Souls of My Family - Story Outline of James' Story

Fruit Shop In Melbourne

City of Adelaide

Jupiter Creek

James, my paternal great grandfather, at sixteen, unbeknown to his parents and ageing grandmother, leaves his family home in London during the early hours of the morning to board a ship sailing to Adelaide, South Australia. He is going to the goldfields to make his fortune.

 

On board he makes friends with another young fellow who has the same idea. They plan  to travel to the goldfields together.

 

While on board James get to know a family with young children. He becomes particularly attached to the children and their mother, Olivia.

 

There is a terrible storm on their journey through the Southern Ocean, but James survives.

 

James is a little in love with Olivia, but her taciturn husband Richard, puts a stop to their friendship. Disease on the ship is rife and Richard and Olivia's little boy, William dies. James is broken-hearted.

 

The ship finally arrives at Port Adelaide in August, 1868 and James has the chance to speak to Olivia and say goodbye before disembarking. She tells him where she and Richard will be living in Adelaide.

 

Although James does not completely trust his new friend Tom, he is glad to have someone as a friend.

 

They leave the ship and book into a cheap hotel for the night. Both get very drunk and James is propositioned by the barmaid and spends the night with her.

 

The following morning, feeling ill and ashamed, he and Tom pay for a mining license, buy clothes for working in, a tent and equipment to pan for gold.

 

They catch a Cobb and Co. coach to Jupiter Creek where they are allocated their diggings and set-up tent with dishes, tools, wheelbarrows and provisions. Start panning for gold.

 A short time later James has symptoms of a STD and has to see Doctor in Adelaide. He takes advantage of his time in Adelaide to visit Olivia.

Mining is good. They have gathered quite a stash. The gold is hidden by burying it in the dirt under James' bed. He discovers one day that all the gold has gone. He suspects Tom and confronts him. Tom disappears the next day never to be seen again. 

 

James stays on at diggings and one day finds a large nugget. He tells no-one and decides to leave Jupiter Creek and head to Melbourne where he will set up a fruit shop business with the money from the nugget.

 

Meets his wife Isobella.(Scottish descent) She comes in to his fruit shop to buy oranges and apples. She is small and feisty. They marry and have four children one of them being my grandfather.