A Brief History

Ann | Elizabeth jr | Frances | James Alexander | Jane | John jr | John Joel | Margaret | Maria | Matilda | Thomas | William

JOHN GRONO	ELIZABETH BRISTOW
Occupation: sailor (boatswain’s mate Royal Navy, ships’ captain), ship owner, shipbuilder, and farmer.	Occupation: housewife
Birth: c.1767 Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales1	Birth: c.1771 England
Marriage: John and Elizabeth married (by licence) on 20 July 1790 in St Mary’s, Rotherhithe, Surrey (now London), England2.
Death: 4 May 1847, Pitt Town, NSW, Australia3	Death: July 1848, Pitt Town, NSW, Australia4
Buried: 6 May 1847, Ebenezer Churchyard, NSW, Australia	Buried: 7 July 1848, Ebenezer Churchyard, NSW, Australia
ARRIVAL IN AUSTRALIA: 4 May 1799, on the HMS Buffalo

We know very little of John’s life prior to his arrival in Australia, at this stage we are not even totally sure about the date and place of his birth as no baptism has yet been discovered. Similarly Elizabeth is also an enigma with nothing really known of her early life.

Research of old naval records shows John on (and off) a series of Royal naval vessels beginning on the 25 July 1790 when he enters the HMS Royal William⁵ as an AB (able seaman)⁶. By 1793 he had been promoted to the rank of Boatswain’s Mate⁷. After early 1794 we lose track of John until 1798.

On 7 January 1798 John joins the HMS Buffalo as an AB⁸, and on 7 December of the same year was again promoted to Boatswain’s Mate. It is aboard this ship that John and his family travelled to NSW, Australia, arriving on the 4 May 1799⁹. By that stage John and Elizabeth had three children:

1. Elizabeth, b.c.1791,
2. John, b.c.1793, and
3. Frances, b.c.1798.

(Note that John (junior) did not travel out to Australia in 1799, but remained behind in England with his grandparents, and came out to Australia in 1827.)

On 31 July 1799, on the orders of Governor Hunter, John was transferred from the HMS Buffalo to the Colonial Vessel Francis where he served as First Officer¹⁰. By June 1801 he had left the Colonial Vessels and had begun farming in partnership with James Ryan.

After leaving the Colonial Vessels, John embarked upon a number of sea voyages, which included sealing in the New Zealand area. He is credited as being one of the first Europeans to enter the Canterbury Region of New Zealand¹¹, and also with naming a number of places on the South-West coast of the South Island of New Zealand including Milford Sound, Elizabeth Island, and Bligh Sound among many others¹². It was during one of these voyages in 1813 that John rescued a small number of sailors left stranded on an island off the coast of New Zealand, two of these, namely Alexander Books and Robert McKenzie, would later become his sons-in-law.

His farming enterprise also expanded over time. The 1800-1802 Muster and Lists for NSW and Norfolk Island ¹³ states that he and James Ryan held 30 acres of land, and 20 hogs. By the time of the 1828 Census records show him as owning 610 acres, of which 185 acres were cleared and 118 under cultivation, 20 horses, 309 cattle, and 205 sheep¹⁴. A number of convicts were assigned to Grono, no doubt to assist in his farming and ship building enterprises¹⁵.

Over this period we should not underestimate Elizabeth’s role. While John was away on his sea voyages, often for long periods of time, she would have been responsible for raising their large family. Not an easy task, even with the help of servants and convict labour.

John and Elizabeth are recorded as being one of the families that assisted in the establishing and building of Ebenezer Church in 1809. Prior to the Church being built they joined other settlers from the region (mainly those that arrived on the Coromandel in 1802) in their desire to worship; this often took place out in the open under a tree. In 1808 the families met and formed a society that ultimately led to the building of the Church and Schoolhouse at Ebenezer¹⁶.

In his later years John retires from the sea, focusing his attention instead on ship building and his farm. During this period he built the largest ships that the Colony had produced to that date. John owned, captained and built a number of vessels in his lifetime. He claimed to have built seven vessels. The following four vessels can definitely be traced to Grono's yard: Elizabeth¹⁷ (84 tons) 1821; Industry¹⁸ (87 tons) 1826; Australian¹⁹ (270 tons) 1829; and Governor Bourke²⁰ (200 tons) 1833. Other vessels owned by John Grono include the Speedwell²¹, Unity²², Governor Bligh²³ and Branch²⁴.

As well as expanding his shipping and farming activities over time, so too did his family. John and Elizabeth had the following children after their arrival in Australia:

4. Maria, b.c.1800
5. Jane, b.c.1803
6. Margaret, b.c.1804
7. William, b.c.1805
8. Ann, b.c.1806
9. John Joel, b.1809²⁵
10. James Alexander, b.1810²⁶
11. Matilda, b.1815²⁷
12. Thomas, b.1818²⁸

John Grono lived into old age and passed away on the 4 May 1847, aged approximately 80 years. He was buried at Ebenezer Cemetery. Elizabeth, aged approximately 77 years, died fourteen months later in July 1848 and is buried with her husband.

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