James Hannell

James Hannell (1 December 1813 – 31 December 1876) was an auctioneer, publican, and Australian politician elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, the first mayor of Newcastle, and the first mayor of Wickham.

Early life Hannell, was free-born in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, on 1 December 1813. He was the eldest son of two convicts. His mother Elizabeth Hannell arrived in Sydney in 1812 from Middlesex, England (Convict – 7 years). His father James Walton of Lancashire, England, a private of the Coldstream Guards.

The area known as Smedmore, where the Hannell home was situated, became known as Maryville, in honour of Hannell's wife, Mary. The main street of Wickham is Hannell Street.

Career Hannell was a police constable from 1833 to 1836. He became Newcastle's first licensed auctioneer in September 1839. He bought a licensed public house called the 'Ship Inn' on the corner of Hunter and Bolton Street, Newcastle. and pilot of ships on the Hunter River. When the punt service was opened, around 1862, John was appointed to run it. Another of Hannell's brothers, Jesse Hannell, became Signal Master and the first lighthouse keeper at Nobbys Head Lighthouse.

In 1857, Hannell was gazetted as a justice of the peace and attended the Newcastle bench.

Hannell became Newcastle's member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. He represented the City Ward in 1860,

Hannell organised concerts for the Newcastle Hospital, in which he took part as a comic singer.