James Arthur Winney – music teacher and journalist

James Arthur Winney was born in London on 18 July 1859. He received a musical education at the Tonic Solfa College in London and as a young man was employed as an organist and choir master. Arriving in Australia in 1880 he obtained work in a similar capacity first in Goulburn and then in Maitland, where he met and married Millicent Wilson in 1884.¹

Never settling for long in one place, James and his growing family moved around NSW until 1890 when he is reported as being a journalist, first in Grafton and then in Kempsey.² This was followed by brief stays in Queanbeyan and Sydney before arriving in Taree circa 1903 where he became a contributing journalist on the Wingham Chronicle,³ while his wife advertised her skills as a milliner.⁴

Millicent soon returned to Sydney while James settled in Taree and again advertised his services as a teacher of music and voice production.⁵ Always a supporter of patriotic causes, he was a long term resident of the Central Palace Boarding House and attended its closure in 1926.⁶ His death took place in the Manning River District Hospital on 5 August 1943,⁷ his long life attributed in part to a daily cold shower.⁸

Author: Penny Teerman