Settlers of the Hunter Valley, New South Wales

hunter valley settlers 1837

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Map 7

Hunter River - Piercefield - Edinglassie - Muswell Town (Muswellbrook) - St. Heliers

Hunter Valley Settlers on this Map

Francis Allman Joseph Horton Bettington William Buchanan William Cox Colonel Henry Dumaresq Sir Francis Forbes George Forbes Captain John Pike Captain Samuel Wright

Captain John Pike

'Pickering'

Captain John Pike first came to New South Wales with Colonel Lachlan Macquarie and the 73rd regiment in 1809. He returned on the ship Phoenix in 1825 with his wife and daughter and was granted 2000 acres. He brought with him on the Phoenix 10 saxon ewes and 4 rams and 10 merino ewes. He travelled to the Hunter River area soon after to select his land and returned to Sydney at the same time as William Ogilvie and Peter Cunningham having decided on the future site of Pickering. He and his wife and daughter travelled by dray to their new home soon after.32

Edward Duffy, Alexander McBean, John Sadler and William Duggan were four convicts who probably accompanied him when he first travelled by dray to Pickering.

Joseph Horton Bettington

'Piercefield'

Joseph Horton Bettington was a brother of James Brindley Bettington and John Henshall Bettington.

William Carter held the title deeds to this land in 1828. Carter became insolvent after disastrous land and stock deals and the deeds were issued to James Brindley Bettington in 1836. Bettington had arrived in Sydney on the Ionia in 1827 to represent a merchant firm in which he was partner. He served as a director of the bank of New South Wales and married a daughter of Lieutenant William Lawson of Veteran Hall Prospect (former Commandant at Newcastle). After the family partnership was dissolved, John Henshall Bettington managed the estate Martindale. James Brindley Bettington retained Brindley Park at Gummun Plains.

Captain Samuel Wright

'Bengalla'

This land was a reserved grant to John Bell and a grant to George Cavenagh. John Bell was commander of the convict ship Minerva and after several trips to Australia had decided to settle with his family. He purchased cattle and stocked his land with it while he was away in India and England. He had been issued with a ticket of occupation while he was absent from the colony however these were invalid from August 1826 and the land in his absence was granted to Captain Samuel Wright. Captain Bell settled in Hobart.

George Cavenagh sold his 1000 acres adjoining Samuel Wright's land and his right of of occupation on the church land to James Bettington which Bettington later sold to Samuel Wright. Captain Wright built the stone house that came to be known as 'old Bengalla' on this land.

Samuel Wright was born in County Cavan, Ireland circa 1788. He joined the Buffs, the 3rd Regiment (Infantry) of the British Army on 6 March 1806 as an ensign with a purchased commission and was promoted to Lieutenant by 1810.

He fought many battles with his Regiment in the Peninsular wars and was wounded at Albeura in 1811 and in 1813 at Bayonne. He spent time with the Regiment in Canada when North America was seeking independence. The Regiment then returned to Europe and Ireland.

Wright arrived in Australia in 1822 on the Richmond. He became Commandant at Macquarie Harbour penal colony, Commandant of the Port Macquarie penal settlement and Superintendent of Police at Newcastle. His estate 'Bengalla' was next to the estate of Francis Allman junior. Samuel Wright and Captain Francis Allman had fought together in the Peninsular Wars and Allman had also been wounded at the Battle of Albeura

Wright returned to Ireland in 1842 and arrived back in Australia in 1844. He died on 24 March 1852.

George Forbes

'Edinglassie'

George Forbes arrived in New South Wales in 1824 and was granted 2000 acres in September of that year. Another 4000 acres were reserved for purchase. He stocked Edinglassie with fine wool sheep and acted as superintendent for his brother's estate Skellator. Peter Cunningham described the area in 1826 - 'You enter first upon Edinglassie, the property of Mr. George Forbes, brother of our amiable Chief Justice who possesses many thousands of aces here which he is stocking with fine woolled sheep. To the right is Captain Dickson's farm and on the left in succession the farms of Messrs Carter, Mills and Ogilvie.'

Edinglassie was purchased by James White. James White had arrived in 1826 on the Fairfield employed by the Australian Agricultural company to bring a flock of sheep which on arrival he took to 'Retreat Farm at Parramatta before moving them to Port Stephens. In 1830 White left the Australian Agricultural Company and moved to Ravensworth, the property of James Bowman where he was employed as superintendent. He purchased Edinglassie in 1839. 30

In 1852 employees at Edinglassie included Thomas Way, Joseph Roe, Robert Nicholson, Thomas Larrance, Kenneth Urquhart, Thomas Byrnes, William Dean, John Trainer, Patrick Byrnes, Elijah Cartwright, John McPhee, John McCullum, James Cornish and Benjamin Curn

James White died in 1842.

Sir Francis Forbes

'Skellator'

Sir Francis Forbes - Chief Justice of New South Wales. Forbes was born in Bermuda and later, after studying law in London became attorney general of Bermuda. In 1816 he was appointed Chief Justice of Newfoundland. Back in London in the early 1820's he influenced the drafting of the Act for the better Administration of Justice in N.S.W. and Van Diemen's Land under which the Legislative council was formed. He arrived in Sydney in March 1824 on board the 'Guildford' and by 1828 was in conflict with landholders over the breaking up of large holdings and with Governor Darling who attempted to have him recalled. Unwell, he returned to England in 1836 and was knighted in 1837.

Sir Francis died in 1841. In 1846 10,049 acres, part of the 'Skellatar' estate owned by 'the late Sir Francis Forbes' was purchased by George Bowman. 26

Captain Francis Allman

'Overton'

Captain Francis Allman was formerly Commandant at Newcastle and veteran of the 48th Regiment. He became a prominent settler at Rathluba near Maitland.

Overton was a grant of 2000 acres order by Sir Thomas Brisbane to Francis Allman as a Civil Servant. A reserve of 2000 was also set aside for future purchase beside the grant. A new grant was made in 1827 to conform with new land Regulations. Allman's purchase land was reduced to 640 acres at his request.

Overton was sold in 1833 to John Kerr McDougall, the eldest son of Andrew and Elizabeth McDougall. However Captain Allman retained 640 acres of purchased land of the Overton estate.

William Cox

'Negoa'

William Cox arrived with some of his family in 1800 on board the 'Minerva'. With his son William, he purchased 8000 acres of land in 1825, naming the estate 'Negoa'.

Colonel Henry Dumaresq

'St. Heliers'

Sir Edward Parry, on his visit to St. Heliers in 1832 found much beauty about the estate, however the greater part of the best land, the flats next to the river, were liable to be covered with water in floods. Sir Edward found a good deal of the land in front of the house was under cultivation and two miles distant was situated what Colonel Dumaresq called 'the farm', 70 acres of tolerable land. There was an overseer's cottage and men's huts at the farm. These huts were well built with little verandahs in front and very neatly kept. Sir Edward thought that the men seemed very comfortable in every respect.

The house at St. Heliers was considered a very good one, built of substantial stone however the lime was of poor quality being procured from an inferior limestone found 2 or 3 miles from the farm. Parry had remained at St. Heliers for the weekend, his party with drays and servants camping at the river on Friday night where they were supplied with milk and various other refreshments by Colonel Dumaresq. However Sir Edward decided to send the party with drays and servants, ahead to travel beyond St. Aubins on Saturday morning. He attended a Sunday service performed by Colonel Dumaresq in the morning at 'the farm' two miles from the homestead and in the evening a service was performed at the home to enable said Colonel Dumaresq, 'all the servants to attend at least once a day'. This may not have been viewed with favour by his assigned servants as they, being expected to attend Sunday service, would have been unable to travel far on their one day free of labour!

In 1834 Henry Dumaresq took over the position of Commissioner of the Australian Agricultural Company when Sir Edward Parry returned to England. Dumaresq and his family moved to Tahlee House at Port Stephens.

Four years later on 5 March 1838, he died at Port Stephens after a short illness. His body was taken on the steamer William IV and shipped on the Sophia Jane to Green Hills, there to be conveyed to his estate of St. Heliers.

William Buchanan

Marsheen later known as Dartmouth

William Buchanan received a grant of 1000 acres in June 1824. He was a civil engineer at Norfolk Island in the following two years and did not have the financial means to take up his grant. After Norfolk Island he was employed as Assistant Engineer at Liverpool and in 1831 was Superintendent of Public Works and Deputy Postmaster at Newcastle.

In 1839 the Sydney Gazette advertised that 1200 acres of land promised to William Buchanan had been granted to H.C. Sempill

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. Decisions 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.