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| John Rowland Jones |
| 13 Apr 1841, Canarvon, Wales 9 Jan 1868 on Hougoumont 21 September 1872, St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, WA 24 Dec 1895, Perth, WA Protestant Journalist, Editor, Hansard Reporter Elizabeth Mary Connor |
| Humphrey Rowland Wriothesley Jones, b. 9 May 1873 Arthur Augustine Llewellyn Jones Avonia Agnus Jones Ambrose Connor Jones Eva Amy Margaret Jones Bowen Bourke Mathew Jones John Ambrose Jones Frederick Aloysius Jones Francis Herbert Jones |
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| Born: Arr Perth: Married: Died: Religion: Occupation: Wife: Children: Girlfriend: Child: |
| The West Australian, 24 September 1932 ... When she was 23 years of age Miss Connor was married in St Mary's Cathedral to Mr J. Rowland Jones. Father O'Reilly, who later became Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide, celebrated the marriage, and Mr John Whitely, who was subsequently Commissioner of Taxation in Western Australia, was the best man. In the early days of the colony, Mr Jones was employed as a shorthand writer to the Legislative Council. With the establishment of Responsible Government he became shorthand writer to the Legislative Assembly. For a time Mr Jones was editor of the "Western Australian Times," which was later merged with the "Perth Gazette" and became "The West Australian." There was little money in the colony in the early days and the workmen had to take orders upon storekeepers as wages. The storekeeper supplied the man's needs and gave him cash to pay his butcher and other tradesmen. About 1886 Mr and Mrs Jones decided to build a residence about three miles west of Perth on a spot on the opposite side of the railway line to the Benedictine monastery. Before the house could be constructed, water was essential. Steps were taken to sink a well. The "experts" said water would be found at 18 feet. Bricks were scarce and orders had to be placed with the brick makers at Guildford a long time ahead. Bricks sufficient to line a well to a depth of 24 feet were obtained. At 24 ft. There was no sign of water. Another order for bricks was given, again on the advice of the "experts." But again water was not located. It was only when the well had been sunk to a depth of about 60 feet that water was obtained, and the construction of the house could be begun. The well took nine months to sink. ... Before Broome Road (Hay Street) was extended to Subiaco it was not unusual for Mr and Mrs Jones in their cart to take the wrong track and become temporarily lost in the bush. When Mr Jones was working on the "Western Australian Times" and on Hansard, a light was left burning behind a window of the Jones's homestead to guide him home. At night the train stopped at the little platform when a match was struck or a lighted lamp was held aloft. Mr Jones died in 1895. |
| Published references to John Rowland Jones: |
| Identity Prized: A History of Subiaco, by Ken Spillman, 1985A Boom in the Bush ...In 1886, the construction of the first private house in the new suburban area, the second within the present boundaries of the Subiaco municipal district after that occupied since 1882 by the family of George Shenton. Built by John Rowland Jones, a sporting writer, temporary editor of the West Australian newspaper, and the only Hansard reporter of the time, the house would become something of a landmark in the area, standing in splendid isolation for nearly eight years. Jones had bought two prime Subiaco lots during a round of resale activity following the Kimberley gold finds, one fronting Broome, Rokeby and Barker Roads, and the other diagonally opposite, nearer the railway platform and fronting Broome, Rokeby and Mueller Roads. On the latter property, bought from the Catholic Church, Jones decided to build his home. An individualist not always observant of the problems likely to be encountered in bringing his plans to fruition, Jones would need to overcome extreme difficulties even before construction began. Needing a supply of water, Jones found the task of sinking a well as arduous as had the Benedictines at the site over the railway line: anticipating water at eighteen feet, the intrepid reporter would delve sixty feet before being able to wash his face or mix his mortar. In addition, bricks for the well and house needed to be dug and fired in the Belmont area east of Perth, transported by river to the William Street jetty, carted by road to Thomas Street, and then lugged through the scrub to the site in Mueller Road. The well alone took nine months to complete.Jones' perseverance, however, was not rewarded with respect: the considerable time and enormous effort spent constructing the house earned it the popular name "Jones' Folly", a title reflecting the attitude of many people to the isolation of the area. Keeping up with the Joneses had little appeal. Few trains ran between Perth and Fremantle and in 1886 the time of a populous Subiaco was still several years away, the area being widely regarded as the province of speculators, Aborigines, orphans and itinerants. A frequently related tale of this period involves the necessity of Mrs Jones setting a kerosine lamp in one of the house's eastern windows to guide her husband along the bush track from Thomas Street after a night spent recording the arguments of the colony's leading men during lengthy sittings of Parliament. The house -- and the well, which in the nineties would serve several nearby properties -- would retain local prominence long into the next century, after the track Jones had negotiated on those late evenings had become a surfaced road, lost its original name and been renamed 'Roberts Road'. CONVICTS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (1850-1887): He arrived in Western Australia as convict No 9783 on the HOUGOUMONT on 10/1/1868. He was an unmarried clerk, was literate and Protestant, and was convicted at Ruthin on 30/7/1866 for forgery and embezzlement. He had a previous conviction and was transported for 8 years. His Ticket of Leave was granted on 10/6/1870 and his Certificate of Freedom on 29/7/1874. He worked in Fremantle, Toodyay, Perth and York as a clerk, general servant and a reporter. He worked for himself between 1872-4. He was born in 1839. THE BICENTENNIAL DICTIONARY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIANS (pre-1829-1888): He was born in 1841, the son of John. He was transported and later became an expiree. His wedding and all his children's baptisms were conducted in the Perth Roman Catholic Church. He was listed as a shorthand reporter in Perth in 1872, with the WA TIMES in 1880, and as a Hansard reporter in the 1888-9 almanac. He was Protestant and his wife was Roman Catholic. Golden Jubilee, 1934 - 1984, St Joseph's, Subiaco, Western Australia. M.M.(Peggy) Nice, 12 August, 1984. In the year 1886, John Rowland Jones, and his wife, Elizabeth, with their four eldest children (three more were born later), moved into their new house on a large block of bushland west of Perth. The new house stood beside the Fremantle-Guilford railway line built just five years earlier, and opposite the tiny platform erected for the Subiaco Orphanage community to the north. Later on, a short distance west, was to be the permanent railway station site. So, the Jones family was the pioneer family of the district; their house was the first private residence for miles around. The made road from Perth petered out at Havelock St. and Mr Jones needed a candle in the window to guide him home if he were returning after dark. The Jones family is therefore also acknowledged as the pioneer family of St Joseph's Parish, though the latter would not be officially established till 1901. Sadly, the head of the family would not live to see that day. Mr Jones died on Christmas Eve of 1895, but his widow and children were to live on for many years in the old homestead and form an important part of the growing Catholic community. The day Bishop Gibney first brought St John of God Sisters to look at their land in '87 (or maybe earlier), he brought them to visit Mrs Jones. Her name and those of her children figured largely in the Parish's development over the ensuing years. The home was the scene of warm hospitality to a succession of Subiaco priests and religious, and the scene also of numerous house parties, musical evenings, and the like, to raise funds for the parish and for charity. Extract from Convict Records: Height: 5'3" Hair: brown Eyes: grey Visage: long Complexion: fresh Appearance: middling stout Marks: scar from burn right side of neck Character and special information received with a Prisoner as to previous Convictions, etc: Denbighshire 2nd Sess 29 June /65 Embezzlement 4 ??? Good. Good tempered. polite & civil, but unprincipled; Ruthin Prison, was constantly an invalid in hospital with Gonorrhea and rheumatism but was employed at ???, good at making mats & cleaning of the hospital. |
| Naomi Dewis, b.1856, d.22 Jan 1873, Perth, WA Mary Ruth Elizabeth Jones, b. 10 Jan 1873 |
| Criminal Record Convicted: Crime: Sentence: Transportation: Ticket-of-leave: Freedom: |
| 30 Jul 1866, Ruthin, Wales Forgery & Embezzlement (2nd offence) 8 years gaol, Portland Prison, Wales On Hougoumont (last convict ship to Australia) 10 Jun 1874 29 Jul 1874 |
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| Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, 4 August 1866 FORGERY.- John Lowlands Jones was indicted for having at the borough of Denbigh on the 2nd ult. forged and uttered a cheque and order for the payment of 324. 6s.11d., with intent to defraud the National Provincial Bank of England. The prisoner in an undertone pleaded guilty, and was ordered to stand down. Upon being again called up the prisoner was charged with having feloniously embezzled the sum of 7. 8s. 5d. from his master Mr. Marcus Louis. The prisoner on being charged pleaded guilty to his indictment in the present case and also to having been before convicted of felony. Mr Swetenham- Would your lordship permit me to say before the prisoner is sentenced that it was in consequence of the recommendation of kind gentlemen who pitied him as a prisoner that Mr. Marcus Louis, in whose employment he was, had taken him into his service; and perhaps your lordship would permit me to hand up some document (sic) under which they acted originally. The papers were understood to be copies of penitent effusions composed by the prisoner in which he expressed great contrition and sentiments of piety. Sentence- Upon prisoner being placed at the bar for sentence his Lordship said:- John Lowlands Jones, you have pleaded guilty to two indictments , one charging you with forging a draft or order for 324. odd, and the other with embezzling 7 odd, the money of your employer. These are very serious offences, and what aggravates them, and renders them morally and legally more criminal is, that you have already passed through the same ordeal; you have already been convicted of embezzling the money of your employer: then you have professed the utmost contrition and repentance for the offence of which you had been guilty - you have promised most faithfully to enter upon a a new path, if you could only obtain honest and honourable employment; and you have been employed in a position in which you had full opportunity afforded you of regaining you character, and recovering your place in society; and now, you have again yielded to temptation and stand here a self-convicted felon upon two charges of the same description as the one of which you were previously convicted. It would, therefore, be vain to hope that any mercy would have any effect upon a man who is thus hopelessly lost to all sense of honesty or propriety; and therefore, the sentence I pass upon you is that you be sent into penal servitude for the term of eight years. Mr. Swetenham said that in this case Police Sergeant Sheehan, who had taken charge of the case, had been most active and indefatigable in going to London, and managing to find out the prisoner. He had been put to very considerable expense , and he had thought if he brought the matter under his Lordship's notice, something might be granted in respect of his expenses. The Judge, after consulting with Mr. Crompton said he had no authority to make any reward for extra exertion in detecting and discovering a prisoner. The application should be made to the quarter sessions. Mr. Swetenham said there was another matter which he wished to mention. The young man at the National Provincial Bank, at Denbigh, who was the accountant, was a very young man, and would be glad is his Lordship had seen the document, with others that were genuine, because he felt it might appear without inspection that he had been guilty of some kind of negligence? His Lordship- What function, Mr. Swetenham, will you call upon me next to perform? (Great laughter). Here are the documents (passing them down). Mr. Swetenham said, perhaps the young man's end in the application would be answered by his having mentioned the matter to his Lordship. His Lordship assented. |
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| John Rowland Jones arrived in Perth in 1868 on the Hougoumont, the last ship to transport convicts to Australia. He built the first house in Subiaco, called "Jones's Folly", worked as a journalist, edited the West Australian, and became the first Hansard reporter in the WA parliament. |
| Internet Links: Post Online News: Joneses Keep Pioneer Spirit Alive |
| The Geddes Mystery by Brian Jones, Spectrum Publications, 2002 Unbeknown to Alice, one of the convicts to disembark the Hougoumont was her daughter's future father-in-law, the Welshman John Rowland Jones, a twotime petty embezzler serving an eight-year prison sentence. "Rowland", as he was called, was a scoundrel, and he did some scandalous things when he got his "ticket-of-leave"; but eventually he turned his life around and became a constructive member of the Perth community. For his work as a journalist, editor of The West Australian Times and the first Hansard reporter in the colony, he was awarded a letter of commendation from the governor. He also pioneered the Subiaco district. When he built the first house there in 1886, they thought he was mad. His house was dubbed "Jones's Folly" because it was out in the bush, a long way from the main river-settlement. But not everyone ridiculed his efforts. As the suburb developed, especially after the gold-rush days, many depended on his 20-metre deep well for their water supply. His widow, Elizabeth, also depended on it for her pension: in the late 1890s she was charging the locals a shilling for a bucket of water. As a tribute to Jones' pioneering efforts Rowland Street, Subiaco, was named after him. |
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