Paterson. Near the Hunter R. Tocal farm estate in 1830 had around 30 assigned convicts to build it. Today it is an agricultural college. Sold to Alexander family in 1926. The 1927 electricity plant in a sandstock brick barn.
Image by denisbin
Paterson.
This small town on the Paterson River, a tributary of the Hunter River, was one of the first areas settled by white settlers once the Newcastle penal settlement was opened to free settlers. But where did the name come from? In 1801 two ships – the Lady Nelson captained by James Grant and the Francis captained by William Paterson explored the lower reaches of the Hunter River. William Paterson surveyed a tributary of the Hunter and Governor King named the river after him. Red cedar cutters followed the footsteps of Paterson and began felling these giants and floating them downstream for the Sydney timber market. Next Governor Macquarie visited the Hunter district in 1812 and this resulted a few unofficial convict farms being established at Paterson Plains. The first settlers were convicts John Tucker, George Pell and John Swan. They produced maize and wheat for Sydney. These convict settlers were also assigned other convicts to work for them. The first official free land grant was made at Paterson in 1821 to Captain William Dunn. At this time the Newcastle penal settlement was regarded as not so secure as the first white overland explorers led by John Howe had reached Newcastle by land from Sydney in 1819. Most of the early land grants were to army officers or explorers who had chosen to stay in NSW. For accepting a free land grant they were expected to keep one assigned convict (feeding and clothing them) for every hundred acres granted. Captain William Dunn originally got 1,200 acres. He soon had 2,000 acres and called his property Duninald. Not long after he had 7 assigned convicts. Captain James Phillips got a grant and established Bona Vista estate, Lieutenant William Ward built Cintra and Clarendon houses on his property and John Herring established Tillimby, and Edward Gostwyck Cory established Gostwyck. All these grants were made in 1822. Other early grants were to John Powell who got 60 acres and 11 assigned convicts and George Williams who was granted 500 acres and given 7 assigned convicts. As settlement grew the government took back 90 acres from Susannah Ward of Cintra in 1832, in exchange for some town sites in Argyle Street Sydney so that they could survey and layout the town of Paterson. The site chosen was was at the limit of navigability of the Paterson River. Before this occurred in 1832 the government sent a military attachment to Paterson district in the early 1820s and some policemen in 1828. This suggests relations between the white settlers and the Aboriginal people were not calm.
Despite the survey of 1832 not many buildings emerged in Paterson before the late 1830s. The oldest houses in Paterson “Noumea” in Prince Street and “Annandale” in King Street – were both built about 1839. In 1837 a Presbyterian minister was located in Paterson and the church owned some land. St Ann’s Presbyterian Church was built in 1840. It is one of the oldest churches in Australia but closed for regular services in 2009. An Anglican minister was appointed to the town in 1839 and the Anglicans consecrated their first church in 1845 nearby in Prince Street. This old church was sold when the new church was completed in 1906. A new rectory was also built in 1906. Behind the second Anglican Church is the Anglican cemetery which opened for burials in 1845. Paterson Anglican Church closed in 1976. Next to it is the former Anglican Parish Hall built in 1896. The Catholic St Columba’s church was built in 1884 on the corner Church and Prince Streets. The Wellington Arms Hotel in King Street was licensed from 1842 but is now an Edwardian structure and the Royal Oak was licensed from around 1840. Although the Anglicans started a small school in 1843 the government state school did not open until 1875. Postal services began in 1834 but the present Post Office was not built until 1885. Paterson remains a town of great charm with many heritage buildings so it is worth spending time to walk some streets. In the Main(Duke) Street is the 1906 Anglican Rectory on the corner with Prince, the School of Arts 1935, the Anglican church( 1906) and cemetery (1845), the former Commercial Banking Company of Sydney bank 1902, the Post Office 1885 etc. At the T junction in King Street is the Courthouse 1857 – 63 and the unusual designed St Anne’s Presbyterian Church 1840. In Church Street is the police residence and station 1882, the original government school 1877, and the Catholic Church 1884.
In 1819 convict Joseph Lycett visited the Paterson River to paint the landscape. Who was he? This painting was converted to a lithograph and published in a book in London in 1824 by Joseph Lycett. He must be one of the most fascinating convicts to grace the shores of NSW. He was one of 300 convicts transported on the General Hewett in 1813 arriving in 1814.The Captain, an amateur painter himself, was James Wallis who later became the Commandant of Newcastle penal settlement. Lycett was 39 years of age, convicted of the forgery of pound notes and sentenced to 14 years in NSW. By profession he was a portrait painter and miniaturist. By May 1815 Sydney was flooded with forged five shilling notes, attributed to Lycett. He was convicted of forgery again and sent to the strict disciplinary penal settlement of Newcastle which was now under the command of James Wallis. (Lake Wallis at Forster which we visit tomorrow was named after James Wallis). In Newcastle Lycett was given an easy time and asked to draw plans for the first church in Newcastle convict settlement in 1818. Lycett painted the altar and is said to have produced three stained glass windows which are now in the Anglican Cathedral. Whilst in Newcastle he painted many pictures of Aboriginal life and an evening corroboree. For his work he was given a conditional pardon and was free by 1819. He painted the Australian landscape extensively and whilst in Newcastle Captain Wallis had two cedar display chests made which included 12 paintings by Lycett. One chest was given to Governor Macquarie. Lycett became a favourite of Governor Macquarie who sent three of his paintings to London in 1820 before giving Lycett an absolute pardon in 1821. Lycett also travelled around N.S.W and Van Diemans Land with Governor Macquarie. Lycett returned to London with his daughter in 1822 and had his book of lithographs of his paintings of Australia published there in 1824. Little is known of his life back in England but his book was not successful when published. He was charged with forgery again whilst living in Bath. On being arrested he cut his throat and killed himself in 1828. He was buried in Birmingham. The State Library of SA has a copy of this 1824 book and 11 of his paintings are in the collection of the Art Gallery of SA. The two Australian cedar display chests are in the State Library of NSW. The second was purchased in 2004. Lycett’s Australian Album of 1824 is held in the National Library of Australia and in several state libraries.
Tocal.
James Webber arrived in the region in January 1822 and applied for a land grant at Paterson. He was granted 2,020 acres which he named Tocal. He later added 720 acres and soon had a total of 3,280 acres. His brother John Webber got a nearby land grant of 3,300 acres which he named Penshurst. Like other pioneers the Webber brothers were fortunate to obtain assigned convicts to provide the basically free labour for them to build up their grand estates. James Webber grew wine grapes, fruit, wheat, corn, tobacco, and ran sheep and cattle. Records for 1828 shows 38 assigned convicts at Tocal including – 13 labourers; 3 tobacconists; 8 shepherds; 2 overseers; 1 shoemaker; 1 stock keeper and 1 servant and others. All were males between the ages of 16 and 63 years. He built a barracks for the assigned convicts and a stone barn was built in 1830 but later burnt down. The barn was needed for drying tobacco. A blacksmiths shop was built 1828. James Webber sold Tocal in 1834 and it was purchased by Caleb Wilson and his son Felix. The perfectly proportioned two storey Georgian residence was built in 1839 for Felix Wilson. The architect of this homestead is now believed to be William Moir. Later in 1867 another architect was commissioned, Edmund Blacket who built many churches in NSW, to build a new stone barn. All joinery is the homestead is Australian red cedar. Felix Wilson planted Moreton Bay Figs to frame his new home. He grew vines and produced wine.
In 1843 he attempted to sell Tocal estate to Charles Reynold but Reynolds leased the estate from Wilson from 1844 to 1871. Charles Reynolds died in 1871 and his son Frank Reynolds took over Tocal and built some new stone structures. By then Tocal covered 5,900 acres and it was still owned by the estate of Felix Wilson. Frank Reynolds then began to buy some sections until the Reynolds family owned all of Tocal in 1907. Frank Reynolds died in 1920 and his sons Charles and Harry ran Tocal mainly as horse stud. In 1926 Tocal estate was sold to the Alexander family – two sisters and two brothers all elderly and unmarried. The youngest Alexander was Charles Boyd Alexander. When he died at Tocal in 1947 with no heirs, it was left to two nieces to occupy provided they were not married. They were the Curtis sisters. He also set up a trust covering Tocal so that it became the C. B. Alexander Training home for destitute and orphan children. In 1963 the Presbyterian Church took over Tocal homestead and the training college. A new chapel was built at Tocal in 1967. The church then got the trustees to establish and an agricultural training college at Tocal with the two Miss Curtis women still having life tenancy of the Tocal homestead. By then Tocal house was on 163 acres. The C. B. Alexander Presbyterian Agricultural College lasted from 1965 to 1969. Then the NSW Department of Agriculture took it over in 1970 with a special act of parliament.
