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James Richard Dunn: pioneering shipwright, dedicated public servant and a cornerstone of early Albany’s development.
By Grant Peake | 24 Feb 2024
James Richard Dunn was born in Woodburn, Kent, England in 1812 and at age fourteen, Dunn commenced a seven-year apprenticeship as a shipwright. Arriving in Albany as a ship’s carpenter on the 19 June 1934, aboard the James Pattison. Dunn is thought to be the only steerage passenger from the vessel to remain in Albany, becoming a permanent resident of the colony and Dunn soon became a respected and trustworthy resident of the town.
In 1837, Dunn along with John McKail, were awarded the contract to build the town’s first major jetty. The length of the jetty was to be 75 yards long, much shorter than the original proposal of 130 yards. In September of that year, whilst working on the jetty, Dunn lost part of his hand when firing a salute to the newly weds, Patrick Taylor, who was returning to Albany from Fremantle onboard the Champion with his young bride, Mary (nee Bussell).
Even while Dunn was recovering from his terrible accident, he continued work on the jetty which was completed by September 1838. Later Dunn was to be appointed gaoler, at the Albany Gaol in 1841, the building been located below the present Lawley Park. He was also appointed Police Constable from 1841 to 1849.
In October 1843, Dunn married Elizabeth Henderson, a 21-year-old Scots woman who had arrived 10 months prior aboard the vessel Trusty. Elizabeth having been in service to the Forrest family.
James Dunn (1812 - 1875) [AHS]
Dunn was taken into partnership during 1849 by Thomas Symers and John Thomas. Symers was suffering severe financial difficulties with the construction of a 70-ton vessel named Fairy. The boats construction having been dragged out since it began in 1844. Nearly completed the Fairy was brought into Princess Royal Harbour in 1850. However a dispute occurred when Symers became aware of a secret deal between John Thomas and the one-armed Dunn with work coming to an abrupt halt.
Symers, known as an extremely temperamental personality, immediately took great offence to the arrangement between Thomas and Dunn, with him aiming his wrath squarely at Dunn. This however made Symers very unpopular with Albany residents. In the end the Fairy was never completed and left to rot at the eastern end of the harbour.
By the early 1850’s Dunn had become a licensed hotel owner. During 1855 a decline in hotel trade due to the steamer service ceasing caused considerable hardship to the six hotels in town.In January 1856, a hotel licensee meeting issued licences to six hotels in anticipation of the steamer service being reinstated. Four of the hotels were owned by Thomas Sherratt, John McKenzie, John McDonnell, and James Dunn. The other two were leased. Governor Kennedy took exception to the number of hotels and requested that the number be reduced to four later in that year.
Dunn pleaded with the authorities for reconsideration, especially being partially disabled, who had been a shipwright, building contractor and gaoler, now in declining health, this action would take away his livelihood, especially when Dunn had his wife, Elizabeth and five children to support. Sadly Dunn’s pleas to retain his hotel licence were unsuccessful with his licence been revoked. Regrettably he was forced to return to his former occupation of a builder.
In 1860, Dunn was instrumental in reviving the defunct Albany Roads Trust which was responsible for the maintenance and upgrading of roads in the town, the state of which were nothing less than deplorable. Some roads were little more than rutted tracks, that presented as almost impassable. With Dunn’s progressive attitude, hard work and dedication, the roads in Albany began to gradually improve. By the latter half of the 1860’s, James Dunn and his family were looked upon as being successful small business people. Dunn was made a member of the Plantagenet Roads Board in 1871.
In the early 1870’s, and during the whaling season, the arrival of whalers and sealers boosted the Albany population from a few hundred to a couple of thousand. James Dunn and his family were responsible for rescuing a young woman who had been brought to Albany by her aunt, for the purposes of prostitution. Prostitution in those times became a lucrative business and the girl was secreted away to Dunn’s Porongurup farm for safety.
James Dunn retired from the Civil Service and established a lucrative pastoral property, Woodburn, in the Porongurup’s. He employed ticket-of-leave convicts from the Albany Convict Gaol between 1866-1873 to work on his property. His sons went on to be pioneer shepherds at Phillips River.
James Dunn died in the Porongurup’s on 2 June 1875 and is buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Albany.