Settlers of the Hunter Valley, New South Wales
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hunter valley settlers 1837
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Maitland - Hunter River
- Windermere - Paterson River
2
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Hunter Valley Settlers on this Map
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James Adair
George Adair Samuel Adair John H. Boughton
Edward Gostwyck Cory John Cory Gilbert
Cory William Dun William Evans
George Jackson Frankland Andrew Lang James
Phillips George Shaw Rutherford John Galt
Smith John Tucker Susanna Matilda Ward
George & Vincent George Williams T.V.
Blomfield
John Galt Smith
Woodville
John
Galt Smith was born in 1794. He arrived in Van
Diemens Land on the Britomart on 4th February
1822. Also on board were Robert and Helenus Scott,
young men travelling to Australian with their
father. The brothers were also destined to become
landowners in the Hunter Valley although their
father died on the voyage out. In March 1822 John
Galt Smith and Robert and Helenus Scott wrote
a letter to the Sydney Gazette
thanking
Captain Peache, the master of the Britomart
for their accommodation on the vessel and to state
that their voyage was made more comfortable and
agreeable by Captain Peache's attentive and
gentleman like conduct.19
John Galt Smith applied
for a land grant in 1822 and was granted 1000 acres and
assigned four convict servants. 13 He selected his land
on the Paterson River and named it 'Woodville'. Woodville
comprised three separate grants totalling 2340
acres, a portion of which was a grant by Governor
Brisbane to John Galt Smith's wife Eliza Walsh and was situated on the eastern bank of the
Paterson River adjoining
Alexander Livingstone's
'Bowthorne' and Walter Scott's 'Wallalong'.
John Galt Smith
resided in the Windsor area for some time. He
married Elizabeth Walsh at St. Luke's
church Liverpool. Elizabeth was a settler
at Kurrajong and had arrived in the
Colony in 1819 with her brother in law on the 'Globe'. (Elizabeth was a
sister in law of Frederick Drennan a former Deputy Commissary General of
NSW). In 1824 Smith travelled from Windsor to his farm 'Woodville' with
his servants and cattle
13
In 1828 he was
employing Timothy Buckley as his overseer at
Woodville. Buckely was a 25 year old ticket of
leave holder who had arrived on the ship Isabella
in 1823. 5 Buckley was from Cork as was
Smith's wife Elizabeth. He had first been assigned
to Smith at Windsor in January 1824 and so probably
made the trip overland with the cattle later that
year.
Convicts assigned
to Smith and living at Woodville in 1828 were
William Chipperfield who had arrived on the Norfolk
in 1825. (Chipperfield received his ticket of leave
in 1833) and William Wells a 24 year old stockman
who had arrived on the Minerva in 1824. 5
John Galt Smith died in 1847 aged 53. He had arisen from bed
in the early hours of the morning and while lighting
a candle in a nearby room his clothes caught fire.
His groans alerted a servant girl who came to his
assistance and found him still alight. She alerted
the household and Smith was put to bed and medical
assistance called. His injuries were extensive
however, and he died ten hours later. He is buried
in the cemetery of St. Paul's Church, Paterson 14
.
Andrew Lang
Dunmore
This
land was a grant of 1000 acres that was selected by
George Lang in 1822. George Lang had arrived in Van
Dieman's Land in August of 1821 and proceeded to
Sydney soon after. He applied for the position of
Principal Clerk at Newcastle in 1822, however was
appointed Storekeeper at the Commissariat Department
at Liverpool instead. 13
A slab hut was
erected on the grant. When George died in 1825
aged 23 the 1000 acre grant, named 'Dunmore' after George's mother,
passed to George's brother Andrew. Andrew had followed George and
their eldest brother John Dunmore Lang to Australia.
Andrew and his father William worked hard
to establish Dunmore however William drowned in 1830 when the vessel he
was sailing to Sydney was wrecked in a squall. Andrew continued on at
the Estate and a mill, Presbyterian Church and school were completed.
Dunmore House, built before the death of William was a two story
stone building facing towards the river.
Andrew Lang was
involved in the community and on many committees
such as the Maitland District Pastoral Association,
Committee to collect subscription for the distressed
in Ireland; Hunter River Vineyard Association;
Committee for Maitland Hospital; Judge at Hunter
River Agricultural Society show.14
In
August 1844 Andrew's mother Mary Dunmore died at
his residence 'Dunmore' aged 75. It was
written of her -
'
Mrs. Lang has been long and extensively known, both
in this district and in Sydney, as a person of a
remarkably vigorous mind, of great decision of
character, of unbending religious principle, and of
warm active and untiring benevolence. She will be
long and deeply regretted.'26
On the 8th November
1849 Andrew Lang married Emily, the eldest daughter of Lieutenant
William Caswell at Balickerra, Williams River.27
William Evans
Bellevue
Travellers
by land from Maitland to Paterson in the 1830's
would ford the Hunter River and
pass through lands belonging to McDougall and Jones
and enter the grant of Dunmore belonging to Andrew
Lang. Here there was a cross roads where they could
proceed west towards Luskintyre or east to meet the
road to Port Stephens or continue north on to
'Bellevue' the property of Dr. William Evans. Evan's
house was situated on the banks of the Paterson
River. After leaving Evans' property, travellers
would enter a church grant which occupied both sides
of the Paterson River. Here had been built a lockup
and a school house. On the opposite side of the
river to Bellvue was the farm of John Tucker
and adjoining Evans to the west was the estate of
Timothy Nowlan.
William Evans, was 30 years old and employed as a surgeon in
London before he travelled to Australia on the
Indispensable in 1809. On board the
Indispensable he was employed as Ship's
surgeon in charge of 62 female convicts, one of whom
died on the voyage. They sailed into Port Jackson on
the 18 August 1809.
3
Evans was
appointed assistant Colonial Surgeon in 1809,
replacing Charles Throsby. By the end of 1809 he had
been dismissed from this position for speculating in
colonial paper currency.
10 His request to be
reinstated was refused and by the end of 1810, Evans
had been imprisoned for debt to William Hobart Mansel. Mansel was
a Sydney trader who had previously been employed as a clerk by Simeon
Lord but became a trader in partnership with Thomas Abbot.13 Meanwhile, Evan's wife had obtained
passage on board the convict transport Indian
and arrived in December of 1810, probably to find
her husband in prison. Evans was supported in his
efforts for release from prison by Dr. Wentworth,
and by 1811 had been appointed Assistant surgeon at
Newcastle.
By the middle of 1811
Evans was once more arrested - this time for misconduct. He was
sent to Sydney while an investigation took place into his alleged
misconduct. After the investigation he was reinstated in his duties at
Newcastle and two years later was given 100 acres of land at Hunter
river. He was supplied with stock from the Government herd and
convict servants were assigned to him to be supplied from the Stores at
Newcastle for 18months. Evans did not reside at the Hunter River
property however as he continued in his capacity as surgeon at
Newcastle.
After 1813 the
convict population at Newcastle increased as the
Sydney facilities became overcrowded and convicts
were sent from there to Newcastle. Supplies at the
settlement were inadequate and Evans wrote to
the authorities of the venereal disease at Newcastle
and the desperate need for medical supplies and
later in 1815 recommended that patients be sent to
Sydney as he had no medicines to assist them. By
1816 conditions were still appalling in the hospital
and Evans informed the authorities that there were
only three blankets for 25 patients, some
patients having also to lay on the ground.
10
In 1814 he made
complaint regarding the poor repair of his house and
he was given permission to have furniture made.
He was in further
trouble in 1817 after he returned to Newcastle after
a sojourn in Sydney where he had hoped to receive
surgical treatment for his hand which he injured in
an accident when a gun exploded. On his return to
Newcastle on this occasion he brought spirits with
him, despite the objection of Commandant James
Wallis. Although Evans had protested that the spirits were
for his own use, Wallis complained that the alcohol
had caused drunkenness and irregularity in the
Colony.
By 1822 he requested to retire because of the injury to his
hand. He also requested his grant on the Hunter's
River be extended. He retired from Government
employ, perhaps to his property on the banks of the
Hunter, hoping to run it more efficiently than
it had been in his absence. As it was many hours
travelling up river to reach the farm, he had been
compelled to leave it in the hands of his assigned
convicts while he continued his work at Newcastle.
The farm did not give sufficient returns he thought,
because of the dishonesty of the people working
there. He did however have on the property a log
barn which was thatched and a log and stone cottage
as well as an orchard. 11
Seventy acres had been cleared and 23 head of cattle and 150 sheep were
kept there.28 His farm was plundered by
bushrangers in 1825. The infamous 'Jacob's Mob' took nearly all the
clothing belonging to his family.
Some convicts who
were assigned to Evans in 1824 were Fergus
Cunningham who had arrived on the Lord Sidmouth
in 1821. Cunningham was murdered ten years later in
1834; and George Davis who arrived on the Neptune
in 1818 10
In 1828 convicts
at Bellevue estate included 22 year old Isaac Clay
who arrived on the Sesostris in 1826 and
received his ticket of leave in 1834, and Richard
Scaddens a 61 year old boat builder who arrived on
the Globe in 1819.15 Scadden died at
Newcastle in 1833.
William Evans died in 1860
John Tucker
Albion Farm
When
John Tucker senior died at Patterson Plains on 23
June 1834, he was described as having been a most
trustworthy officer in the Commissariat Department
at Newcastle. He had been appointed Storekeeper in
the Commissariat in 1804 when Newcastle was
established as a penal settlement and accompanied
Lieutenant Menzies on the Lady Nelson to
Newcastle. His salary for this position was
£91.5.0.
Tucker was responsible for meat rations for the convicts - they received
fresh meat three or four times a year, or otherwise salted provisions.
The Commissariat Store was not large enough for the settlement's wants
having only air holes about a foot long and five or six inches wise
instead of windows and the floor remained un -flagged which was
difficult to keep clean. Tucker had three assistants to help serve out
provisions to representatives of the convict barracks and gaol every
Saturday and Wednesday.29 He remained in the Commissariat
Department (except for a brief interlude when William Sutton held the
position) until 1822 when he applied for a colonial
pension. As well as the pension he had been granted land which adjoined that of his son John,
at Patterson's Plains. Here John senior settled with
his wife Ann Vales (Viles) and they raised cattle
and sheep. Twenty three year old stockman
Joseph Charles who had arrived on the Mangles
in 1820 was assigned to the Tuckers in 1824 after
being assigned to John Earle beforehand. Charles was
still in service to John Tucker four years later
when James Walsh also came to work on the grant. In
1828 Tucker owned 46 head of cattle and a horse as
well.
5.
Perhaps in his retirement from Government duties he had time to reflect
on his long life.
He had been
convicted almost forty years before on 28
October 1789 at the Old Bailey for the the theft of
various articles from his employer George
Jeremy (with whom Tucker had lived for 6 months).
George Jeremy was a linen draper in partnership with
Henry Small in Tavistock Street. They had missed a
large quantity of linen, cambric, muslin, calico and
handkerchiefs and John Tucker admitted to stealing
them. Jeremy then proceeded to Tuckers parents
residence where some of the goods were produced.
Tucker was charged with stealing the goods and his
father Stephen and step mother Mary with receiving
stolen goods. John tried hard to extricate his
stepmother from the situation he had placed
her. He stated in Court -' I wish to say that my
mother is totally innocent; I imposed upon her, by
telling her I obtained the goods in the city; and
she asked me at different times, how I came by them;
and I always told her that I had bought them; and
she asked me whether I was sure of it, that I came
by them honestly, and I told her that I came by them
honestly; I have nothing else to say.'
18
John and his step-mother were convicted of the crimes. Stephen
was found not guilty. John and Mary were to be
transported on the Neptune in 1790 however did not
embark on this transport. John arrived on the
Active in 1791. Mary was sentenced to
transportation for 14 years but appears not to have
proceeded to Australia.
In 1794 John
Tucker married twenty six year old Ann Vales
who had arrived as a convict on the Royal Admiral
in 1792. A son John was born to the couple
in 1795 and daughter Charlotte in 1797. Their farm
was called 'Surrey Farm'. Both John and Charlotte
were to spend their lives in the Hunter Valley.
John ( junior ) married Catherine Flynn when he was
just twenty years old however she was drowned in a
boating accident shortly after they were married. He
next married Frances Turner in 1818 and by 1828 they
were living on their farm 'Albion Farm'. Charlotte
Tucker married mariner John Powell and they settled
on a farm up river from her brother John.
Later in 1822 William Dun was to
select the land next to Powell's acreage.
11
Captain
William Dun
was granted this land below the present
town of Paterson in 1821 by Sir Thomas Brisbane. He
had arrived in Australia on board the Mariner with recommendations to become a free
settler and by 1822 had travelled to Newcastle
on the Elizabeth Henrietta before sailing/rowing
further up the Hunter and Paterson Rivers to make his land
selection. His was the first major land grant on the
river. He was assigned four convicts and
provided with supplies from the Stores at Newcastle
for the convicts and his family.
Unlike some other Hunter
Valley land owners, Dun remained on his estate and
became involved in the community in various ways.
He performed church services near 'Duninald' at the
request of the Commandant at Newcastle and received
a further land grant for this duty.
In 1822 he was appointed correspondent
member at Newcastle of the Committee of the
Agricultural Society of New South Wales, and in 1825 his
appointment as Coroner was announced.
On the Duninald
estate, Dun constructed his residence of sand stock bricks with two
chimneys at either end of the shingled roof. A
verandah in the front and three rooms faced east
with three more facing the west.
15
One of William Dun's
daughters, Maria married George Faircloth in 1847
and another, Frances, married Charles Reynolds who
later owned 'Duninald'
Susannah Matilda Ward
Clarendon Park, Cintra.
In
1820 William Gordon Ward, a veteran of the Peninsula
wars and newly arrived on the
Dromedary, was granted 1000 acres of land by
Governor Macquarie. Ward died soon after and his
wife Susannah Matilda Ward (nee Baldwin) was allowed to retain the
1000 acre grant. 13 She selected land in Castle Hill
and on the eastern bank of the Paterson River which
she called Clarenden Park. Later Susannah was granted
additional land - 500 acres in the Parish of
Butterwick by Governor Darling in 1828. 25
Her other estate she named Cintra. One of her
daughters, (also) Susannah Matilda was born in Cintra, Portugal.
Susannah Matilda
Ward was just one of many settlers who had led
fascinating eventful lives before settling near the
quiet waterways of the Hunter Valley. Probably in
Sydney she had been reacquainted with
soldiers who served with her husband and had also fought at the
Battle of Waterloo. Perhaps like Susannah, they had
attended the ball given in Brussels in 1812 in the
hours before the army was called to Battle.
When William died
in 1820, Susannah was left in a strange country with
six children to raise. She must have longed to
return to Europe and soon requested that the
Government pay her passage however by 1821 she had
accepted the demanding position of Matron at the
female orphanage at Parramatta where she was to
spend the next three years. 13
Susannah had
friends living in Paterson, perhaps this is why she
determined to move there. Sadness struck the family
in 1836 when Susannah's son William died in Java
from fever while on the brig 'Children' on passage
from Sydney to Canton. He was only twenty one years
old.
19
In 1841 when she
was 52, Susannah married another Paterson river land
owner, Robert Studdert. Studdert was
employed as Clerk to the Bench of Magistrates at
this time. Susannah Matilda's daughter Susannah
married Frederick Bedwell who purchased part of the
Cintra estate calling it Valentia Lodge
4
Captain James Phillips
Bona Vista
Captain
James Phillips, veteran of the Peninsula wars and
free settler to New South Wales, arrived in Port
Jackson 20 May 1822 on board the female convict
transport Mary Anne. Accompanying him were
his wife Lydia, and five children. The Mary
Anne had departed Portsmouth on Christmas day
five months before with the Phillips family and 102
convicts on board. There were a total of 12 children
on the ship.
The Phillips
family may have resided for a time at the female
orphan school at Parramatta where their good friend
Susannah Matilda Ward had been appointed matron. No
doubt they were all pleased to be re-acquainted.
Phillips' wife Lydia applied for a Government
position for him at this time.13
Phillips was
granted 2000 acres of land and six convicts were
assigned to him in 1822. After gaining permission to
travel to Newcastle Phillips soon set out on the
journey with seven men accompanying him. After
reaching Newcastle, he would have travelled up the
Hunter River then to the Paterson, his convict
servants rowing part of the way until the tide
turned and sails were unfurled. He selected land on
the banks of the Paterson River naming the grant Bona Vista. The town of Paterson now
adjoins this land. He later arranged for his
belongings to be shipped to Newcastle also. Phillips
was allowed 20 head of cattle from the government
herd and soon had wheat and corn crops planted13
Along with many other
Hunter Valley settlers he was granted a town allotment in Newcastle in
1824.
In 1825 he
requested that the government assign a
carpenter to him in place of carpenter Charles
Watkins who had been assigned to him in 1822.
Watkins and Cotteral were probably two of the six
convicts who accompanied Phillips to the Paterson
river to select his land in 1822. He had the usual problems with
assigned servants and in 1825 requested that he be assigned six convicts
to replace those that had absconded. One month later he requested that
servants assigned to him but presently in Sydney gaol, be returned to
his service.
Phillips later
(1840) subdivided part of his property to sell by
public auction. Like other landowners in the Hunter
he also commenced tobacco manufacturing in
1844.
14 The tobacco factory on Bona
Vista was a large slab building with the slabs set into the
ground and not sunk in sleepers. It was divided into three apartments.
The overseer slept in one and tobacco leaf was stored and the
manufacturing process carried out in the other two. The Factory was
broken into in 1849 and approximately 1000lbs of tobacco was stolen. The
chief suspects were later found not guilty and were discharged from
court.26
James Phillips
died at Bona Vista in 1851 and the estate was
auctioned in 1855
15
George and Vincent George Williams
Brisbane Grove
*For a full account
of George Williams' family see - '
The Williams Family of Australia' by Annie and Wal Lotocki
Free
settlers George Williams and his son Vincent George
Williams arrived in Australia in
1814 on board the female convict transport
Broxbornebury. Vincent George was eleven years old.
They may have thought themselves fortunate to have
arrived safely after witnessing the appalling state
of affairs on board the Surrey which had left
England in company with the Broxbornebury.
The Surrey had an outbreak of typhoid shortly
after leaving which necessitated them putting into
harbour. Despite this, the disease was to claim the
lives of convicts, crew, Ship's surgeon and Captain
before the voyage was over. The Broxbornebury on
meeting with the Surrey off the Coast of NSW put a
crew on board to see her safely into Sydney 3
After arriving in
Sydney, George found employment as a Cryer at the
Supreme Court and was to receive a grant of land.
However he forfeited this entitlement due to
misconduct in 1816 and in 1821 was employed
as a printer. Vincent George aged 18, was living at
the residence of Mr. Hunt, a cabinet maker in George
Street, Sydney in 1822. 13
In 1824 George was
again granted land. Governor Brisbane granted
500 acres on 11 March in this year and on 6
August his son Vincent George was granted 60 acres
of land. They took up their land grants on the
Paterson River near Susannah Matilda Ward's 'Cintra'
and 'Clarendon park' and named their properties
'Brisbane Grove' and 'Vincent Vale'.
John Booth (Hooghley)
who was later to marry Eliza Tye in Newcastle, and
Irish convicts 20 year old James Burns and 15
year old Garrett Coughlan who had arrived on the
Borodino
23
in 1828 were
assigned to the Williams in that year. They were all
working at Brisbane Grove. Mary Carrol (John
Bull) who was free was employed at Brisbane
Grove in 1828 also. By this time the Williams and
their assigned convicts had cleared 90 acres of land
with 50 acres under cultivation. They also owned a
herd of 28 cattle.5
Vincent George
married Ann Townsend in 1832 at St. James Church in
Sydney and soon Brisbane Grove was sold to Caleb and
Felix Wilson who subsequently leased it to Joseph
Tucker who had arrived in 1838.
Vincent George was
living in Maitland in the 1840's and working as a
cabinet maker, the trade he probably learned twenty
years earlier while living with Mr. Hunt in Sydney.
He was involved in the community being secretary of
Maitland Union Benefit Society and making a
subscription for building St. John the Baptist
Church at West Maitland
John H. Boughton
Tillimby
John
Henry Boughton was born in Devon and arrived in
Australia on board the Fame in 1822.
Also on board were his future wife Charlotte Maria
Westbrook and James Cann, also from Devon, who was
to be employed as Boughton's overseer.
Boughton came with
the usual recommendations and was granted 2000 acres
of land and assigned six convicts to work his
property. He was supplied from the Government stores
for six months and was issued cows from the
government herd.13
Land was selected at Paterson which
he named 'Tillimby', and it was here he established
his home. The land was located just north of of
where Paterson stands today and as can be seen on
the map, adjoined Susannah Matilda Ward's property 'Cintra'.
In 1823 he
also received an allotment of land in Newcastle.
Boughton returned
to his estate at Paterson in 1832 after several
years absence and in 1833 was granted almost 150
acres of land at Lake Macquarie. He purchased a
further 450 adjoining acres in 1834. Here he
established a saltworks where his assigned servants
were employed. Although he travelled to Lake
Macquarie each fortnight, the area became an outpost
for cattle thieves and absconders and after a
complaint from the authorities, Boughton closed the
saltworks.22 As a member of the Stock Protection
Society at the Hunter he was probably very keen to
stamp out cattle stealing.
Boughton's
overseer, James Cann who had accompanied him on the
Fame, was granted 60 acres of land in 1824 although
he remained employed as overseer at Tillimby until
at least 1828. Cann married Mary Chapman, widow of
William Chapman in 1829. Mary had been employed by
the Boughtons as a house servant. James Cann died in
1834.
In 1828 James
Andrews who arrived on the Hercules in 1825
and William Cash who arrived on the Royal
Charlotte also in 1825 were assigned to
Boughton and worked on the Tillimby estate under
overseer James Cann. In 1831, James Cann had perhaps
left the estate to work his own land as the property
was being managed by W. Locksdale.
When
Boughton returned to his estate in 1832 more
convicts were assigned to him: Patrick Quin who
arrived on the City of Edinburgh in 1832 and
could plough and reap; Thomas McManus a farm
labourer and soldier who had arrived on the
Captain Cook in 1832; Michael McCluskey, a
stableman and labourer who also arrived on the
Captain Cook in 1832; Michael McCluskey and
another assigned servant Benjamin Petty who had
arrived on the Georgiana in 1831 absconded
from Tillimby in 1836. 19
In 1837 James
Baldwin who arrived on the Hive in 1835 and
James Barrow per Norfolk in 1837 were
assigned to Boughton and joined the other assigned
servants at Paterson
Later Dr. Isaac
Scott Nind ex surgeon of the 57th Regiment occupied
a small area of the Tillimby estate. Here he had his
residence and a small hospital he kept for the
convenience of the settlers to send their Government
men to when sick.
John H. Boughton
drowned in an accident on Lake Macquarie in 1854
Edward
Gostwyck Cory
Gostwyck
Edward
Gostwyck Cory arrived on the Allies in 1823.
He was recommended as a free settler and received
assigned convicts and a land grant of 2030 acres. He
was given permission to proceed to Newcastle in the
'Fame'. Also on board were Edwards's wife Frances and John
Cory. They were accompanied on the Fame by
their friend from Devon, John H. Broughton who had purchased land on the Paterson
after arriving the previous year.
13
Edward selected
his land naming it 'Gostwyck'. He
and his wife and six convicts were to be supplied
from the government stores for six months and they
received eight cows from the Government herd. Two of
the convicts who accompanied the Corys to Paterson
in 1823 were twenty year old John Darling who
arrived on the Ocean in 1823. Darling died in
1841 at Paterson; and Edward Donnelly who arrived on
the Earl St. Vincent in 1823 and died at
Paterson in 1837 aged forty four.
23
In 1825 Cory
recommended William Chapman for a land grant.
Chapman had arrived on the Allies with Cory
and had, with his wife Mary, been employed by John
Boughton at nearby Tillimby The Chapman's young
daughter Emma was residing the the Corys in 1828.
Edward Cory owned
other land also. In 1829 he selected 560 acres of
land at Wangi Wangi on Lake
Macquarie. This encompassed all of the peninsula.
Unlike his friend John Boughton, who attempted to
develop his Lake Macquarie land, Cory did little to
develop Wangi and cattle thieves often frequented the area.
6
He purchased with others, land at
Murrurundi. In 1831 he traversed the Moonbi Ranges opening up the land
beyond the valley. He squatted for a time on land near the Tamworth
area, purchasing some at Uralla which he later sold.
In 1832 mention is
made of Vineyard cottage being a former residence of
Cory's but soon to be used as an Inn as Cory had
built a new house 'Gostwyck'. Vineyard Cottage was
on the property that had belonging to George Frankland who had died in 1825, the property
subsequently being purchased by the Corys
24
In July of 1832
Sir Edward Parry entertained Mr. Cory at Tahlee.
They dined with other Officers from the Australian
Agricultural Company. No doubt the two had much to
discuss as Sir Edward Parry had recently returned
from his journey to the Liverpool Plains and passed
through the Page's River area where the Corys owned land.
Edward Cory seems
to have had more trouble than some with his
assigned servants. James Cotton who arrived on the
Mangles in 1824 and was first assigned to A.B.
Sparke before being reassigned to Cory. Cotton
absconded in 1826. Twenty six year old William
Sampson who arrived on the Henry in 1823 also
absconded in this year.
Silvester Grougan,
a miller who arrived on the Hercules in 1830,
absconded in 1831 along with Charles Burkham a thirty
year old colt breaker who had arrived in 1829 on
board the 'Norfolk'. In 1833 Thomas Holland
absconded. 19
In October of 1833
Cory almost lost his life after being assaulted by
one of his disgruntled servants. Joseph Coleman had
arrived on the Marquis of Huntley in 1830 when he
was 21 years old. On the morning of the assault
other convicts had been allowed to spend an extra
ten minutes for breakfast as their flour had not
been issued on time. When they did not come out to
work when the horn sounded, Cory went to
investigate. He directed Coleman, who had already
eaten, to work in the quarry and obtained a spade
for him from one of the huts. Coleman then struck
Cory on the side of the head with the spade
rendering him unconscious. Coleman stated that he
had 'done it to get hanged as he could not stand the
tyranny on the farm any longer; he said he had done
his best to kill him, and if he had missed he was
sure there were some others on the farm who would do
it effectually'.
8 Despite objections, Coleman was later hanged at
Bellevue. This did not deter more convicts from
absconding however, James Kenney a 28 year old
cloth maker from Plymouth who arrived on the
Parmelia in 1832, absconded in 1834, and two
years later Michael Johnson per Larkins absconded
and was apprehended just before Christmas in 1836.
In
1835 controversy was sparked in the colony when the
editor of the 'Colonist' recorded that Cory had been
accused of cattle stealing. Cory was apparently
absent from Paterson at the time as he was
establishing his property on the Liverpool Plains. A
disgruntled employee, William Lucas (possibly
constable William Lucas who had apprehended Joseph
Coleman two years earlier), decided to steal a
bullock from the bush and lay the blame on Cory who
had not brought out Lucas' wife and children from
England as promised. Lucas told a fellow farm worker
Daniel Keating that he would rather be in an iron
gang or road party than on the farm. Lucas was
charged with cattle stealing himself when several
workers - John Taylor, Thomas Priest, Robert
Fish and Thomas Holland - testified against him. He
was later sentenced to a penal settlement for life. 27
At Gostwyck, Cory
constructed a water mill in 1831. It was situated
just above the navigation of the river and ground at the rate of 8
bushells an hour which was a great acquisition to the area as before
hand mills were used or the grain was sent away to be ground.
24
No doubt he found his
assigned servant Silvester Grougan useful on his
farm as Grougan was a miller. Years later in 1848
when obtaining workers was not so easy, Cory had to
advertise for a miller. Mr. Brewner was working the
mill in the 1840's.14
Cory became
interested in raising blood stock and entered a
blood horse in the Hunter river Agricultural Show in
1847. He also owned a copper mine 2 miles from
Paterson in 1847
In 1836 Edward
Gostwyck Cory worked on a committee to raise funds
for a church to be built at Paterson. 14
He was buried in the grounds of St. Paul's Church with his wife thirty
seven years later.
Gilbert Cory
Vacy
Gilbert
Cory, younger brother of Edward left England
on board the Elizabeth on 8th September 1829
bound for his family's estates in the Paterson River
district. Also on board the Elizabeth was Henry Dangar
returning to Australia with his new wife. Gilbert inherited land at the Paterson
called Vacy. Vacy was situated on the western bank
of the Paterson and the next property along the
river after John Boughton's Tillimby.
Gilbert and his
wife Jeanette had a large family - Gilbert was born
in 1839, John in 1838, Josephine in 1841 Henry in
1844, Jeannette in 1847, Alfred in 1848, Mary in
1851, Francis in 1853 and Louisa in 1854 before
Jeanette died in 1854 aged 39. Their eldest son
Gilbert was 15 years old when his mother died and may have been away at
school in Parramatta.
In 1876
Gilbert(sen) married Charlotte Elizabeth Hingston in
Maitland. They also had a large family, the two
eldest daughters being Mary who was born in 1869 and
Gertrude in 1871.
John Cory died in
1839 aged 38 and his property passed to Gilbert who
then held the titles to both Cory Vale and Vacy.
Some of the convicts assigned to him were Shadwick
Ratcliffe in 1832 and Charles Carrol a 27 year old
from Tipperary who arrived on the Earl Grey
in 1837; William Taylor and John Howard who
arrived on the Royal Sovereign in 1835; Charles
Brown and John Smith who absconded in 1833 and
Michael Johnson who was apprehended after absconding
in 1836
Gilbert was
involved in the community and in 1844 he was
elected district Councillor.
Gilbert's eldest
son Gilbert, was later to settle in Toowoomba. He
overlanded by horse to the district in 1858 when he
was just 19. He later became the Mayor of Toowomba
(1891).
John
Cory
Cory Vale
John
Cory arrived in Australia on the Allies in 1823.
Later that year he travelled to the Paterson River
district with Edward Cory and their friend from
Devon John Boughton .
After this he
requested from the government a land grant or a
government appointment citing in his request his
military career. At the Paterson, land was selected
and named Cory Vale and Vacy (Vasy). Cory Vale was
situated where the Allyn river meets the Paterson.
There was a track running through the grant of
Cory Vale which easterly met the track leading to Wallaroba or to the west entered Adair's grant and
then headed south through Vacy, Tillimby, Cintra,
Tocal, Dunmore and on to the Hunter River.
George Jackson Frankland
Vineyard cottage
George
Jackson Frankland was master of the ship 'Anne'. In
1822 he was recommended as a free settler in VDL. He
travelled between Van Diemans Land and Sydney and in
1824 he was paid from the Colonial Fund for passage
of the Colonial Botanist and plants from Van
Diemen's Land.
A son George was
born to George and Sarah in 1823. George Jackson
Frankland was later granted 2000 acres of land in
New South Wales. He applied to have convicts
assigned to him and in 1824 Thomas Connor who had
arrived on the Isabella was to be victualled from
the stores at Newcastle for 6mths. Frankland was
living in Parramatta at this time. Later in 1824
Frankland, his wife and child were also being
supplied from the government stores from Newcastle.
The land Frankland selected was 4 miles above
Paterson between the grants of Edward and John Cory.
Here a dwelling was constructed and named Vineyard
Cottage. It contained 2 parlours, 3 bedrooms,
cellars and offices.
Early in 1825 he
was recommending to the Government that John Hillier
be granted land . John Hillier was a leasee of the
Shipp Inn in Newcastle, one of the two Inn operating
in the first few years after the town was opened for
settlement.
In December
1825 George Frankland died aged 33. His son George
was just two years old. By January of 1826 his house
and land were being advertised in the Sydney Gazette
to be let for seven years. Edward G. Cory was
occupying Vineyard Cottage by 1829 while his house 'Gostwyck
was being constructed. Later this dwelling was to
become an Inn, one of the first in the area. 11
Vineyard Cottage Farm was again advertised in the
Maitland Mercury in August of 1855. It was occupied
by Henry Boyce and there were 70 acres of arable
land and 2000 acres of grazing land. Interested
parties could contact Gilbert Cory of Vacy or G.
Frankland of Sydney
| | |
In
the 1832 directory it was stated that after leaving
John Cory's grant of Vacy, and crossing the Paterson
one would enter the estate of
Mr. Adair. On their
right they would find 'Pattimore', the residence of Mr.
Adair.
George Adair
In
1826 George Adair, a free settler, was to receive
supplies from the Store at Newcastle along with his
convict servants James Bradley who had arrived on
the Ann
& Amelia, Andrew Hopkins who arrived on the
John Barry, Henry Thomas who arrived on the
Asia and and James Coleman on the Earl St.
Vincent. George Adair died 1827 age 25.
James Adair
Assigned to James
Adair were the following convicts:
1828 James
Benstead per Midas. 'Cairdness'
Patterson Plains
1828 Alexander
Cameron per Agamemnon. Residing at 'Cairdness'
, Patterson Plains
1832 William
Parker a stonemason who arrived on the Nithsdale
in 1830 . Paterson
1832 Charles
Williams a shoemaker who arrived on the
Isabella in 1832 . Paterson
1833 Raphael Gabey,
a tobacconist who arrived on the Camden in
1833. Paterson
and Peter
Parkinson, a blacksmith who also arrived on the
Camden in 1833. Paterson
James Adair was
Secretary of Stock Protection Society in 1834 and in
1836 was on the Committee to raise funds for a
Church at Paterson. Other members on the Church
committee were Richard Jones, Captain Johnstone,
Lieutenant Frederick Bedwell, George Townsend,
Rev. G.K. Rusden, James Phillips, John Boughton,
E.G.Cory and Alexander Park
On 3 March 1843
the Maitland Mercury carried an advertisement
for James Adair. He was missing a bay horse from 'Lennoxton'
estate at Paterson. By October he was in trouble
financially and as so many other settlers in
the 1840's was declared insolvent.
James remained in
the district and in 1846 he lost an appeal
against a conviction for a breach of the Licensing
Act: This was an appeal
against a conviction by the Bench of Magistrates at
Paterson, for selling spirituous liquors in less
quantity than two gallons without being licensed
thereto according to law.
'Patrick Burke was
called who stated that he was in Mr. Adair's service
for thirteen weeks and four days in the early part
of the present year; that on the 17th March last he
got a gallon of wine and three bottles of brandy
from Mr. Adair; that it was given him by Mr. Adair
himself, on his farm, from the still-house; that the
liquor witness got from him in the bottles was
brandy, for he tasted it. Witness afterwards took
the brandy and wine to Mason's house, near Mr.
Adair's farm; when there, he drank part of the three
bottles; remained with Mr. Adair till April and then
on leaving him closed accounts with him; the papers
handed in before the Court were those which he
received of Mr. Adair at that time. Witness, after
the settlement, not feeling satisfied, went to the
court house at Paterson where he saw the chief
constable Sullivan who on seeing the papers laid an
information against Mr. Adair.
Burke said he
asked for brandy, and he got it - not 'strong
stuff'; that a man named Mason was present when he
got it from Mr.. Adair; that the brandy was
perfectly pure as it came from the worm, and
unmixed; that he drank the brandy in it purity.
Charles Mason was
then called, who stated that he lived about a
quarter of a mile from Mr. Adair; that he remembered
seeing Burke on St. Patrick's Day last, about dinner
time; that he brought some liquor there with him,
and after wards both witness and Burke went to Mr.
Adair's ;a they then got something there' he must
have got something from the state he was in
afterwards but he did not know who was there at the
time or who gave it to him.'
The conviction was
confirmed with Adair to pay £5
for the costs being charged as well
In
1849 an auction took place at James Adair's 'Lennoxton'.
Luncheon was provided. Mr. Dodds the auctioneer
advertised the following items:
50
gallon copper still
1
washing machine
2
cedar presses
1
large cedar vat - 400 gallons
1
winnowing machine
1
Stanhope Gig
10
tons of Lucerne hay
3
acres growing crop of Lucerne
3
top swarms of bees,
A
small well selected library of books
Bullocks, cattle and horses
In October 1850
Lennoxton was advertised for sale with immediate possession offered.
Comprising 600 acres of rich arable and pasture land, unsurpassed for
fertility. Lennoxton was situated 6 miles from Paterson township with a
good road and a magnificent fresh water frontage bounded by the Paterson
River for nearly two miles. The land was said to be sheltered from the
southerly winds by Mount Johnson and from the west and north west winds
by Mount George.
Samuel Adair
Samuel Adair was
assigned the following convicts, who all arrived on
the Captain Cook in 1832:
John Connolly a
spadesman, Samuel Boylan a seaman and Michael
Brown a weavers boy all from Dublin and John
Cinnamond from County Antrim. Cinnamond could
plough and reap.
Samuel Adair died
1852 aged 62.
Dr. George Shaw Rutherford
This
land was 2000 acres granted to John Cramer Owen in
1822, however John Owen returned to England without
taking up the grant. John Owen's brother Henry Dixon
Owen was granted 1,100 acres adjoining this estate in
1822. The land was granted to Dr. George Shaw
Rutherford, a surgeon superintendent on convict ships to
Australia :-
Prince of Orange 1820, Shipley 1822, Commodore Hayes
1823, Marquis of Hastings 1826, Lady Rowena 1826, Eliza II,
1827, Lord Melville II 1829 and Royal Admiral
1830.3.
George Rutherford was assigned a convict
servant in 1822 and arranged permission for a passage to
Newcastle later that year.
It seems likely that
George Rutherford
was born in 1789 at Cornastalk, Leitrim, Ireland and later in
Australia called his estate on the Hunter River after his home 'Leitrim'.
In 1846 Rutherford
gave notice that those cutting down trees on
his property, 'Leitrim' or 'Rutherford Farm' would be
prosecuted.
14
Sources
1. Australian Medical
Pioneers Index
2. Backhouse, James, A
Narrative of a visit to the Australian Colonies in 1843
3. Bateson, Charles, The Convict
Ships 1787 - 1868, Library of Australian
History, 1983
4. Boyle, H.F.,
Lieutenant Commander Frederick Bedwell R.N, Paterson
Historical Society
5. Census of New South Wales. 1828
6. Clouten, Keith H., Reid's Mistake; the
story of Lake Macquarie from its discovery until 1890.
Boolaroo NSW; Lake Macquarie Shire Council, 1967
7. Convict Indents
8. Decision of the Superior Courts of New
South Wales 1788 - 1899
9. Early Days of Port Stephens - Extracts
from Sir Edward Parry's Diary. Dungog Chronicle
10. Hainsworth, D.R. The Sydney Traders,
Simeon Lord and his Contemporaries, Cassell
Australian, Melbourne, 1872.
11. Hunter, Cynthia., The Settlers of
Paterson's Plains, Paterson Historical Society, 1997
12. Hunter Valley Gazette
13 Colonial Secretary's
Index
14. Maitland Mercury
15. Mitchell, C., Hunter's River, Estate of Cecily Joan Mitchell, 1984
16 Newcastle Coal Report: History of
Newcastle Mines under Crown and Australian Agricultural Company
17 BDM
18 Proceedings of the Old Bailey
19. Sydney Gazette
20. Sydney Morning Herald
21 The narrative of a voyage of discovery
performed in his majesty's vessel the Lady Nelson to NSW
22. Turner, J.W., Manufacturing in Newcastle,
1801 - 1900. Newcastle History Monographs No 8.,
Newcastle Public Library 1980
23. Uebel , L., The Port Jackson Convicts
Anthology, 2001
24. 1832 Directory
25. Sydney
Gazette 9 April 1835
26
Maitland Mercury 17 October 1849
(27)
Maitland Mercury 10 November 1849
28 Wood, Allan, Dawn in the Valley, Wentworth Books, Sydney, 1972. p131.
29 Turner, J.W. Newcastle as a Convict Settlement: The Evidence before J.T.
Bigge in 1819 - 1821, p.128
This page
was last updated on
19/11/2008