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Brief History JOHN GRONO ELIZABETH BRISTOW

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Occupation: sailor (boatswain’s mate Occupation: housewife
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Royal Navy, ships’ captain), ship owner,
Publications shipbuilder, and farmer.
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Birth: c.1767 Newport, Pembrokeshire,
Birth: c.1771 England
Wales1
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Marriage:
Sitemap John and Elizabeth married (by licence) on 20 July 1790 in St Mary’s, Rotherhithe,
Archives Surrey (now London), England2.

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JOHN GRONO ELIZABETH BRISTOW

Death: 4 May 1847, Pitt Town, NSW, Death: 6 July 1848, Pitt Town, NSW,
Australia3 Australia4

Buried: 6 May 1847, Ebenezer Buried: 7 July 1848, Ebenezer

Churchyard, NSW, Australia 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

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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

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(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 on 6
July 1848 and is buried with her husband.

Endnotes
1. Based on John’s stated place of birth in his Naval records.
2. Details from the London Greater Record Office, Reference X46/8, London Metropolitan Archives.
3. New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (NSW BDM), 1847, Volume 104, Entry 410, John Grono,
Aged 80 years.
4. NSW BDM, 1848, Volume 105, Entry 77, Elizabeth Grono, Aged 77 years.
5. PRO ADM 36, File No. 10778, The Royal William, 1790 May – December.
6. The fact that he entered as an AB indicates that he was already an experienced sailor by that time.

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7. PRO ADM 36, File No. 15419, Entry No. 767.

8. PRO ADM 36, File No. 14229, Entry No. 22.
9. Records for the HMS Buffalo do not show the arrival of Elizabeth Grono and daughters Elizabeth and Frances.
However a memorial by John at a later stage (SRNSW, Colonial Secretaries Papers, 1820, Fiche 3020, No.296, p.151)
and a court case in 1800 (John William Lewin vs George Thompson , SRNSW, COD 288, Supreme Court – Court of Civil
Jurisdiction, Proceedings November 1799 – February 1800) both prove conclusively that they were definitely on the ship.
10. See Masters Logs 1797-1802, HMS Buffalo, AJCP, PRO Reels 5737, 1616, 6304, 5778, ML MSS 582 regarding his
transfer; and SRNSW, Colonial Secretary Papers, 1820, Fiche 3020, No. 196, p.151, regarding his duties on the Colonial
Vessel.
11. Based on evidence given by a Mr McDonald before Commissioner Bigge in May 1821, as given in McNab, Robert
(ed.), (1908), Historical Records of New Zealand, pp.558-562.
12. Information from Hall-Jones, John (1979), Fiordland Place-Names, Fiordland National Park Board, Invercargill; and
Cobb, John (1987), Fiordland: the incredible wilderness, Cobb/Horwood Publications in association with Department of
Conservation.
13. Baxter, Carol J., (ed.), (1988), Muster and Lists, New South Wales and Norfolk Island, 1800-1802, ABGR in
association with the Society of Australian Genealogists, Sydney.
14. Sainty, M.R., and Johnson, K.A., (eds.), (1980), Census of New South Wales, November 1828, Library of Australian
History, Ref no. G1524, p.172 and p.429.
15. This can be found in Butlin, N.G, Cromwell, C.W., and Suthern, K.L, (eds.), (1987), General Return of Convicts in
New South Wales, 1837, ABGR in association with the Society of Australian Genealogists.
16. Brill,T. (1999), The History of Ebenezer Church: Australia’s Oldest Church, Revised Edition July 1999, Fitzgerald
Graphic Communications Pty Ltd.
17. Sydney Gazette, 15 December 1821, Page 4, Col A.
18. Colonial Secretary’s Letters, SRNSW, Reel 6013, 4/3512, p.635.
19. The Australian, Wednesday, May 16, 1827, Page 3, Column B.
20. Sydney Monitor, 19 June 1833, Page 2, Column F.
21. HRA, Series 1, Volume 4, Page 515: Return of Schooners and Sloops, belonging to and employed by individuals, in
His Majesty's Territory of NSW. 28 February 1804.
22. 8/58 - 67: NSW Pocket Almanack 1811, page 20. Arrival of vessels at, and their departure from Port Jackson, from the
1st November 1808 to the present time. (1 October 1810) Colonial Vessels. Unity schooner, 60 Tons, Master John Grono,
Owners John Benn & John Grono.
23. NSW Pocket Almanack, 1813, Page 24. Arrival of vessels at and their departure from Port Jackson, from 1 October
1810 to the present time. Colonial vessels, Governor Bligh, 100 tons, J Grono master. J Grono & J Benn owners.
24. SRNSW, Reel 2666, Naval Officer’s Quarterly Reports, Quarter Ending 30 June 1821.
25. NSW BDM, 1809, Volume 10, Entry 476.

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26. NSW BDM, 1810, Volume 10, Entry 477.

27. NSW BDM, 1815, Volume 1B, Entry 7211.
28. NSW BDM, 1818, Volume 1B, Entry 7209.

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