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James Ranson was born in Suffolk, England in 1830. His father and brother were builders and contractors, and he served an apprenticeship with them in the family business, before going to London to gain more experience. When the Crimean War broke out, he joined the Army Works Corps, and returned home when the war ended in 1856.

That year, hearing the excitement of finding gold in Australia, he sailed to the Antipodes, arriving in Melbourne at the end of 1856. Ranson went straight to Bendigo, where he quickly began making money building. In the 1857 Ararat rush, Ranson was the first to start selling timber there, and subsequently made a lot of money. He then joined the rush, and started mining, which resulted in him losing all the money he had made.

In 1861, he left Melbourne for Dunedin, and worked as a builder in various parts of the South Island. In 1874, he settled in Wellington, and built many of the most prominent buildings in the city, including the Club and Melbourne Hotels, and many of the buildings along Cuba Street. He built the Opera House in 1886, and reconstructed it two years later. He later settled in Bunnythorpe and became a farmer. Ranson retired in 1889, partly due to ill-health. He was married in Melbourne, and had two sons and a daughter.

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Date
1800s
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PHOTO PEO:in85

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ranson, james - photographs,
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