James Hardie Jones

   Cause of his death was Mitral Incompetence, 20 years / Heart Failure, 12 hours.

  General Notes:

James Hardie Jones represented Harrietville on the South Riding of the Bright Shire Council from 1897-1899 and was Shire President in 1908 and 1914. He was also a Justice of the Peace, mining registrar [1897-98], devoted choir master at the Union Church, and one of the prime movers in cutting the Feathertop Track in 1906. Six years later the Harrietville Progress Association, of which Jim Jones was a leading member, erected Feathertop Hut on the mountain. Jones became Postmaster in 1918, succeeding Miss J Hobbs who had been there since 1916. He conducted the post office from the old general store inherited from George Jones, his father, until the building was destroyed by fire in 1920. Jim who had been apprenticed as a bootmaker, continued in a new building, selling footwear only, in conjunction with running the post office. He died a bachelor of 69 in 1923, and Mrs Agnes Scott [NB, his sister] took over the post office, remaining for twenty years." In 1890 he was Treasurer of the Amalgamated Miner's Association.
Source: Gold at Harrietville, B.E. Lloyd, Shoestring Press, 1982. pp 73,86

He was recorded as a Storekeeper in Harrietville in the 1903, 1909, 1914 and 1919 Electoral Rolls.

James was initiated into the Bright Lodge of Unity, a Freemasons Lodge, in 1907 and served a term as Master of the Lodge in 1914.

At one stage he was the Registrar in Harrietville. He was in this position when his sister, Margaret's brother in law, Frederick Hocking died on the 5th April 1921.

James' death was the very last one recorded in the Harrietville District Register before the local office was closed and the record books transferred to Bright.

  Noted events in his life were:

• He resided at the time of the Census with his mother and siblings in 1861 in 86 Clelland Rd, Newarthill, Bothwell, , Lanark, Scotland.

• He emigrated to Melbourne on the "Forest Rights" embarking on a 140 day journey on 17 Feb 1863.

• He worked as a Storekeeper in 1914 in Harrietville, Victoria, Australia.

• He worked as a Postmaster at the time of his death on 21 Jul 1923 in Harrietville, Victoria, Australia.