John Scholey (15 September 1840 in Holbeck, Leeds, – 14 April 1908 in Mayfield, New South Wales) was an extensive landed proprietor, prominent businessman, colliery owner, Director of Aberdare Collieries, and a Mayor. He was a Justice of the Peace and member of the Newcastle Land Board, a division of the New South Wales Justice Department. Background The Scholey family are to be found with various spellings in ancient manuscripts but often as de Scolay or Scoley. They were long resident at Gawber Hall, outside Barnsley, near the village of Barugh, in South Yorkshire. By 1848 the mansion and its farms had been let and the family removed to the vicinity of Leeds. John was the son of a Leeds businessman, Stephen Scholey (1815–1878) who entered the service of the Colonial Office in New South Wales, and was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for East Maitland. John's mother was Anne Spink John appears in the 1851 Census Return at 27 Trafalgar Street, Leeds, aged 11, with his parents and his sister Mary Ann. New South Wales John Scholey accompanied his family on their first trip to the colony of New South Wales in 1853, returning to England on the ship Speedy which left Sydney on 1 November 1857, arriving in London on 1 March 1858. He arrived back in Leeds the following day. On 18 January 1860 he again set out for Australia, travelling from Leeds, via Halifax for Liverpool, the following day taking up his cabin on board the ship Red Jacket berthed at the Queen's Dock, declaring the accommodation "splendid and superior to any ship I have been in before." He landed at Melbourne on 26 April. He made valuable contacts in Melbourne, but in 1862 commenced business in Newcastle. and at the time of his marriage to Anne, née Greaves (1845–1931), on 16 January 1865, at Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, Newcastle, the register states that he was now resident in that parish. His father was a witness at the ceremony. John was listed at that time: "Scholey, John, Hunter Street, Newcastle". On his daughter Jessie's birth certificate in February 1883, John Scholey stated that he now resided at Hamilton, a garden suburb of Newcastle. Business interests According to Australian Town & Country Journal of 11 July 1887, "he carried on business so successfully that he was able to acquire a considerable share of