James Ruse (9 August 1759 – 5 September 1837) was a Cornish farmer who, at age 23, was convicted of burglary and was sentenced to seven years' transportation.
Ruse applied to Colony Governor Arthur Phillip for a land grant, stating that he had been bred for farming.
Governor Phillip, desperate to make the colony self-sufficient, allocated Ruse an allotment at Rose Hill (now Rosehill, near Parramatta), where he proved himself industrious and showed that it was possible for a family to survive in New South Wales through farming.
[4] In 1782, he was tried at the Cornwall Assizes and sentenced to death[3] for "seriously breaking and entering the dwelling house of Thomas Olive and stealing thereout 2 silver watches and other goods".
That harvest failed to yield sufficient corn to make flour for the colony, but Ruse produced enough seeds for the next year's crop, which was successful.
Such was the colony's need for a food supply that Governor Phillip rewarded Ruse for his success with the first land grant made in New South Wales, along with a gift of pigs and chickens.
[citation needed] After being transported for his crime and creating a new life in New South Wales, Ruse married fellow convict Elizabeth Parry (1769 – 27 May 1836)[7] on 5 September 1790.
A replica of his tombstone stands in the front garden of Barrengarry House, the administration block at James Ruse Agricultural High School.
[10] In 1980, the noted Cornish folk singer Brenda Wootton wrote and recorded the song "James Ruse" which uses as a chorus the last four lines of the headstone's inscription.