James Pile (c. 1799 – 19 March 1885) was born in Beverley, Yorkshire[1] and left Scotland for South Australia aboard Anna with his wife and family and brother George, arriving November 1849 and settled at "Beckwith" near Gawler.
A year or two later he sold the Netley station to Joe Dunne (c. 1827–1874) who drowned in Menindie Creek, while rescuing his horses, and his brother John (c.
When his sons reached adulthood he left to them management of the properties, and built for himself a fine house "Oaklands" in Gawler East, where he retired, was appointed Justice of the Peace and served as a Town Councillor and Elder of the Presbyterian Church.
Around 1870 the sons turned their attention from cattle to sheep, which thrived and soon they had built up their small flock to some 200,000.Then came the "seven years' drought" 1880–1886, and their numbers fell to 12,000.
He had a 120 acres (49 ha) hobby farm at Morphettville close to the racecourse and the Holdfast Bay railway line (now a tramline), and there built a 40 or 50 feet (12 or 15 m) pigeon tower with boxes for 700 birds,[10] which became a well-known local landmark,[6] and deliberately made larger and taller than that of "Ben" Rounsevell nearby.
[11] Born in Scotland, he emigrated to South Australia with his parents and was educated at Gawler, where he encountered Dick Holland, with whom, at age 13 or 14, he made his first overland droving trip from Sydney to Adelaide with horses, and made his next trip with John McKinlay, who shortly afterwards took over Lake Victoria Station.
He worked on Cuthero station, and while mustering cattle discovered the Hide family, whose five children had died of exposure and dehydration just a few hundred metres from the river.
He bashed, then disowned her; she was confined to Destitute Asylum,[27] Edward Pile ( – 8 February 1906) married Mary Ann Dugan, (later McCoy, died 1910) licensees, Somerset Hotel.