Sir James Daniel Connolly (1869-1962)
By Robin Connolly
Sir James Daniel Connolly was born in Queensland, Australia. Drawn as a young man to the newly discovered Coolgardie goldfields, he quickly established himself as a builder and community leader in the late 1890s and early 1900s. He went on to become a well-known state politician in Western Australia. Taking his family to war-torn Europe, he became the State’s representative in England and was knighted. He always worked to further Western Australia’s interests. The family settled in England, and James is buried in a London cemetery.
Portrait of Sir James Daniel Connolly, 1920. Source: National Portrait Gallery, London.
James was born in 1869 in Allora, a small country town in a farming district on the southern Darling Downs, Queensland. His parents, Johanna Callaghan and Denis Connolly, were Irish immigrants who took up land grants in the Warwick area. James was the third-born in a large family; he had a total of 10 siblings, eight of whom survived to adulthood and settled in Queensland.
James trained as a quantity surveyor. His first project was not surveying but building, constructing a school building at Elphinstone, near Allora, where his elder sister Mary worked as a pupil teacher. But he sensed greater opportunities in the west. Gold had just been discovered at Coolgardie when he moved to Perth, Western Australia, in January 1893, aged 23. Then, less than six months after arriving, gold was discovered at what was to become Kalgoorlie-Boulder. The finds opened up a rich goldfield, sparking a major gold rush.
James worked for a year in Perth as a building contractor before winning a government contract to build a temporary post office in Coolgardie, which precipitated his move to the goldfields. Coolgardie was booming, and better postal facilities were sorely needed; recipients sifted through mail left in a tent to find their own letters. James built a simple wood and corrugated iron building in five months for the tendered cost of £464. The building served until the new, much grander permanent post office was built in 1895.
From that simple start, James built a thriving contracting business in Coolgardie. He set up a workshop on the corner of Sylvester and Ford Streets in Coolgardie and proceeded to build a series of ever grander buildings in the town. He built Kennedy’s Family Hotel in 1893, Freemasons Hotel in 1894, various shops and halls through 1895 and 1896 and public baths in 1897.
But the grandest of all was an exhibition building on Bayley Street between Renou Street and Lady Loch Road that James completed in October 1898. The Governor, Sir Gerard Smith, opened the Coolgardie International Mining and Industrial Exhibition on 21 March 1899. Some 3,000 people came to the opening, and a staggering 61,000 visitors attended the exhibition during the three months that it ran. A special medallion was struck to commemorate the occasion.
Coolgardie Exhibition Building at the opening ceremony, 21 March 1899. Source: State Library of Western Australia
All the buildings that James built in Coolgardie were eventually taken down over time as Coolgardie’s fortunes waned in the mid-1900s. In 1898, James moved to Kalgoorlie, building a fine home in Dugan Street for his new bride. He married Catherine Edwards on 17 November 1898. Catherine’s family was from St Arnaud in Victoria. The couple married at the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in St Arnaud. Their first child, Catherine, was born on Dugan Street. James and Catherine would have a family of six children, all daughters, born in Kalgoorlie and Perth.
His family soon outgrew the Dugan Street house so he built another, in Cheetham Street, where his second daughter, Veronica, was born.
Between 1895 and 1901, he built numerous buildings in Kalgoorlie and Boulder. He was also active in Kanowna and at Goongarrie, where he had workshops. He built the Main Reef, the Palace and National Hotels in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, a home for the police inspector on the corner of Victoria and Shamrock Streets, and the Stock Exchange, Bank of NSW and WA Bank Buildings on Bayley Street. All but the National Hotel survive today.
The Palace Hotel, Kalgoorlie, 1900, soon after James constructed it. Source: State Library of Western Australia.
But James’s time in Kalgoorlie was limited; he soon transitioned from a builder to a politician. He entered politics in 1899 with election to the Kalgoorlie Town Council, becoming active in local and then state community issues. He was involved in the movement to create a separate state from the colony of Western Australia, ‘Auralia’, with Kalgoorlie as its capital and Esperance its port. The separate state never eventuated, but this pressure helped persuade the State Government to join the Australian Federation.
His local council career lasted only 18 months. In 1901, he contested and won the Western Australia Legislative Council (upper house) seat for the Northeast Province. He was 32 years old, and his state political career had begun. James resigned from the Kalgoorlie Town Council, shut down his goldfields contracting business and moved to Perth.
James served as an independent member of the Legislative Council for nearly six years. His contribution to state politics and his profile increased steadily. He was regularly reported in the media at official events. He travelled to and from Kalgoorlie and around the goldfields constantly. He was present at Mundaring Weir on 22 January 1903 when Lady Forrest started the pumps for the water pipeline to the Eastern Goldfields.
The family settled in the West Perth area, initially living in several rented properties, finally building a grand home at 6 Kings Park Road. His remaining four daughters, Phyllis, Marjorie, Nancy and Joan, were born while the family lived in West Perth. Sadly, Phyllis died as a baby; she was buried in Karrakatta Cemetery.
James and his family in about 1919. L to R, rear: Catherine, James, Catherine Jr., Front: Joan, Marjorie, Veronica, Nancy. Source: Mary Janet Murphy – Image Robin Connolly
1906 saw James’ political career take a sharp turn. In May, he was appointed to the newly formed ministry of Sir Newton Moore. He became Colonial Secretary, Minister for Commerce and Labour and leader of the upper house (Legislative Council). He was 36 years old.
James worked assiduously to progress the state of Western Australia. He was particularly interested in encouraging immigration. He made substantial gains in the State’s hospital system, remodelling the Perth Public Hospital’s board and creating the Children’s (Princess Margaret) and maternity (King Edward) Hospitals. James contributed to what was then Australia’s most advanced pure foods legislation in 1911-1912, which aimed to improve the safety and quality of food.
The Moore Government established the first large Aboriginal reserve when the State purchased Moola Bulla Station, near Halls Creek, in 1910. Management of the station fell under James’ portfolio.
In 1907, James was given carriage of plans to redevelop Rottnest Island as a holiday destination for the Western Australian public. He progressed development on the island, including providing accommodation at Kingston, building the ring road and undertaking extensive park development and plantings. Some of the trees planted still remain, and the road layout and parks are roughly the same today. Vera Rocks, Joan Rock, Nancy Cove, Marjorie and Catherine Bays are named after James and Catherine’s daughters.
James with members of an official party inspecting signalling equipment on Rottnest Island, 1910. James is third from the left. Source: State Library of Western Australia.
In May 1912, James was created a Knight of Sylvester by Pope Pius X. The award dates to before 1841 and is conferred on lay people actively involved in the life of the church. James had always been a staunch Catholic and was close to Patrick Clune, then Bishop of Perth. James served under Newton Moore until Moore resigned as premier in September 1910. James then served under Frank Wilson until the Wilson government’s newly formed Western Australia Liberal Party lost power at the October 1911 election. James served in opposition until the Liberal Party won power at the 1916 election. He was appointed minister without portfolio and served until June 1917.
James then resigned from the Legislative Assembly to take up the position of Agent General for Western Australia, in London. He relocated with his family to Savoy House, London, arriving at the height of World War I. James threw himself into his new role, promoting the State’s agricultural products and immigration. He was awarded the Order of the Crown by Belgium in 1918 and made a Knight Bachelor by Britain in 1920.
James served as agent-general in London until 1923. In 1930, he took up the position of Agent General for Malta, continuing to promote immigration to Australia. He left that position in 1932 and retired from public life at the age of 63. James and Catherine enjoyed a long period of marriage celebrations for their five daughters. The Brompton Oratory in Knightsbridge was the family church, and most of the girls married there.
Catherine died in 1948, only two years after the last of her daughters, Catherine and Nancy, married. She saw all her grandchildren before she died, even little Caroline, Nancy’s daughter, who was then only one year old. James lived for another 14 years before passing away in 1962. James and Catherine are buried together in Kensal Green Cemetery, London.
Lady Connolly – Farmers’ Advocate, 21 December 1923, page 14
Authors biography:
Robin, an engineer by training, has been researching his family’s history for 20 years. His focus has been on his maternal ancestors, the Loughnan family, and his paternal line, the Connolly’s. He has also researched other lines, including the Tones and Turpin families. His research has taken him all over Australia and into Ireland, England and France.
Robin has self-published two digital books and video biographies, John Tones 1823-1886 and Susan Martha Loughnan 1828-1924, which can be downloaded for free via Trove. Print versions of the books are also available.
James Connolly is the author Robin Connolly’s first cousin 3 times removed. Robin is currently preparing to publish James’ biography and will gratefully receive any information about James and his family. Contact – Robin Connolly.
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