Nihill had joined Arthur Fox in a partnership only two months before his death. He came to live at Woodforde, not far off, and the lives of the two families were closely connected. Miss Sarah Nihill is said to have kept a small school on Addison Road, attended by the Addison children in the 1870s and ‘80s.”
James Niall married Eleanor Mansfield (1823-1883) at Trinity Church, Adelaide, on 30 December 1857. They had eight children, four of whom died in childhood. James and his family moved to the Village of Woodforde (now Magill) in 1863, after the sale of his Rundle-street premises and the leasing of their house in Glenelg. He was first elected to represent Woodforde Ward, Campbelltown District Council in 1871 and elected Chairman in 1873. Serving a total of four years on the Council.
He was a Church Warden at St George’s Anglican Church, Magill and when he died in 1877 had been living at Prospect House, on 15-acres of land, ‘near Magill’. He is buried at St George’s Anglican Cemetery, Magill.
Researched and compiled by Di Booker, volunteer with the Campbelltown Library “Digital Diggers” group. If you have any comments or questions regarding the information in this local history article, please contact the Local History officer on 8366 9357 or hthiselton@campbelltown.sa.gov.au
References
WARBURTON, Elizabeth (1986) “From the River to the hills: Campbelltown 150 years.” Corporation of the City of Campbelltown, Campbelltown, S. Aust., page 223.
SA Register 27 January 1877 p8 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40779274
Advertising (1858, July 3). Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 - 1904), p. 1. Retrieved September 18, 2021, from
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158123215
Advertising (1858, August 12). South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), p. 1. Retrieved September 18, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49778825
Advertising (1863, May 11). South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), p. 4. Retrieved September 18, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50176479
Out among the People (1934, September 6). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 66. Retrieved September 18, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91072609
EARLY DAYS OF STREAKY BAY (1936, May 15). West Coast Sentinel (Streaky Bay, SA : 1912 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168331766
Advertising (1884, January 18). Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 - 1912), p. 1 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved March 22, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197789074
FUNERAL OF MRS. F. E. FOX. (1895, May 28). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), p. 6. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article34511545
OBITUARY – Sarah Niall. (1915, September 11). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 16. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87231241
R is for Rockville https://anneyoungau.wordpress.com/2021/04/21/r-is-for-rockville/