The location of Port Macquarie was first exposed by Europeans in 1818 when John Oxley reached the Pacific Ocean after his voyage to explore inner New South Wales. He appointed the location after the Govenor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie.
The actual penal settlement was founded in 1821 under Captain Francis Allman who landed at the “town green” at the top of what is now Clarence Street.
Captain Allman immediately began supervising the first 60 convicts sent to establish the settlement, to clear the area of trees and begin farming in order to become self-sufficient. The large metal pipes near the jetty are actually letting out water from an underground river located directly underneath the hotels opposite. Tonnes of sand was lugged up in buckets by the convicts from the beach to fill in the marsh lands that were there.
This settlement was to replace Newcastle as the destination for convicts that had committed secondary crimes such as insolence, drunkenness, refusal to work, violence, or other crimes committed, and so called secondary as it was punishment on top of his sentence. These punishments, referred to as secondary punishments, included the transfer to a more isolated penal settlement or workstation, in this case, Port Macquarie.
Newcastle, which had satisfied this function for the previous two decades, had lost the qualities required for a place for dumping unalterable criminals, being chiefly isolation, as the Hunter Valley was opened up to farmers.
Port Macquarie, however, with its substantial bushland, harsh terrain and local indigneous people that were offered tobacco and blankets, if they returned escaping convicts provided large amounts of both isolation and hard labour to keep the criminals in control.
Sugar Cane was first grown in Australia on the site by a prisoner from the West Indies and a sugar mill was established in 1824. The penal settlement endured into the early 1840's after the area was opened up to free settlers in 1830. After being hard hit by the depression in 1840 and the final relocation of the remaining convict labour in 1847, the settlement began declining. The town began to recover in the early 1860's upon the arrival of pastoralists and by the 1880's the town had a Catholic Church, a bank, a newspaper and local government was formed in 1887.
The North Coast Railway passed by Port Macquarie in 1910 changing the way goods were transported marking the end of the town’s harbour traffic. Throughout the 1960's the town experienced rapid growth and its popularity as retirement spot was beginning to manifest. Today the town has more than 40,000 residents and is a popular tourist destination and the old buildings that remain are a testament to the towns colourful history.
The actual penal settlement was founded in 1821 under Captain Francis Allman who landed at the “town green” at the top of what is now Clarence Street.
Captain Allman immediately began supervising the first 60 convicts sent to establish the settlement, to clear the area of trees and begin farming in order to become self-sufficient. The large metal pipes near the jetty are actually letting out water from an underground river located directly underneath the hotels opposite. Tonnes of sand was lugged up in buckets by the convicts from the beach to fill in the marsh lands that were there.
This settlement was to replace Newcastle as the destination for convicts that had committed secondary crimes such as insolence, drunkenness, refusal to work, violence, or other crimes committed, and so called secondary as it was punishment on top of his sentence. These punishments, referred to as secondary punishments, included the transfer to a more isolated penal settlement or workstation, in this case, Port Macquarie.
Newcastle, which had satisfied this function for the previous two decades, had lost the qualities required for a place for dumping unalterable criminals, being chiefly isolation, as the Hunter Valley was opened up to farmers.
Port Macquarie, however, with its substantial bushland, harsh terrain and local indigneous people that were offered tobacco and blankets, if they returned escaping convicts provided large amounts of both isolation and hard labour to keep the criminals in control.
Sugar Cane was first grown in Australia on the site by a prisoner from the West Indies and a sugar mill was established in 1824. The penal settlement endured into the early 1840's after the area was opened up to free settlers in 1830. After being hard hit by the depression in 1840 and the final relocation of the remaining convict labour in 1847, the settlement began declining. The town began to recover in the early 1860's upon the arrival of pastoralists and by the 1880's the town had a Catholic Church, a bank, a newspaper and local government was formed in 1887.
The North Coast Railway passed by Port Macquarie in 1910 changing the way goods were transported marking the end of the town’s harbour traffic. Throughout the 1960's the town experienced rapid growth and its popularity as retirement spot was beginning to manifest. Today the town has more than 40,000 residents and is a popular tourist destination and the old buildings that remain are a testament to the towns colourful history.
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