James Harrick
James Harrick was born in Ireland circa 1828 and lived on Lough Gowna in County Longford and migrated to Australia on the “Montmorency” arriving in Melbourne on 1st September 1856.

He was married in Williamstown in 1861 to Bridget Kiernan and is recorded in the very first Keilor Roads Board rate book of 1863 as James Herrick who paid rates on three properties.

In the 1864 rates book there is one entry which records James Harrick as paying rates on a hut and land owned by “Bourke & others”.

James continued to lease property until 1872 when he bought 20 acres from the Bank of NSW. He continued to buy properties including the one where he lived where he expanded the original hut by five rooms to accommodate his family of 10 children.

James was elected to the Keilor Shire Council in 1897 as a representative of the Doutta Galla Riding and served continuously in that capacity until his retirement 1909 and he also served as a Trustee of the cemetery.

The Council minutes of 6th September 1909 recorded the following motion;

“that a letter under seal be sent to Ex Cr Harrick conveying the appreciation of the Council of his past services and regret that increasing years had led him to retire from a contested election in his Riding – Carried unanimously”

James died in 1912 but was predeceased by his wife and three of his children and he left an estate valued at more than 3500 pounds. The eldest boy, Thomas owned the property in Harrick Road until his death in 1926, but the name continued in Keilor until 1944 when Joseph Harrick, James’s 5th son, relinquished his Soldier Settlement holding situated where the railroad crosses the river, which he had held since 1921.