Wisemans Ferry - Culture and History

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 15 years ago

Wisemans Ferry - Culture and History

By 1794 settlers had moved into the area west of Wisemans Ferry and grain and other crops were being grown for the colony. These early farmers provided Sydney Town with almost half its food supply. The produce was delivered by boat down the Hawkesbury River - a situation which saw Wisemans Ferry rapidly develop as an important river port, out into the Pacific Ocean and around into Sydney Harbour. This was the beginning of a riverboat industry which continued throughout the nineteenth century.

It has been common to think that the early settlers who moved into this area were unchallenged by the local Aborigines. This was not true. In 1799 five settlers from the Hawkesbury River district - Simon Freebody, William Butler, Ed Powell, James Metcalfe and William Timms - were all brought to trial for the murder of two Aboriginal boys.

The trial was remarkably simple. In court Sarah Hodgkinson explained that about three weeks before the murders her husband had been killed by Aborigines. She told the court how her grief had turned to revenge and how she had asked the men to kill the boys. The five defendants were all found guilty. But instead of sentencing them, they were all set free and the case and the sentence were referred to His Majesty's Ministers in England.

Governor Hunter was not amused by the breach of protocol. He wrote to England protesting, 'Those men found guilty of murder are now at large and living upon these farms, as much at their ease as ever...' Three years later the men were pardoned. Such was the unfair treatment of the Aborigines in the Hawkesbury River area at this time.

The settlement was named after the convict Solomon Wiseman, a journeyman lighterman, who arrived in Sydney on 20 August 1806. In 1817 he was granted 200 acres on the banks of the Hawkesbury River where by 1821 he had established an inn called the 'Sign of the Packet'. In 1826 he built himself a handsome two-storey residence, Cobham Hall, which he later used as an hostelry calling it The Branch Inn.

During this time the main land route from Sydney to Newcastle was via Windsor, along to Wisemans Ferry and up the Putty Road to Singleton. In 1826 a new route via Castle Hill gained popularity and, as a result of this, Solomon Wiseman built a punt and was granted a seven year lease on the rights to transport goods and travellers across the Hawkesbury River. This is how this small village got its name.


Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter

Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading