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WATSON, JAMES (1865–1946), Wesleyan Methodist Minister, was born in Bendigo, Victoria on
21 February 1865, the son of James Watson, an engineer, and his wife Margaret, nee Ryan. Little is known of his
early life but he came to reside in New South Wales as a young man and offered himself for service in the ministry
of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.
At the time, there was no general system for the education of ministers of the Methodist Church. Men who
were considered suitable by their character and Christian conviction were given training by those already in the
ministry. They would be given a recommended list of appropriate books for study. These would be, in the main,
the Sermons of John Wesley and other books related to biblical knowledge and interpretation. Watson’s nature and
enthusiasm would have been his recommendation, and his association with Reverend (later Dr W E) Bromelow
would mean that he was learning ‘on the job’. He was admitted to the Ministry of the Methodist Church in 1891
and was in that year a member of the first Mission party to Papua under the leadership of Dr Bromelow. However,
he was forced to return to Australia in 1893 due to ill health. He then undertook deputation work for the Mission
Society during the next three years.
On 21 July 1896, he married Isabella Duncan Fraser, born 2 May 1874, the daughter of Daniel Fraser, a
shipwright and Jane Fraser, nee Condon, of Emu Plains, New South Wales. In 1896, he was appointed to the parish
of Narrabri, New South Wales and in the following years, he ministered in the circuits of Inverell and Broken Hill,
(New South Wales) Walleroo, (South Australia) and Kempsey (New South Wales).
In 1914, he was appointed as the first State Secretary for Overseas Missions in New South Wales and
Queensland. It was in that year the Methodist Church took its first positive steps to establish work with the
Aborigines. The Reverend J A Wheen had consultations with Mission Committees in Victoria and Tasmania
and also with representatives from the Anglican, Presbyterian and Congregational denominations regarding this
matter. A number of submissions were made to the federal government, which now administered the Northern
Territory. The outcome was that areas were assigned to the interested churches for this work among the Aborigines.
The Methodist Church, on 2 July 1915 appointed Watson to conduct a survey of the area of the Territory
suggested, and to report with proposals as to how the work might begin. Later that month Watson sailed to Darwin
on the SS St. Albans with a letter of introduction from the Minister for External Affairs to the Administrator
Dr Gilruth and also from the Reverend Dr E H Sugden, Master of Queens College Melbourne, a personal friend
of Gilruth. The resident minister Reverend E A Lapthorne and members of the Darwin congregation welcomed
him. He travelled on a petrol driven ‘scow’ with the Administrator Dr Gilruth and a government party to Bathurst
Island to confer with the Roman Catholic Mission. On this journey, he visited the settlements at Fort Dundas
and Melville Island, continuing to the East Alligator River. The party proceeded up river to Cahill’s landing
then continued the seven miles to Oenpelli. Here Watson was able to confer with Paddy Cahill, Manager of the
government experimental cattle station, and see living conditions within Aboriginal territory. At this point, the
Administrator’s party left him. With four Aboriginal guides and horses, he travelled overland to Darwin exploring
the area and visiting Goulburn Island. In Darwin, on Sunday 30 September he was the preacher at the local church
with the Administrator and Mrs Gilruth, The Under Secretary for External Affairs, Judge Bevan, and other officials
of government present. His message was well received and he was encouraged to continue his investigations.
The Wesleyan Methodist Church had been active in Darwin (formerly Palmerston) since the very beginnings of
settlement but the main thrust of the mission had been to the white population with some special work among the
Chinese labourers brought to the area. There had been a recognition of the need for work with Aborigines but for
some time this had been sporadic and often confined to ministering to those who were unfortunate to fall foul of
the law and end up in Fannie Bay gaol. Such work was seen to be within the role of the resident Darwin minister.
Watson wrote his report in rather casual but popular terms taking four episodes in the Missionary Review under
the unlikely title of ‘Ramblings in the Northern Territory’. It was far from what most people would call a ‘ramble’.
He ends the first ‘episode’ of his ramble with an outline of the visit up to this point with this summary regarding the
Aborigines: ‘these are not ‘vermin to be got rid of, but people whose lives should be enriched from the treasures
of knowledge and especially the knowledge of God. People whose minds should be freed from the bondage of
superstition and fears of the devil-devil. Strange that the Methodist Church should have neglected such interesting
people all these years. I wonder why?’
The second ‘episode’ contains more detailed impressions of the Aborigines including comparison with that of
some of the whites he had observed. He also told of the church service in Darwin at which he was the preacher.
He took the train to Pine Creek and from there, the end of the line, intended to travel on a bicycle. There were
those who advised him against such an idea relating the story of a man named Fletcher who had perished only a
few weeks earlier travelling by that method. However, Watson was determined to use this form of transport and
he had been encouraged and assisted by Eddie Reichenbach who had established a record by riding a bicycle
from Adelaide to Darwin. Probably the adverse advice only aroused a sense of bravado in him. He bought what
stores he considered essential and set off. He comments that it had taken Mrs Aeneas Gunn four days to travel to
Katherine but he reached within 18 kilometres of that place in one day. He had sought others to accompany him
including the Reverend J Gibson, the Presbyterian Patrol Padre, but Gibson was ill and there were no other takers.
He reached Katherine early on the second day and commented that there were four things there: ‘the Telegraph
Station, the Police Station, and Public House and the river’. The town was quiet because the government had taken
over all liquor outlets and here the keys to the bar and cellar of the hotel were in the pocket of the policeman who
was out on patrol. Next day he secured a lift with a young Scotsman in a buggy. The journey was slow, only seven
kilometres per hour through sand but he learned a good deal from his companion about the stations, especially
Victoria River Downs and Bradshaw’s Run.