James Ruse, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

James Ruse

Australian farmer

Date of Birth: 09-Aug-1759

Place of Birth: Launceston, England, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 05-Sep-1837

Profession: farmer

Nationality: Australia

Zodiac Sign: Leo

James Ruse (9 August /1760 – 5 September 1837) was a Cornish farmer who, at the age of 23, was convicted of breaking and entering and was sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia.
He arrived at Sydney Cove on the First Fleet with 18 months of his sentence remaining.
Ruse applied to Governor Arthur Phillip (of the colony) for a land grant, stating that he had been bred to farming.
Governor Phillip, desperate to make the colony self-sufficient, allocated Ruse an allotment at Ruse Hill (now Rose Hill near Parramatta), where he proved himself industrious and showed that it was possible for a family to survive through farming.
Having done this, Ruse received a grant of 30 acres (120,000 m2), enabling him eventually to sell 600 bushels of corn.
This was the very first grant of land in New South Wales.
Ruse later exchanged the grant for more fertile land on the Hawkesbury River.
In later life, having been almost bankrupted from his farm by flooding, Ruse found work as a seaman and later a farm overseer.