User:Dave Rave/James Wallace (engineer)

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William Randle
b1826 bro in law Randle Street was formed as part of the Pines Estate subdivision of 1887. William Randle was born in 1826 the son of one of the builders of England's Great Eastern Railway. He arrived in Sydney on 9 July 1852 with his brother-in-law James Wallace who had the job as engineer-in-chief to the semi-private Sydney Railway Company. On 5 August 1852 because of his 'demonstrated competence and personally winning ways' he was given the contract to build the railway from Sydney to the village of Ashfield. He ran a series of brickyards along the route to Parramatta. He imported English locomotives and 500 'navvies' in 1853 to supplement the labour force and was given an advance of £1500 to house them. There is an unsourced anecdote that prominent landowner Felix Wilson took offence that Randle's navvies were hacking up trees in his garden; the 'personally winning' young man married Felix Wilson's 20 year old daughter Ann Elizabeth in 1854. The brickyard and housing for Newtown was presumably on Enmore Road near Station Street. There was also a 'portable public house' known as 'The Russell Arms'. The Sydney Railway Company was progressively brought under government control from 1853 to 2 June 1855 when the railway opened. On 28th August 1855 Randle was given the contract to manage and operate the line for 12 months for 55% of the gross earnings. On 20 November 1856 he commenced construction of the rail extension to Liverpool. He sold much of the Newtown land used in construction on 4th May 1857 in 26 allotments, keeping lots for nine 33-foot wide cottages for himself on the main road between Station and Wilford Streets. This was known as Randle's and Randell's terrace until the 1860-1880s. Afterwards he was involved with building the magnificent Long Cove Viaduct, Fort Denison, and some Victorian rail lines but it seems he was insolvent by 1863. William and Ann Elizabeth had children Thomas and Esther. It seems he acted on behalf of the Wilson family up until the selling of their estate in the 1880s. A Mr. N. or W. Randle corresponded with Council in 1866 respecting the state of Forbes Street. He died in England in 17 November 1884.