James Ruse was a Cornish farmer who, at the age of 23, was convicted of burglary and was sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia. He arrived at Sydney Cove on the First Fleet with 18 months of his sentence remaining. Ruse applied to Governor Arthur Phillip for a land grant, stating that he had been bred to farming. Governor Phillip, desperate to make the colony self-sufficient, allocated Ruse an allotment at Rose Hill, where he proved himself industrious and showed that it was possible for a family to survive through farming. Ruse received a land grant, from which he grew and sold 600 bushels of corn. Ruse was the recipient of the first land grant in New South Wales. Ruse would later exchange the Rose Hill grant for more fertile land on the Hawkesbury River. later in his life, after almost losing his farm and thus going bankrupt because of flooding, Ruse found work as a seaman, and later, a farm overseer.
In 1789 Ruse produced the first successful corn harvest in New South Wales. Whilst this harvest didn't yield sufficient corn to make flour for the colony, Ruse did produce enough seeds for the next year's crop, which was successful. Such was the colony's need for a food supply, that Governor Phillip rewarded Ruse for his success with the first land grant made in New South Wales, along with a gift of pigs and chickens. In February 1791, Ruse declared to the authorities that he was self-sufficient, and two months later, in March, he was granted a further 30 acres. Ruse expected to reap about eight bushels to the acre. After Ruse's sentence expired in 1792, the title of his land was deeded to him, the first land grant in the colony. In 1793, he sold his land to Dr. John Harris of the New South Wales Corps for 40 pounds. The property is now the Experiment Farm Cottage Museum of the National Trust of Australia. In 1794, Ruse moved further out, to the junction of the Hawkesbury River with South Creek, and became a fairly successful farmer. Later, however, his livelihood was wiped out by flooding, which was always the risk of farming in the Hawkesbury. James seems to have been away from the family for some time and it has been theorised that he went to sea at the same time he had his son James the younger indentured to Kable and Underwood. This left his wife Elizabeth to take care of the family on her own. During this period, she had two children to convict James Kiss. These children were Ann Ruse Kiss and William James Ruse Kiss. James Ruse was heavily in debt and it is suggested that the hard work of his wife Elizabeth saved him from bankruptcy. Elizabeth is shown in the records as supplying crops to the stores in her own right. From 1828, James was employed as a joint overseer of Denham Court in partnership with his wife Elizabeth. In 1836, James Ruse and James Kiss were received into the Catholic church together. Ruse died at Campbelltown on 5 September 1837 and is buried with wife Elizabeth and daughter Mary. Ruse's gravestone, parts of which he carved himself, reads:
"Gloria in Axcelsis SACRED TO THE MEMEREY OF JAMES RUSE WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE SEPT. 5TH IN THE YEAR OF 1837 NATIVE OF CORNWELL AND ARRIVED IN THIS COLONY BY THE FIRST FLEET AGED 77 MY MOTHER REREAD ME TENDERLY WITH ME SHE TOOK MUCH PAINS AND WHEN I ARRIVED IN THIS COLONEY I SOWED THE FIRST GRAIN AND NOW WITH MY HEAVENLY FATHER I HOPE FOR EVER TO REMAIN"
Family life
James Ruse married Susannah Norcott in Corwall, England in 1779. The had one daughter, Elizabeth and one son Richard. After being transported for his crime and creating a new life in New South Wales, Ruse married fellow convict Elizabeth Parry on 5 September 1790. They had five children together – Rebecah, James, Elizabeth, Susannah, Mary. Ruse/Kiss DNA Project: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=708372276289807&id=519919595135077
Legacy
The memory of James Ruse is perpetuated in the naming of key locations in Sydney, including James Ruse Agricultural High School in Carlingford; James Ruse Drive, running from Silverwater to Northmead, near Parramatta; and Ruse, a suburb in southwest Sydney. A replica of his tombstone stands in the front garden of Barrengarry House, the administration block at James Ruse Agricultural High School. The original headstone, carved by Ruse himself, was moved by his descendants to a secure location after vandals damaged some headstones in the Old St Johns cemetery at Campbelltown. The headstone is now in the care of the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society at Glenalvon House in Lithgow Street, Campbelltown. In 1980, the noted Cornish folk singer Brenda Wootton wrote and recorded the song "James Ruse" which uses as a chorus the last four lines of the headstone's inscription.
