'… being so long situated in this Colony through my own industry and perseverance I thought it advisable to remain and improve my condition which thank God I have done …
— James Chisholm, Sydney, 15th February 1823
'James Chisholm was an important pioneer of colonial Australia, contributing to its business and banking, democratic processes and pastoral industry, yet historians have ignored him for two hundred years. He left his native Scotland as a young soldier and travelled half way around the world to a new land where from being a corporal in the Rum Corps he rose to become a leading merchant in Sydney. In a life characterised by faith, loyalty, family and self-improvement, this gruff but quietly spoken Scot, of ‘genial and kindly disposition’, commanded wide respect and made his mark on a new society.' (Publication summary)