John Bussey

John Bussey was born in in May 1812 in Launceston, Cornwall, England. His parents were William Bussey and Catherine (maiden name unknown).

John Bussey, an unmarried male immigrant, sailed on the barque "Amelia Thompson" which departed from Plymouth, England on the 28th day of March 1838 and arrived at Port Jackson in the Colony of New South Wales on the 1st day of July 1838, but as the vessel in which he came, the “Amelia Thompson” had to perform quarantine, he did not reach Sydney until the 23 rd of July 1838.

John who was brought out by J. Hasshal Esq., had his 26th birthday in May 1838 half way on his journey to New South Wales. His state of bodily health, strength and probable usefulness was described as good. John could read but could not write. He paid £5 towards his pafsage (passage) to Sydney.

John Bussey married Hannah Tranter on the 19th of December 1843 at St John's Cathedral, Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. The officiating minister was the Reverend H. Hobart and J. Russell and H. Broadhurst witnessed the marriage. John was living at Five Dock in Sydney when he married Hannah. He remained in the Sydney area for the remainder of his life.

John Bussey died aged 76 years at Enfield on the 14th of July 1888, Australia's centenary year. He was buried on the 16th of July 1888 "without religious ceremony" in the Church of England section of Rookwood Cemetery, New South Wales, Australia.

On his daughter Emily's birth certificate, her father John Bussey was entered with his occupation as a "farmer" aged 45 years, with birth place London, England. As Emily was born on the 19th of December 1859, John Bussey's date of birth would have been about 1814.

On early baptismal records of his children John Bussey's occupation was listed as labourer. But by 1850 John was working as a shoemaker and living at Surrey Hills, Sydney, when his son George Henry was born on the 12th of December 1855. At the time of his death in 1888 John was working as a gardener.

The evolution of the name Bussey: If you want to know how a person's name should be spelled you look first of all at their signature; lacking a legible signature you look at how it was spelled by various clerks, who probably spelled it phonetically based on how it sounded to them. That clerks make mistakes is quite obvious - just look at the variations on your surname that appear on records about you compiled by other people - but the clerks were usually fairly close phonetically. That being the case, how do we get from "Bussey” to Bussy, Buzzell, Buzzie, Bushey, Buosey, Debuzey and Debussey and many of which really don't sound that much alike?

John Bussy, bootmaker, Nerrigundah, South Coast, NSW: Prospectors found gold at Gulph Creek precipitating a rush at Nerrigundah in 1861. Amenities, and dredges, began to appear and the town was surveyed in 1867. At its height the site was said to have 2000 inhabitants, at their disposal were five hotels, several shops, as well as a police station and courthouse. The 1872 Greville's Post Office Directory Index listed John Bussy (Bussey), a bootmaker, at Nerrigundah, NSW. Just how long John Bussey remained at Nerrigundah we do not know? Most likely his family remained in the Sydney area.

John Bussey had seperated from his wife Hannah by 1872 as he was working as a bootmaker on the Nerrigundah gold field at that time.

Medical Note:

John Bussey died aged 76 years in 1888. An inquest was held into his death and the jury found he died from "Fatal Syncope". Fatal Syncope (faint) is a sudden fall of blood pressure resulting in loss of consciousness. About 3% of the population have syncope at some point in life (Savage, 1985).

Presyncope consists of unsteadiness, weakness, or cognitive symptoms without loss of consciousness. It is often a symptom of orthostatic hypotension, and may also be a source of drop attacks.

Causes of syncope: Arrhythmia -- abnormal slowing or quickness of the heart. Bradycardia (slowness of heart beat). Supraventricular or ventricular tachycardia (abnormally fast). Hemodynamic -- obstruction to blood flow.

Karen Rhonda Jurd nee Bussey

John Jurd, b.1941