Chambers brothers (pastoralists)

James and John Chambers were early settlers in South Australia who left England in 1836, became wealthy pastoralists and were closely connected with John McDouall Stuart's expeditions across the continent of Australia.

James and John, sons of William and Elizabeth (née Wilson) Chambers, their wives Catherine and Mary (who were sisters) and their young families were among the first colonists, James arriving on the Coromandel at Holdfast Bay on 17 January 1837. The plan had been that by leaving on an earlier ship James would arrive in plenty of time to organise accommodation for the rest of the family, but unfavourable winds forced the Coromandel to delay its departure until 9 September. The ship was further delayed at Cape Town, partly because insufficient and inferior food supplies had brought about so much illness that Captain William Chesser (died 14 February 1840) feared many passengers would die on the voyage. They arrived 17 January 1837, around two weeks late.