James' Story
When James Athol Bartram was born in 1827 in Norfolk, his father, William, was 26 and his mother, Ann, was 21. He married Jane Ann Williams on April 18, 1851. They had eight children in 15 years. He died in 1905 in Beverley, Western Australia, having lived a long life of 78 years, and was buried in York, Western Australia. James Bartram was born in the area of Aylmerton- Alysham-Buxton (in the parish of Erpingham) in Norfolk England. His mother Ann Strange (sister of Richard Strange) was said to be a descendant of the Dukes of Atholl on the wrong side of the blanket. His mother died when he was young and his father died when he was 15. He then in 1843 at the age of 16 went with his relative Thomas Carter to Western Australia. He is said to have firstly worked for Thomas Carter at his Merrow Farm Inn-the half way house between Perth and York. He later became a leading farmer in Beverley as well as the Justice of the Peace and postman. He also assisted the presentation Catholic nuns in Beverley even though he wasn't a Catholic. His grandmother Lady Bartram was an Italian Jewess who his grandfather met in Italy when he was visiting his Bartram relatives in Civita Vecchia. He returned to visit England in 1858 and brought back farm equipment including the first wheat stripper. James also was the first Miller in the district. He also built the first police station in Beverley in 1861. James farmed at Avon Dale and Emerald Hills. He went bankrupt at one stage. He died in Beverley in 1905 as a revered pioneer of the district.. James Bartram and George Kersley firstly leased Avon Dale from Mr Carey in 1844 (August 15) when James was only 17. One document about the Avon Dale research station states: " Nicholas Carey was from Frogmore, on the island of Guernsey. He had arrived in the Swan River Colony in 1830-1831 and was living at York by 1835. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1837. Carey visited Britain between 1841 and 1843 and, in 1844, he leased Avondale to James Bartram and George Kersley for four years, for an annual rental of £35 and improvements. The improvements included a 'good and substantial dwelling house with a stone foundation and rammed earth walls' to the value of £100 sterling, a barn worth £50 and 50 acres (20 ha) of land cleared. The southwest portion of Location 14 was the site of soldiers barracks, a mud brick structure built in the 1830s and most likely used by the lessees of Avondale. In 1849, Carey returned to Britain after appointing Charles Wittenoom as his agent in the Colony. A letter written in December 1849, just before he left, mentions stables, as well as the barn, both of which were till under construction. In 1852, Bartram and Kersley renewed their lease of Avondale for another five years.The buildings they constructed were most likely those marked on a 1910 survey map of the property and situated some distance northwest of the current Homestead..." Nicholas Carey had first come to Perth in 1835 and he returned to visit England in 1841 where he may have met James Bartram through Thomas Carter who was also visiting England at this time. Nicholas Carey, Thomas Carter and James Bartram all returned together on the "Janet" in 1843.
Gilbert Joseph 
