Mr James Brindley BETTINGTON (1796 - 1857)

Date of Birth: 01/01/1796
Place of Birth: Bristol, England
Date of Death: 02/08/1857
Place of Death: Plymouth, England

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Parliamentary Service

Position	Start	End	Period	Parliament	Notes
Member of the NSW Legislative Council	1 Sep 1851	31 Mar 1853	1yr(s) 7mth(s)		An Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 - 1856 for the Pastoral Districts of Wellington and Bligh

Community Activity

Original subscriber to and a trustee of All Saints' Church of England, Parramatta and in 1852 was a district warden of Parramatta, where he made his permanent home near Oatlands in 1840.

Qualifications, occupations and interests

Merchant and pastoralist. After some years as a general merchant and wool importer in the family business in Lothbury, London, Bettington arrived in Sydney in 1827 in the Ionia to establish a wool brokers office and to breed Saxon sheep. Began business as a shipping agent almost immediately became a magistrate and joined the Agricultural and Horticultural Society. Leased 700 acres of government land at Rooty Hill near two famous horse studs. Began breeding horses. Joined his father in law on the directorate of the Bank of New South Wales. Retired from his Sydney business in 1837 and by purchase and lease extended his estate beyond the Liverpool Ranges. Held 90,000 acres of leasehold land in the Bligh district and in 1851-1853 represented the pastoral districts of Wellington and Bligh in the Legislative Council.

Personal

Son of John Bettington of bristol and grandson of James Brindley, engineer and canal builder of Staffodshire. Married Rebecca Lawson on 7 June 1830 of Veteran Hall whose interest in horse breeding matched his own, and had issue 3 daughters and 3 sons.

Additional Information

Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3. Bettington Street, Millers POint; Bettington Road, Dundas; and Bettington Street, Merriwa all take their names from the Bettington family.

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