Gormly, James, 1836 – 1922

James Gormly (1836-1922), pastoralist and parliamentarian, was born at Ireland, son of Patrick and Mary Gormly. He arrived at Sydney in 1840 with his family who first settled in the Illawarra district before settling at Gundagai in 1849. Gormly settled at Wagga Wagga around 1854 and won a government mail contract which he sold out to Cobb & Co in 1872. He selected and acquired pastoral land in the Wagga district, moving back into Wagga Wagga in 1882. He was an alderman on Wagga Wagga Council (1883-1885) and Mayor (1884-1885).

Gormly was elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly for the seats of Murrumbidgee (1885-1894) and Wagga Wagga (1894-1904) before being appointed to the NSW Legislative Council (1904-1922).

Gormly's publications included Exploration and settlement on the Murray and Murrumbidgee, 1909, and The discovery of the Yass Plains, 1921.