A drive today towards the Hunter Valley, and then a stop at Kerri Kerri. I had never heard of this place before I did some genealogy for a friend, whose family lived and worked here.
What a pleasant town, however like much of this region, it would seem that unemployment is very high. It is a coal mining area, and once there were 11,000 men working in the mines. In the Kerri Kerri region there were 19 mines.
Of interest was that some of the tunnelers of Hill 60, who were miners in their trade, came from here.
They recognised those who served, in all conflicts, on their memorial.
But today the town attracts tourists for its 54 murals, all over the town. A couple more may have been added recently.
The old pubs of the town stand proud, this one was built in 1903.
A bit further along the road, and through some lush cattle country, then onto Maitland.
One of the very old towns in history, and one which the convicts contributed to.
But our destination was Morpeth. A town with an interesting history, and one which featured in the lives of many of the Scottish and English settlers brought to Australia by Dr John Lang.
Dr Lang's brother had a huge lease at Pattison River and named his house Dunsmore. So many of the early settlers arrived in Australia and spent the indented time working on his lands. So did the convicts. When doing the Bald Hills and Bracken Ridge research, the original settlers, the Stewarts, the Duncans, the Carseldines all began their lives working here. In 1855 there was a massive flood. The settlers lost so much, crops, animals, and some then turned to moving to Queensland. Thankfully they did, or Bald Hills might still be a forgotten part of history!
The lands around the Hunter River go for miles and miles and miles. There are two major rivers which flow into the Hunter so the agricultural lands become very fertile, but not appropriate to live on.
The flood of 1855 was replicated in 1955. What do they say "a 1 in 100 year event".
A visit to the local museum provided a wealth of information. The town owes its beginnings to a Lieutenant Edward Charles Close, who came to Australia in 1817, as a member of the 48th, and who was later appointed Engineer of Public Works in Newcastle in 1821.
He explored rivers to pick out good locations before official surveys. You could say he was in the "know" . He then retired and was granted a river grant of about 2600 acres in 1821. Later the government must have realised they made a bit of a mistake with his land, and he refused to relocate his grant!
The museum is well stocked with a feature being the ability to be the "judge" for a time, and to read the interesting charge sheet! Perhaps the lawmakers of today could take a leaf out of their books!
Some interesting features was the display of the saws and the cedar cutters. The land was originally covered in cedar!
Lieutenant Edward Charles Close arrived in Australia in 1817 after fighting in the Napoleonic Wars.
He worked in Sydney and then was appointed the Engineer of Public Works in Newcastle. As part of his role, he explored the rivers to find suitable areas to settle. Perhaps that gave him a bit of an advantage, because when he retired in 1821, he was granted almost 2600 acres of riverfront land in the area later to be known as Morpeth.
The Government must have realised that he was on a good thing, and requested he relocate his lease. He refused. He subdivided the land, and in 1862 the Court House was built.
Those who live in Northside of Brisbane will remember the Arnotts Biscuit Factory at Virginia. Do you know that Mr Arnott started out in Morpeth. Other notable produces also had their beginnings in the same place ie. Soul Pattison Chemist, Sims Metals to name a few.
Edward Close wrote his diary from his activities from 1803 in the Wars, he also vowed to build a church if he survived. And he did, in Morpeth! A little light homework!
Monday, day 23.
A much easier day today, Monday, as we regroup for the next week, and pack away the cold clothes, and the not quite freezing clothes.
Males have gone to Williamstown Fighter Jet Museum, and we all went to Salamandar Bay first.
Any wonder people retire to Port Stephens region, the homes are beautiful, there is a pride about the place, and we agreed the shopping centre was tops!
Today it is supposed to have a 15 kph wind, someone forgot to tell the windmaker about that forecast!
Any wonder 200 or more ships have come aground around this coastline.
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