John Grono

John Grono was born in 1763 in Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales, the son of Joel Grono (also recorded as Gronow) and Jane George.

John married Elizabeth Bristow in London on the 27th July, 1790. John and Elizabeth had 12 children - Elizabeth (1791-1871), John (1793-1842), Frances (1798-1862), Margaret (1800-1878), Maria (1800-1871), Jane (1803-1865), William (1805-1876), Ann (1806-1838), John Joel (1809-1876), James (1810-1829), Matilda (1815-1847) and Thomas (1818-1875).

Throughout his life John had a few careers - sailor (Boatswains Mate with the Royal Navy), ship builder and farmer. John joined the Royal Navy in 1790 and was promoted to the rank of Boatswains Mate aboard the HMS Buffalo. It was on this ship that he and his family arrived in Sydney on the 4th May, 1799.

On 31 July 1799, on the orders of Governor Hunter, John was transferred from the HMS Buffalo to the Colonial Vessel Francis where he served as First Officer. By June 1801 he had left the Colonial Vessels and had begun farming in partnership with James Ryan.

After leaving the Colonial Vessels, John embarked upon a number of sea voyages, which included sealing in the New Zealand area. He is credited as being one of the first Europeans to enter the Canterbury Region of New Zealand, and also with naming a number of places on the South-West coast of the South Island of New Zealand including Milford Sound, Elizabeth Island, and Bligh Sound among many others. It was during one of these voyages in 1813 that John rescued a small number of sailors left stranded on an island off the coast of New Zealand, two of these, namely Alexander Books and Robert McKenzie, would later become his sons-in-law.

His farming enterprise also expanded over time. The 1800-1802 Muster and Lists for NSW and Norfolk Island states that he and James Ryan held 30 acres of land, and 20 hogs. By the time of the 1828 Census records show him as owning 610 acres, of which 185 acres were cleared and 118 under cultivation, 20 horses, 309 cattle, and 205 sheep. A number of convicts were assigned to Grono, no doubt to assist in his farming and ship building enterprises.

John and Elizabeth are recorded as being one of the families that assisted in the establishing and building of Ebenezer Church in 1809. Prior to the Church being built they joined other settlers from the region (mainly those that arrived on the Coromandel in 1802) in their desire to worship; this often took place out in the open under a tree. In 1808 the families met and formed a society that ultimately led to the building of the Church and Schoolhouse at Ebenezer.

In his later years John focused his attention on ship building and farming. During this period he built the largest ships that the Colony had produced to that date. John owned, captained and built a number of vessels in his lifetime. He claimed to have built seven vessels. The following four vessels can definitely be traced to Grono's yard: Elizabeth (84 tons) 1821; Industry (87 tons) 1826; Australian (270 tons) 1829; and Governor Bourke (200 tons) 1833. Other vessels owned by John Grono include the Speedwell, Unity, Governor Bligh and Branch.

John died on the 4th May, 1847 and was buried at the Ebenezer Churchyard.