Hi David F.

Went to NSW State Archives yesterday, had a look at the book by Jim Melton " Ship Deserters 1852-1900" checked from March 1, 1854 to December 31, 1854.
James is not on the list , but Frank Marr, Joseph Hickes and David Milliard (shown as Millward on Ship details) are listed on date 11/4/1854 from the Crescent City. Not sure what that means.
The Crescent City is on Reel 399 although you can see the left hand side - that you can't see online - it is still dark , it looks like Jas , only 3 letters , not James.
When my father Charles arrived from Scotland in 1921 , he is listed as Chas , he was known as Jock, Chick and Charlie , but never Chas.

Cheers
David