Jimmy James (tracker, died 1945)

Jimmy James (dob unknown - 24 December 1945 in Barmera) was an Aboriginal Australian who was best known as an Aboriginal tracker who helped the police track criminals and lost persons.[1]

Not to be confused with Jimmy James (tracker, 1913-1991).

Background

During the 1920s, Jimmy James was a police tracker. He then left to live in his resort, Swan Reach. He helped the police in the Monash murder of 1938. He also found a little girl who had been lost for days in the Walkerie district.[1]

His last tracking was to find Mr Breeze who got lost in the Renmark surroundings, during which he caught a tuberculosis. He died in the Lady Weigall hospital in Barmera on 24 December 1945. He was buried in the Barmera Cemetery on 25 December 1945.[1]

In the words of the Sergeant Ward of Barmera, Jimmy James was a "black man with a white heart".[1]

Family

One of his unofficially adopted daughters, Lilian Disher, married another tracker named Jimmy James in 1947.[2]

References
  1. Death of the aboriginal tracker Jimmy James, Trove.nla.gov.au, 3 January 1946 (accessed on 5 September 2019)
  2. Jimmy James famed for his tracking feats with the South Australian police over 40 years, Adelaideaz.com (accessed on 5 September 2019)


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