Welcome Database Indexes Copyright/Disclaimer Login  

John ATKINSON, 1841-1917

     Cronulla Pioneer

John Atkinson was born on 27 June 1841 at Richmount (also known as Richmond), in County Armagh, Ireland. He was the son of Thomas Atkinson and his wife Elizabeth, nee Taggart (1809-1885). Elizabeth was born on 3 July 1809 the daughter of Andrew Taggart and his wife Margaret nee Russell. She was baptised on 10 September 1809 at St Nicholas’ Church of England, Liverpool, Lancashire.

On 22 June, 1856, John Atkinson aged 14, with his mother Elizabeth, a widow aged 42, and his sister Margaret aged 18, arrived in Moreton Bay on the ship ‘Persia’. The family moved to Balmain in NSW where John worked as a carpenter and shipwright. In 1860 John’s sister Margaret Atkinson married John Roper and in 1864 his mother Elizabeth Atkinson married Robert Linton. Robert Linton died in Port Jackson in 1875 and Elizabeth Linton died on 14 September 1885. She was buried at Balmain Cemetery in Leichhardt,  now known as Pioneers Memorial Park.

In the 1865 Sands Directory John Atkinson was described as a shipwright, living in Paul Street, Balmain. In 1870, he married Mary Falconer Stewart who was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1845, the daughter of George Stewart and his wife Joanna Falconer nee Grieve. Mary Stewart arrived in Sydney in August 1854 on board ‘Bride of the Sea’ with her parents and siblings Alexander, George and Johanna.

After their marriage, John and Mary Atkinson lived in ‘Amaranth’ Mullens Street, Balmain and had five children: Thomas William (1871-1934); Joanna Stewart (1872-1946); Elizabeth Margaret (1874-1875); Eva M (1875-1875); George Stewart (1878-1929).

Mary Falconer Atkinson died 30 September 1886 (RN139)(Balmain) and was buried in Leichhardt Cemetery now known as the Pioneers Memorial Park.

In 1886 John Atkinson married Lydia Mary Moore (RN139)(Balmain), the daughter of William Moore and his wife, Mary Ann nee Mayball. Lydia was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire and arrived in Queensland on 4 March 1884 on board ‘Northern Monarch’ and then came to Sydney.

John and Lydia had six children: Erina Melita AKA Rene (1887-1944); Moira Gurvena (Jurvena) AKA Myra (1891-1968); Olive Iris (1891-1952); John Moore (1898-1949); Unnamed male (1903-1903).

The Sutherland district, although popular for fishing and hunting had very few permanent settlers long after many other areas of the state were settled. The dedication of the National Park in 1879, the approval of the railway from Sydney through Sutherland to the South Coast which opened in 1885 and several major land subdivisions during the 1890s would bring about change. In 1895 the Crown released two parcels of land – an area of farming land at Menai and 450 acres at Cronulla for residential development. John Atkinson, then a successful business man and close to retirement, was interested.

On 11 September 1895, the auction of Crown Land in Cronulla took place and John Atkinson purchased a two acre Nicholson Parade allotment for 16 pound. Three other men –Wilshire, Windsor and Trevellyan made purchases at the same time and used their names for their properties. Streets of that name still exist in South Cronulla.

John Atkinson chose to name his property after the townland where he was born in County Armagh. He built a 10 roomed house and named it Richmount on the land at the corner of Nicholson Parade and Richmount Street where guests, like member of State Parliament and Secretary for Public Works E W O’Sullivan and Peter Dodds McCormick, composer of Advance Australia Fair, would often stay.

Atkinson also procured eleven acres of leasehold land on Cawarra Road Caringbah where he established a dairy. For many years after his death, his daughter, Olive (Cartwright) and her family operated the business. In the 1950s Parke Davis acquired this property.

John Atkinso became very active in local affairs. He helped to establish and became President of the South Cronulla Progress Association and formed a Committee which, in 1903, built the Cronulla School of Arts. He was also among the founders of the Ratepayer’s Association formed to promote Cronulla and its neighbourhood.

John was particularly active in pressuring State government to preserve all the foreshores as reserves for the people for all time. Through his efforts the Cronulla Esplanade, Darook Park and Gunnamatta Bay Park were dedicated. His close friendship with E W O’Sullivan, dating from his Balmain days, was particularly important and Ewos Parade winding through South Cronulla is a reminder of that.

In 1906 the Shire of Sutherland was established as a result of the extension of local government to most of the state. John Atkinson was a member of the Provisional Council, from 9 June 1906 to 23 November 1906, which was set up to prepare for the election of Councillors. Voting was restricted to rate-payers only, the owner-occupiers of land and was decided by ‘first past the post’.

John Atkinson continued to be involved in local matters and in 1910 was still President of the Ratepayer’s Association. In 1916 he wrote to the Liverpool Council drawing attention to the need for a military road from Liverpool to the National Park to transport troops and also as a means of communication between Liverpool and Cronulla. This became the Heathcote Road.

John Atkinson died at his home ‘Richmount’ on 15 April 1917. He was buried at Woronora Cemetery. Officers and Members of the Trades and Industrial Hall and L I Assoc. and Officers and Members of Cromwell Lodge P A F S A were invited to attend.

Colleen Passfield 2020

To access the record of a person in this story click on their underlined name and you will be taken to their page in the database.

References: