HISTORY TIME OR YOU COULD CALL IT TRIVIA TIME

Did you know that Newcastle was actually settled twice?

 It was first discovered by Lt John Shortland, who was searching for escaped convicts from the Sydney Settlement in 1797, when he sailed as far as Port Stephens. On his return down the east coast he decided to take a closer look at a strange looking rock which he named Nobby Island to find out just where it lead.

So on the 9th September 1797 Lt John Shortland sailed into a river which he named Hunters River; he  noted the following in a letter to his father also named John Shortland

"About a twelve-month ago I went on an expedition in the Governors's whaleboat as far as Port Stephens, which lies 100 miles northward from this place. In my passage down I discovered a very fine river, which I named after Governor Hunter. The enclosed I send being an eye sketch which I took the little time I was there. Vessels from fifity to two hundred and fifty tons may load there with ease, and completely landlocked.  I dare say in a little time this river will be a great aquisition to this settlement".

 He landed on what is now known as Camp Shortland where he discovered coal on the river bank, he saw coal from a seam that was to be called Colliers Point and then later on Flagstaff Hill - this is now called Fort Scratchley. By 1798 enterprising traders were visiting the Coal River to obtain coal gouged out from the cliffs with the first export of coal occurring the following year when the Snow Hunter sailed for Bengal.

The next Governor of NSW was P.G.King, he arrived in the colony in April 1800 with a firm intention of exploiting the various coal discoveries made during the rule of his predecessor. However King was not impressed with the quality of coal arriving in Sydney from the Hunter river. Within twelve months Kingstown, as it was then known, closed down and all the convicts that had been brought to the area were transported to Port Macquarie.

By 1804 Lt Charles Menzies  volunteered to travel to Kingstown to re-establish a settlement on the shores of the Hunter River. It was legislated in Sydney that the settlement would become the County of Northumberland (after the British county) and that the Kingstown should be named Newcastle.

Menzies took the reigns of Commandant in Newcastle and along with Lt Col Patterson and J.H Platt (who was a convict that could be trusted) they sailed back into the Newcastle around the rocky shoal of Nobby Island. They set about building the city and discovering that there was more than coal on offer in Newcastle - Cedar and Lime were in abundance as well.

Later Hannell and Wallis were to arrive in Newcastle; Wallis laid out the streets in Newcastle and Hannell designed the buildings. Francis Greenway made his way to Newcastle in 1814 and designed and over saw the building of the first wharf, he later returned to assist Hannell in the design and construction of Newcastle.

So there you have it a bit of history of "Our Town" as we know it .  Hope you enjoyed this brief trip back in History.....