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VIas given tools, and the u.se of two men for t~rel\Te months to hring the" l~nd

into some IdJ1(1 of working order for orops ete.

His histo:ry is interesting, because his desoendants have for years

1iyed on portion of the grant, 8.nd the grantee was associated. Yl'ith the ea.rly

histor,y of this colony and Port I'nillip.

. Who;ms Captain Woodriff that he 'sh'Ould have mwh a valuable gift made

him as 1,000 acres of land, "ith a r1ver front-s,gc on its western side?

He VIaS given command of H.M.S. Calc.'Utta when the British Government

decided to found a settlement at Port Phillip. The e:cpedition was under the

command of Lieutenant-Colonel Co115.ns. The area was not considered suitable,

the ships in the' group were sent to other areas vr.i. th the Ca.lcutta arri-.ring

in Sydney on December 26th $ 1803.

to a gully fo:rming part of the southern boundry of George Cox's

600 acres, and by that boundry to William Cox's 760 aores, by

part of. thz.t western bound.:ry, and thence by a line bearing east. .

to the cen·!;r..;:! of the Northern Road, being the southern boundties

of William Cox's 760 aores, and Joh.'1 Blaxland l s 600 acres, and

part ()f the southern boundr'.r of M:. Henderson t s 500 aores on the

Western Road;'

~ ••/2

'A Parish in the tlltl'ldrcd of Evan and Count-y of. Cumberland,

New South Wales, botU1ded on the north by the Western Road,

from the centre of the. Western Road from the centre of its

junotion VIi th the Northe!:'Y.'.Road to the l'Iepean River, 011 the

west by the Nepean River and on the south by the Nepe8.n river

Daniel Woodriff beoame connected witj:l Australian histor,y in the year

1792, when he was appointed naval agent on the convict ship I1Kittylt, wnich

arrived. in Sydney on November 18th, of that year~ He returned to Cork,

(Ireland) in the same vessel which took eight months to complete. At this

time he was Lieutenan'l; in the Royal Ha,,':r, and "as made Commander in 1795

and a Captain on April 28th, 1802.

-l-H-+++"!-

The earlies'b grant \/FclS 'bhat llir.l,de by Gove:rnor F.ing, to Captain Woo<L....-.i.ff

R~H~s in 1804p a.nd, tlie Governor in .his Dispatoh to Lord Hoba.r~r (Secretary

of State'~) says, he had carried out his Lordshi.p I s directions of the l;;J,nd

grant of 600 acres to which he had also added anothe:t' 400 acres, making

1,000 acres in all~ Tb.e Captain made the selection of his O','ID ohoice~ He

.An inspeotion of the map of the Parish of li.'Ulgoe. gives all the original

grants of lano. therein. Well's Gazetteer desoriDesit as:-

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and it was decided to load the Calcutta. w:i:th timber for ship building back in

England. While his ship was being refitted an~ loaded VIi th 800 tons of timberthe land grant was made.

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While his ship 'TaB in Sydney, the war with France broke out again,

After his release in 1831, he was created Companion of the Bath, and a

Rear Admiral in 1837. He never re'liurned to his grant on the Nepeano Captain

Woodriff had ~et ,out small port~ons of his grant to settlerso 'When he did

not return to the country, the settlers IIsquatted" there, until sections of

the land was resumed for the layout of Penrith tOWllsJlipo

The first of the family on the Patriarchael land was 11lr. Frederick Ho

Woodriff, 1'1ho settled there in 1882, followed by Mr. Franoi s H. Woodriff in. 18910

On his return trip to ,)I.ustralia, his ship was engaged in battle by

units of the Fre:rwh Fleet, and his vessel was heavily damaged, having the mas'(;S

and riggin& shot away, he was captured, and was a prisoner of war for 18months at Verdun~

The first of the family to settle in Australia was :Mr. Daniel James

Woodriff the grantee1s grandson, who in 1851, came to Australia from Englandand settled at Parramattao

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+1+++++++++

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Taking the grants in order in the district in rotation, the next in

order is one of 1,000 acres ma.de on Decelllber 12th, 1805 to Thomas Jamison,'Principal Surgeon of the C0101~o

'>< Originally he cam,§) out as surgeon's mate of H.M.S. Sir-Ius, and when

Governor Phillip sent Lieutenant Gidley King to Norfolk Island to found a '

settlement there he took Jamison with him as surgeon. In 1793 he received

his commission as assistant surgeon to the settlement of New South Wales, and

in the same year he was one of the party that accompanied Governor King to

New Zealand. He served for ten years on Norfolk Island,' and on returning to

Syd..'1ey, obtained leave of absence to visit England. At the expiration of his

leave he left for Sydne;y- by the ship lI11.t1asll ·, commanded by Captain Richard

Brooks. Owing to a state of affairs detrimental to peace and comfort he left

the ship at Rio de Janiero and made passage in another ship.

. '.~

Dr. Jamison afterl'Tards held office of Magistrate and Principal Su.rgeon

~', '

of the settlement, and naval officer. He like many others, became indirectly

involved in the Bligh imbroglio, and went to England as a witness in the case,

arriving there in December, 1809. Being in a bad state of health, he did not

improve but lingered on to January 25th, 1811, when he died in London.

-I I I f I I I

The next grant was made to EdWard Cox on January' rat, 1810, one of 300

acres, and as several others were made to the Cox family in, this .district

between this date mentioned and 1821. The area owes a. lot to this family and

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This 1,000 acres was not the land which he was to receive on coming to

the state, for when he arrived he got from the Governor the 400 mentioned

which he occupied, cultivating some of it; and grazing 500 sheep and other

stocks. Edward Luttrell came to the colony first in 1804 and received his'

other grant in 1810•

He, died in 1833, and is buried a.t Riohmond cemetry ~

I I 11 I I I

The Rev. Robert Cartwright had 600 acres in 1812, situated between

Thomas Jamisons t grant and William Cox's 850 acres. This clergyman is one of

tVlO tl:!at the Rev. Samuel Marsden,. when on his visi t to Engl~d in 1807, selected

and induced to come to the colony, the other being the Rev. William Cowper.

He arrived in Sydney in 1810, 'and was appoin.ted to do d~ty on the HawkesbuJ;ji

He took over as assistant-surgeon when Dr. Thomas Jamison left for

England, at Parramatta, on a salary of £91/5/0 per annum. He became an

established pastoralist and had mention of fine wool grovm on his property.

In the year of 1810, Mr. Edward Luttrell found it an easy task to obtain

a land g':t'8.l1t~ He was a medical practitioner in the county of Kent, a.."YJ.d that

he having a large family, had made up his mind to go to New South Wales a.."ld

sett1e~ Therefore, Mr. Under-Secretary Sullivan writes to Governor Y.ing,

instructing him to make over to him not less than 400 acres, but the benevo­

lent King gave him 1,000 acres eventually. The Governor was also instructed

to give Mr. Luttrell a:ny position available in the lVIedical Department~

+H++++

Eigh-j; members of the Luttell family had between them 1,000 acres,

125 acres each~ This block of land is situa'l;ed on the Mulgoa Creek, and was

so cut up to give each one a frontage to the creek 'l'il'rich winds its way through

them'.

On his arrival in the colony, he settled- on the Hawkesbury, at a

property close to "Clareno,o11", William Cox I s home at Richmond ~ He also built

at Castlereagh a house called, "Thatched Cottage". He was gazetted the first

coroner of Windsor on the 2nd March, 1811.

Thomas Hobby was involved in the "Rum Rebellion" in the Bligh regime,

and was William Cox t s right-hand man in the building of the road over the Blue

Mountains.

their history is quiet lengthy, I will' leave their storS'. to last •

The next g':t'8.nt of 640 acres were given to Thomas Hobby, on Ist January

1810., This gentleman received his commission in a Yeomanry regiment in 1797

and carried on as a Lieutenant in the New South Wales C~rps.

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Rev~ Fulton arrived in SycL.'1ey,in the llJ\tinervall in 1799 with "Generalll

Ho.lt, Father Harold, Captain Aloock, Captain St. Ledger" and Dr. OIConnor.

These were all at'.rled by the Government as llReb'elsll , and as such were oon­

sidered as eligible for residence in New South Wales ..

James King had a small grant of 40 acres, which was situated between

three of the Coxes grants; It is not clear \vl..J.o he really was, as his name

cannot be traced in a:n:y records at this time. However, he was the trus~ed

servant of William Cox, and for that reason alone he may be oonsidered a

worthy. man~ This is dated. October,18l6 ..

William Cox's first wife Rebeooa-:-dieddn 1819. He married a second

time in 1821, a MIss B1atchford of Windsor. There were three sons and a

daughter to the marriage. These had no QOIDlection with Mu1goa, it is not

necessary to folloyT their careers here •

++++++++

Fulton it appears was sympathetio to the I;r::ia.1. oause, although he was

transported nothing was proven, and he was never tried~ He was made welcome

by the Rev. Richard Johnson (who oame out with the first fleet) and the Rev'.

Sanro.~l Marsden, to help out mth their many duties~

Holt and Fulton made names for themselves, which still linger in early

history~ Fulton s!:ortly after his arrival was plaoed on General orders to

perform devine service at the Hawkesbury~ He'was afterwards Chaplain at

Norfolk Island, and returned from there to take up the duties of Prinoipal

Chaplain, as the Rev. Samuel Y18rsde~ was going to England on leave. He heM

this position until, Marsdenls return, when he went to €a~tlereagh, w'aere he

remained until his' death on November 16th, 1840.

King had a small cottage on his propert¥ oalled IlCobber Cottagetl" He X

was the BOdfather to Edward COJll'S first son, Edward King qox, who was born

:tn 1828, and inherited the grant on his deaths when he allot himself it is

thought in a fit of mental derangement'. About a month previous to his death

he sold his shares in the Bank of Jfew South Wales. He had been the personal

servant of William Cox for 25 years, and died on the 27th June, 1829, and is

buried close by the graves of William and R6becca Cox at. St" ll1atheVis Windsor.

+++++++

Sarah 13rabyn \vas the daughter of Captain Brabyn' of the New South Wales

Corps., in virtue of Which, and the probabili tJr of her marriage, she would

receive this 500 acres which appears on the Par:i.sYJ. plan of :Mulgoa to the

eastward of JJuttrel1's grant. This lacly Vias afterwards the wife of Charles

Marsden~ -the son of the Parramatta Chaplain,. and lived at "Marme ll on the

South Creek~

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It was only in aocorda.'>lce that he shoul,d have a land grant and still

has descendants living among us now.

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- 5He was one of the witnesses who accompanied Governor Eligh to England,

after that officer had been relieved by Macquari.e, where vd th others VIas

to declare unquestionable truths of the evils existing in the territory.

'~ ••/6

The possiblity arises that this is how the name of hi·s proper'!;-,f came

about, "Regent ville ll or "Regent Villall ~

He, like his father, was surgeon in the Royal Na\"Y, a.l'ld in 1800 was

the surgeon of H.M.S. "Gorgunll , which was one of the vessels of ilie battle

fleet under Lord Nelson.

The sdlory gues that the King of Swedel:n applied to Nelson for a.

skilfUl;. surgeon to perfonn an operation on his ~ueen; Nelson sent Jamison

who was successful in a very dangerous case, and so earned the gratitu.d,e of

the King, who conferred on him the "Knighthood of Gustavous Vaxll (K.V.G.)

the highest honour of Sweden.. It is said the Prince Regent (King George IV)

at a later date conferred an English' Knighthood~ .

++++++++

On the death of his father in 1811, Sir John succeeded to his father's

property and in the year 1814, caDe to Australia to look after his father's

affairs~ He arrived by the ship lIEroxhorneburyll on the 30th July, 1814$'

having as fellow passengers Jeffery Hart Eent, the new chief JUdge of the

Supreme Court, who also was a brother ~~ E11is ;Bent the JUdge Advocates

Rev. Mr. Vale, assistant Chaplain, and WIr. John Horsleyo

On various dates between January 18th, 1817 to July 9th, 1822, four

grants were given to Sir John Jamison, K.G-.V., the son of Thomas Jamison~

Tlle gTants were of some 2,620 acres.

Sir John being a moni~d man, who would have been welcomed by Governor

Macquarie. He seems to have taken a position in the communi. ty as a leader;

In 1817, he received his first grant, which is on the plan dE!signated

"Regentville" • This was followed in' 1822 by two others each of 300 acres

mating a total acreage of 3,620, inclUding his father's grant.

Eut this did not represent the full estate, as the mansion which Sir

John built in the thirties and lmoVlIl as "Regentvine" stood on the Rev. Robert

Cartwright's 600 acres. It could be assilmed he purchased this propert-,f which

brought hi.s total holdings to some 4,220 acres, VIi th a frontage of flat land

to the NePean River of some two and a half miles.

Sir John when deciding to build his home on these grants, brougJ.lt out

from England a deaf and dumb architect named 1111". Kitchen, to supervise itsconstruction and the outhouses.

He had a tOVlIl mansion at the corner of' George andJ.arnison Streets,

SYdney, and entertained the Governor and his Lady there on ma11Y .occasions~

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Sir· John also built a woollen and tweed factory, four stories high,

the wool used was grown on the "Regen'bvllle ll run. Some 200 people were em•.

ployed in this venture. The flour mill he built was powered by steam, one of

the first installed in Australia.

- 6 -

. .. The family lived in a wretched hut VIith holes £'or windows and doors,

a dirt floor, and slept on bark for a bed~

About three-quarters of a mi:t.e from the Nepean River on rising ground

Sir John built IIRegentville" 1824, a large' two-storied building of dressed

stone, VIi th iron verandahs all around. He became known as the "Hospitable

Knight of Regentville ll• He had vineyards and li'IBrS very proud of the wines he

produced~ Sir Henry Parkes worked there as a labourer men he first came to

Australia.

Parkes lancted in Sydney with 2/6d in his pocket, vd th a wife and child

in 1840~ For two weeks he searched in v'ain for a job, and finally starved

out completely, he took a job at Rege~tville~ His wages were £25/0/0d a year1

plus rations £'or I;} people (even though he had a wife and child), comprising

loilb of bee£' (sometimes unfit to eat), loilb of rice ( of the worst imaginable,

quality), small Cluanti"liies of illferior tea, sugar, soap and tobacoo, and six

3/4 Ibs of flour (half made up o£' ground rice). There was neither milk or

vegetables for the baby, and no chance of getting a:n..y, for as Parkes wrote,

'the slave masters of New South Wales reCluire their servants to work for them

from snnrise to sunset, and will not allow them to have gardens lest they

should steal a half hours time to work themll •

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.".~ .. ..."~: ..He was the first President of the Agricultural Society of Hew South

Wales in 1822. And also a member of the Legislatiye Assembly.

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His stables had as many as £'ourteen thoroughbred ho~ses, and was the

man to start a turf club on the 23rd ]\;laroh, 1825, which today is know as

The Australian Jockey Club, of mioh he was the 'first President. ~1J:le Sydney

Grammar school was also started VIith his help.

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Sydney Grammar School foundation stone was laid on January 26th, 1830

by the Chief Justice of ·the Cblony, :Mr. Francis Forbes on the land granted

to the Trustees by Sir Thomas Brisbane •

..... :

Sir John Jamison died a comparitavely poor man, on the 29th June,1844

aged 68, it is said throue;h the failure of the Bank of Australia of ....hich he

Vias the President. He is buried in St. Stephenis ch:urchyard, Penrith~

•• ' .1.

After Sir John's death, a portion of the property was put up for sale.

The. advertisement in the Sydney :Morning Herald, dated, Tuesday, December 28t,

1847 read as this and I borrow it;

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It contains an entrance hall and fifteen rooms~ v:iz. two ch-awing-

The left wing contains the billiard~r90mo The out offices are also

stone built,and consist of two kitchens and a bake-house, communicating- , '

vdth the house by a covered way, a servants ha.ll and seven bed-rooms, ,

adjoining... The whole being under one_ roof 0 ,

rooms, one dining-room, one breakfast-room, one studyp one ,library and, .

cabinet and nine',bedTooms o

Regentvi1le is stated to be"on "Hawkestone" (Rev. Robert Cartwright's

grant) • It i l? substantially. built of stone, 'Id th a. tastefu.l colonnade in

front, and on each side surmounted by an iron balcony, from which there is

a delightful prospect of the adjacent country~

It is stated thf;.t portions are situated on Jche Brabyn farm~ some' of

the Luttrell g-rants, and John William John's farmo

The principal staircase is also built and circular. A laundr;r and

wash-house are attached, and there are spacious cellars under the houseo.'~ -'"The right wing consists of an immense coaoh-house 'with stores aboveo

.. 7 ..

Mro Lyons has been favoured to dispose of this princely property \'/hich

is delightfully situated on the Hepean Rivero• " :...:. j~. , .. ' " ~

"A portion of this splendid estate of Ref,'Elntville consisting of 1560

acres, about 600 of \vhich are cleared ann stumped, and about 150 under

cultivation, together with the elegant family mansion, gard~n, gTounds,

v:ineyard, etoo, to be sold by Mr. Lyons at his mart on Tuesday, December

21st, at 12 O'clock precisely. , ,

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-, .:.Ali the above offices are oontained \Vi th an area 180 square feet

enolosed by a substantial' stone wall 10 feet high. . -

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In the rear of the foregoing, adjoining the wall are the handsome

stables, which consist of one ten stall, ann one four stall with three

large boxes, and harness-rooms. The lofts are over the above stabling,

and are 160 feet in l~ngth by 15 feet in breadth~ The stable-yard is

enclosed by a paling fenoe, and oontains three boxes, slab built, vd th a

loft over them•

Then follows a description of the garden, orchard, stockyards, v:ine­

, yards, with gardeners house, also a four-roomed house of stone, wine- .

oellars, \'line presses and still~ "

'.: .. ::-.-

Doouments do not show as to who purchased the property, but it is

said it '\'las bought at a nominal sum, and: was used as a private asylumo In

1869 a fire destroyed the house" ' ,_ ' .

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The second son, Nathanie1, also entered the navy, and serving from

January 1798, in many engagements against the French fleet, the Danish and

Swedish, in several ships in both the East and West Indies to 1815, his

last appointment being Lieutenant on the "Tigre", a 74 gun battles:!-po Vihen).

this ship was paid off, he was placed on half pay.

ooooooo •• ocoooo

In the middle of the eighteenth centurJr there was born at Hurstp'ier~

pont, in the county of SuEsex, England, a James Norton, who', whon he reached

manhood married and resided on the El state of the family, named "lTorthendlt •

He had one son, and three daughters. The son, John liforton, was born in 1772

and in 1794 married Miss lJa.ry Masters Bradford. He had a family of ten

children. John the eldest son, entered t~e navy and had reached the rank

of Lieutenant when the 78 gun ship "Hero", on which he was serving, was lost

on Christmas Eve, in 1811 off the coast of Holland, when on the voyage home

from the Baltic, all hands were lost.

,It oos1; be admitted that who G.U .Slade was, and why he shoul~ in

, ~ . "

In 1909 the stonework of the ruins was taken away, and the Pen.rith

Police station was built from it, also the Penrith Council using some of it

for work in, areas in its lllI:ll4cipality. , • J. I,

All the,t remains of Regentvllle is sot:le of the stonework of the

cellars plus the four imposing front piers at the start of the drive leading

up to the house. . " :

1821 get an 800 acre grant in the valley is un..lmOWll. But t..h.ree grants,

bearing the same date, April 5th, 1821 were made to members of a family,

whose ancestors have figured in the his'Gory of England, and whose descencl­

ants have figured largely in developi?g Australia. The grants named in the

deeds are, UNorthend, It "FairlieX1tlt, and "Govers",' were of 950, 800, ano.

800 acres respectively, and were in the names of James,Nathaniel, and John

Norton senior.

Messrs. Mort & Coo advertised that a section of Sir John's land for

sale at Beatson's Hotel, Penrith, on Monday, January 5th, 18630 But in

January, 1871 :Mr. F.bl.Darley and C.P.Slade apDlied to have part of the

western diVision subdivided into farmlet blocks. This ,taS an area of 700

acres.

James the third. son was trained for a solidtor, came to Australia in

1818, and commenced practiceo He was followed by his father, John Norton.

his brother Nathaniel, and three sisters, who arrived in Sydney by the ship

"Harrietll on February 8th, 18190 'l"ne Nortons were the first to build a

,homestead on their land. and the cottage standing on"Fairlight ll was the

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one ~f them being Mr. i'iilliam' ".. '

occupation of seven years, .the

The prope,rty passed into many hands,

Hellyer, a solicitor of Sydney~ During his

farm was very produotiveo

With the death of Commander Norton, the connection of the faniily Vii ~"J.

uFairlight" oeased, for James Norton v~as never in reside1.1ce at the estate,

but lived and died at IIElswickll on the Parramatta Road, now the site of

Liechhardt o

Idr. W. Jarrett was the next possessor, a well known Sydney man of the

Eightieso He began by building a new home close to the old cottage, a

building for storing wine, four 'stories high, large stables, meat curing

rooms and fruit-drying lofts, all built with solid brickwork, with all fue

necessary ma,chinerJ.

He spent on these improvements £20,000. It is said he spent more

tha.l1 what was possible to get out of the property at those times, as there

was a big recession about this periodo

'1 ., .

Nathaniel lived on the propert.y with a sister as housekecper~ He

married late in life to Ellen Barber at St. Thomas', :Mulgoa in 18410 It

was a marriage of $lort duration, for he died on August, 17th l851r aged.

66 yearso Fifteen months later his wife was laid to rest beside him in

the churoh €pounds at liIulgoa 0

: He was an old sea-dog with a wonderful sense of humour, and was

sadly missed by all those who knew him. .', "~:~-,,

John Horton took up land in the Kanimbla Valley, in the Blue Mountains

and fades out of this narrative , as I can find no more evidence of himo

VIas the home of the family in 18210

~~e'broad acres of Fairlight were classed as a $10W place of the

County of Cumberland, with its vineyards and fine orchards, sttuated some

hundreds of ·feet above the Mulgoa Valley, on the' tableland beyond Ivlount

Henry': It has a frontage of over six miles to the Nepean River, whioh winds

its' way after being joined by the Warragamba River at Norton' s Basin~

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I now turn my attention to the Coxes. On referring to the map of

.the Parish, it will be seen that there were eight grants to various members

of this family, totalling altogether 4,030 acreso

Mr. Jarrett died at "Fairlightll0 It was then purchased by :Mrs. NorvilJ.e

who wi.'j;h her husband put $leep on the area. A shearing shed was made of one

of the outside buildings, but it did not last long, when a Mr. Maclean

took over, then it passed into the hands of a Mr. A.GoWi tts.

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As :tt was primarily through the energy and courage of the Cox family

that the wilderness was subjugated, the history of those that shared in the

process may be given hereo , .

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William Cox, the progenitor of the Australian family, was born at

W~mbourne, in Dorsetshire; England, on the 17th December, 17640 He was the

second son of Robert Cox, a member of a family ymo had been resident 'in the

min:i.ster town for some generations o William Cox was an officer in the

Wilts Militia at first, but got a commi ssion in the 117th Regiment, during

the war with France, on July 8th, 1795. A year later he exchanged into

,~he 68th foot ( now the 1st Battalion Durham Light Infantry) with the rank

of Lieutentant 18 months 1atero

. At this time a corps raised in England in 1789 specially for servioe

'in new South Wales was serving in the colony, and to this Vlilliam Cox was

appointeCl. paymas'l;er with the rank of Lieutenant, on September 28'l;h, 17980

As was usual when convicts were sent to the colony, a mili tar;>r guard com­

posed of drafts for the regiment serving there, was placed on the shipo

William Cox was in charge of the guard on the ship lIJ:;linervall which left

Cork (Ireland) for Sydney on AUg"u.st 24th, 17990 An interesting and vaihuable

little ~rk publial1ed in 1901; entitled, "Memoirs of William Cox, J oP~tt

furnishes many particulars of the family in this papero··Y .. '"1

-. ~ A strange vari.ety of 'passengers came out on the tll~iin~rvat!~·in addition

to military officers, 34 women, 132 male conviots and 41 soldiers.

Lieutenant Cox '1IaS accompanied py his wife and sons, James aged 10,

Charles aged 7, George aged 5t and Henry aged 4. yearso William, his eldest

son, did not come with his parents, but did 'many years after, and is known

as Willis,m Cox of "Hobartville" of Riohmo1?-d; but he will net enter into this

story 0 The same applies to James Cox, who sent to Launceston, Tasmania, and

started the Cox clan il?- that state~

The "1IinEirva" reached Sydney on January 11th, 18000 William Cox had

made up his nrl.nd to settle in New South Vlaleso At the time 9f arrival he had

just entered his 37th year of age, so VIaS in full vigour of his manhood~

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Soon after his arrival he purchased a farm on the northern side of

the ha'rbour, in the Field of Mars district, a little to the north of the

Parramatta river, at Ryde. This, although only 100 acres· in extent, was

good agricultural land o Shortly after the Rev. Richard Johnson left the

colony, which he did in October: 1800, his farm called "Canterbury", whioh

adjoined, ":Brush Farm" at Eastwood, was also p'J.rchased by William Cox.

These were put under the management of Joseph Halt who came out in the

"Minerva", exiled for his share 'in the Irish rebellion of 17980 Cox had

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Treasurer to the Estate.

In the Government returns for 1804, it appears he held 200 acres of

land, mich, by the returns of one year later, had decreased to 30 acres,

whilst the stock he held was, one horse, three oxen, seven goats, and

eighty hogs.

Prosperity eviclenUy was not to last, for in the "Sydney Gazettell

of May 1803, Mr. Simeon Lord announces tha't he will sell by auction,

'the estate of Canterbury, 900 acres six miles from Sydney!; two farms at

Prospect of lOG acres; one f~ adjoining the town of Parramatta of 94 ~

acres; also the mole stock of sheep, 1700 in number, part of which are of

Spanish breed'~ Also that 'a meeting of the credito.rs of Vlilliam Cox, esq~,

vdll be held on the 18th instant.' This latter ~~s signed by Robert

Campbel1. Following on this is an advertisement two months later, that at "'­

the house of Andrew Thomson, on July 6th, there would be sold var:i.ous

articles of merchandise belonging to ViiHiam Cox by order of Robert Campbell,

The returns for 1806, however, show that I.ieutenant Cox had commenced

to retrieve his lost agricultural position, for by the end of that year

was possessed of 170 acres of vmich 34 were under crop, 54 fallow and 82

pasture land. . t . .. '. . •• , :_ ~ .

,.. ' While he had improved his position as a settler, his military status

had become jeopardized by a charge of malvers~on being laid against him, the

sum involved being £8,000 of army money, .and ~ressure by his creditorso

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-11-opportunities of studying Holt' s character' during the voyage of five

months, and had a very high opinibn of him as a man and as an agriculturisto

In Government returns of December, 31st, .1801 Yli11iam Cox is credited

with having 1,380 acres of purchased land, 400 acres of which were cleared,

245 acres under wheat and maize. He had 25 horses, 20 head of cattle,

1,000 sheep, 200 hogs, and 20 assigned convicts, whibh seems to .indicate

that although only two yeaJ.·s in the colony, he was a prosperous man~

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He was ordered to England· by the Duke of York, the Commander in Chief

to answer the charges, and sailed in 1807 in the H.il1.S o 'Buffalo', having as

fellow passengers, Rev. Samuel IIIarsden and Captain Joseph Short of the

'Porpose ll, whom Governor I3ligh. sent home to be tried by court martial, and

who, as a result of the trial was honourably acquittedo>'. ': t·

Notes in historical records give the' latter information, but unfortun­

ately, Lieutenant Cox's trial is not referred to, though by inference it can

be asSumed it h,ad the same result. On his return to "the colony he was

appointed a magistrate at the Hawkesbury, for which the Governor is thanked

in an address presented to him by 90 settlers in that district.

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15th Wlarch, 1837, and is buried in St. Mathews' Windsoro

window to his memory is erected in St. Andrew' Cathedral,

sons George and Edward Cox.

To return to the grants of Jifu.lgoa, the first of the Coxes to receive

land was Edward Cox on January I~t, 1810, the day Lieutenant-Colonel l:,acquarie

assumed the GovernorsIlip of the colol1-Y 0 Edward Cox was born on I,ray 29th,

1805, and when his grant was made, was but 4t years of age~ Why this grant

was made, there is nothing to show or any record; nor am I enlightened as

to "When they settled on their grant. Dut the first publio intimation that

they yrere occupied is contained in- the "Sydney Gazette" in May 1814, where

it is stated that "Mr. Cox's people have been attacked on several occasions

by natives at Mulgoa within the last month, and that nearly 400 had attacked

M"ro Campbell's place "Shancomore", the overseer being speared". 'Shancomore'

William Cox was not a man to be disoouraged by reverses; in fact

they seemed to have the opposite effect, and it is evident that his conneotion

with the New South Wales corps was severed, which +eft him in the happy

position to devote all his time and dut,j- as a settlero

was the property of Ivir. J.T. Caml'bell; a gentleman 'whom Governor Macquarie

met at Cape of Good Hope 'when coming here, and. whom he brought to Sydney as

hi s Secretary. The property Vias on the Bringelly Creek at its junction withthe Nepean River.

B;}r this time Cox had settled on the Hawkesbury, and had built his.

home ~'Clarendontl, before being sent to England.. It is to this 'estate to

whioh the re~ll~s quoted refer, and it was here too, that he corMJenced

to accumulate the nucleus of those flocks of sheep 1~1ich afte~flards were

perfected by his sons and grandsons, in other parts of the colonyo

.A. description of William Cox by his Grandson, Oe.orge Henry Cox~

A full faced man, five feet eleven inches tall, dark sandy hair, abvays

clean shaven, except he had side-burns, blue eyes, was short tempered,.'

easily put out by contradiction, speaking his mind freely when irritated~

The Early Days of Mulgoa are associated with the names of George,

Henry and Edward Cox. The home built was erected br Captain William Cox

As we all know the great work of William Cox was the building of the

road over the Blue 11011."'1tains from the l'Tepean River to Bathu:l'st o It is

, oormnon knowledge 'in our history, and will not be dealt with hereo BUt I

should mention he received a grant of land on the Macquarie River· which he

called "Heret'ord" 0 In the year of 1822 he also took up land in the li!udgee

district, at the juntion of the liracquarie and Cudgegong Rivers, where he

established 13!' station called tlBurrendon". Captain WiJ,liam Cox died. ou the

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"t" '.'Owing to the growth of his family a further storey

'" .; ',' ). 'was added in 1840. George Cox had seven sons and four'

daughters • 1 ..

In a letter dated 21st February, 1840, to Messrs.

Montifiori Bros. I am now at h~a~J expense adding

another storey to my present houseo 1!Jfy former• c

Sydney friends will understand it is no. trifling

task, but my family has become so large that I

have found it absolutely necessary. I

George and HenrJ Cox were virtually the pioneers of Mulgoa Valley,

and. cleared the bush, grew wheat and bred sheepe ,. ,!

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- 13for Georee and Henry 0 It was called "The Cottage", and was built about

1814. In appearance it had a family resemblance to the "Elizabeth Farm"

house of 11acarthur, to "Clarendon 11 at Ri.chmond, and to most of the homes

of the period. It stands on the grant macle to Edward .Cox.

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signed, G. Cox.

In the course of time, in 1824 George Cox married, his wife being

Eliza, the daughter of Archibald Bell of I Belmont " Richmondo George then

built on his 600 acres g.rant the home which was to bear the name of

"Wimbourne" ~ 1'fo more beautiful place could be desired, it :was desoribed as

"a substantial mansion having- features of an English gentleman's seat; it

is situated in a country resembling an English Park" 0

It was around liThe C~)'l;tagell that most of the romance of Mulgoa

hangs: George Cox brough'c his bride there from Richmond; and here his

son~ ('..-Barge He:q.:ry VIas born, as also his daughter Elize Georgina, who in

1846 was married in Mulgoa church b~ the Reve Thomas lJakinson, to her

cousin John Hobart Cox, the second son of William Cox of "Hobartville" tRichmond.

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To 'The Cottage' also, Henry Cox brought his bride, also to this

house that the seventh son oT William Cox senior, brought his young wife

in 18270 She was Jane Maria Brooks~ a daughter 9f Captain Brookst of.

Denham Court near Liverpool. In'The Cottage' the early years of Edward

Cox's married life were spento Here his farrd.ly was born, three sons and, .two daughters ..

He established fine vineyards~ grew wheat, had very productive

orchards, and pasture lands with grazing sheep. The area was a hive

of,activity~

George Cox died on August 20th, 1868 aged 74 yearso A tribute was

paid to him in the Sydney lIio~ng Herald at this time, which says:

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His death was suoh as beoome the end of a ripe ohristian, his

funeral took place on the 24th August, 1868, when his remains were conveyed

on the s oulders of eight of his serve.nts to his last resting plaoe by the

Bis,,1.op Sydney, at St. Thomas' Mulgoao There is a.large stained glass lead

light window erected -to his memory at the back of the altar in St. Thomas'

:M:ulgoa •

His eldest son, George Henry Cox M.LoA., took over the manag-ement

of Wimbourne after his father's death.. George Henry also had 'propert;y at

la:1..ldgee, whioh he had taken up in 1864. The property is oalled "Burrundella",

on the s~;uth bank of the Cudgegong Ri'(er. Whilst in charge of Wimbourne,

he built a large reservoir on a hill .overlooking the cultivated areas. A

steam powered pump was installed on the Nepean to pump water up to the

reservoir, where it reticulated down hill through three inoh pipes to the

vineyards, orohards and gardens. During his stay: the aoreage grew to some

6,000 aores.

One of the most notioeable features in his ol:taraoter was his oonsider­

ation for the wants and infirmation of others, espeoially of his dependants,

and thus it doubtless was, that his servants remained with him so unusually, -

long, some even for 40 years, and longer. ConV'iots who were assigned to

him, in some oases, stayed on and worked for him after oompleting their

term of transportation.

- 14 -"Although well known as a sheep owner and land propri,etor, as mellows the

kind and generous dispenser of hospi tali.ty as his spaoious house B.t

Wimbourne, Mulgoa resembles an English mansion, and though in oonsequenoe

of his high charaoter and standing he was invited by Sir William Denison

to take a seat in the upper house, under its first formation under our

present constitution (an honour whioh he at onoe deolined) his retiring

and unassuming disposition prevented his ever being in any sense of the

word a 'Public Charaoter'."

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George Henry Cox had a well stooked deer park at Wimbourne. The park

did not al,mys keep the deer in, the neighbours found to their oost. Some­

times certain of the deer were given their liberty to afford sport to

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visiting friends •

In 1901 Vlimbourne was purohased by Mr. P.C. Hewitt' when on his

death was leased by Mr. T. Campbell, mo made the mansion into a guesthouse.

Mr. Campbell used the area that housed the oonvicts asa hanger for his

airoraft, and had a runway built to take the largest aircraft built in those

days.

'Wimbourne t was destroyed b;y- fire on the lOth August, 1920•.

The stables and ooachhouse were renovated, and the guests were

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On the incorportation of Penrith, he was first ]'i:ayor, and on the

formation of the Volunteer Corps he was ohosen as Captain of the Penrith

Company in 1860.

The oroad acres of Wimboume. sweeping down to the J:Jepean, still show

the scars of the activity that went on there, now' all is gone.

Glenmore was purchased by Ih'. Thomas Sutoliffe l(Iort with the idea of

using it as a SUllllIler residence. But on the first visit of Mrs. Mort with

the children, a heavy storm. with pouring rain, VIhich virtually isolated

the house cutting off all oommunication with Pen~tthJ so that decided

Mrs. l.1ort not to vi sit a second time'~

The call of the west first came to Henry Cox and in 1851 he sold

Glenmore, and went out to a property which is called IlBroombeell~

On the site mere Vlimboume stood, a fine building is erected for

studies, utilising some of the stone of the old ruins. The Brothers still

use the coaohhouse and stables as living quarters. The winer,y and store­

room is used as a chapel.

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James J. Riley with his wife and some children, came to Glenmore

which he purchased in 1854. Glenmore under his management kept up its

repll"~ation of productiveness.

Henry Cox married on the Ist of July, 1823, Frances, second daughter of

Alexander K. f,iackenzie. About this time he built llG1enmore l1 ~ Here he

grew wheat and bred sheep.

catered for there in this .area un~il 1958, when the order of the Christian

Brothers purchased the estate and rema~ning buildings in October 1958, and. .

is used as a training college for teachins- Brothers.

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::.... ( J::) After an active life, he died on August 29th, 1882, aged 61. His'

m.fe survived him 22 years, her death taking place on October 29th, 1904,

aged 78~ .... <.:

G1enmore is still in a good state of preservation, and is used as a

clubhouse by patrons who play golf on the course laid out on the estate.

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As before mentioned Edward Cox spent the early years of his marriage

at 'The Cottage ,.: In 1842 he built "Fernhill" high up on the land over­

looking the valley of MU1goa~ He commenced this as a cottage with the idea

of adding a storey. It has remained as it was commenced•.,

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W11'en William Lawson discovered the Mudgee district, he sent for George

Cox (who was managing 'Hereford1 estate near Bathurst for his father) and told

him to seize a portion. In 1820 he set off with William Lee and Richard

Lems and two servants for }.'iudgee. On his return he sent for Henry Cox, his

brothel' who had charge of the estate at Mu1goa, (a large dairy herd established) •

The Coxes were a prolific family having in three generations, 500

descendants, but as soon as the fourl;h is entered 6n they become scattered

. The vineyards of Wimbourne, Glenmore and Fairlight, \Vi th Regentville

to the east bore full crops, and the cellars full of wine. Flour mills were

at work by steam, by water, by wind•. Now all is gone, no crops, no mills~

You may ask the reason; one will tell you, the rust is in the ground,. .

another the ground is sour; there are those who sa;}T the ironstone kills the

fruit trees; and knowing this no one tries to remove the ironstone, or to

sweeten the soil, and so the country has gone back to. its virgin state,

beautiful and tranquil. Such Vias and is1l'lulgoa~

and countless as the sands on the sea shore •

He like his brother Henry took. up land in the M11dgee district on a

:t"Ull which he called "Dabee"

His son, EdVlard King Cox succeeded his father to the estate, where

it became renO\7n for its blood stock in race horses. The stud stables

being the 1Cottage , He too, like his cousin had a deer park at ":I!'ernhill" •

In the fourties and fifties the agrioultural condition of the district

was the best in the colony, the cereal crops were of the highest standard.

Fruit-growing Vias carried lar~lY, and th~ decayed frui t tr~es one'~eets\Vi tll on the eetate, bears evidence of former prosperity•

During their stay at lr'iulgoa, the Coxes absorbed most of the land as

did the ~Tamisons': They buiH on a grand scale: \Vith the Victorian style of

architecture, all facing onto a panorawic view of the valley.

The call of the west by degrees took the Coxes from l,Tulgoa, at first

only partially, and DZulgoa became a re sting place; afterwards the severence

was complete~

Edward Cox is buried in St. Thomas' church cemetry at Mulgoa.

1Fernhill' VIaS sold to Mr. Richard B. Baynes, a son of Colonel B~-nos,

.of the New South Wales forces.

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- 17 -Early ~ebruary, 1021, they set out with 500 head or cattle, tools, proVJ.s~ons

and tents accompanied by Robert Lems, two labourers and two stockmen. They

pitched their tent beneath a huge gum and lost no time forming the nucleus

o'f the station that was to become lmown as l:Burrandulla I. Edward Cox had the'

property called lRawdont •

The huts built on the propert-y were of two rooms twelve by twelve feet

sq,uare, roofed by four foot long shingles, 'I'd th a stockyard nearby ~ They

had a lot of trouble mth the blacks.

These two properties resembled miniature hamlets, owing to the large

number of people employed there. Stores to supply cloifiliing, bootmakers,

blacksnL1.ths storekeeper and an overseer, also general farm hands, producing

sufficient grain and fodder f6r immediate req,uirements. Previous to the

advent of f~our mills, each person VIal? served with wheat, which by the aid

of hand-mills, he converted to flou~.

•••••••••• oo~ ••

, ST. THOMaS I CHURCH

At the time this church nas built the population of 1I!ulgoa in a

, c1IDsus taken in 1836 was about 450 people, of these 160 were convicts, most

of whom would be servants and labourers on the various estates. Of this

number 399 were Protestants, and 149 Roman Catholic, and one Jew.

The church was built principally through the efforts of George and

his brother Edward Cox~ The land on which the church stands was given by .

Edward, and that of the Rectory and glebe by George •

. 'The foundation stone was laid by Miss Jane Jamison on August 22nd,

1836,: She was the daughter of Sir John Jamison•

St: Thomas' was consecrated by the first :Bishop of Australia, William

Grant :Broughton on September 13, 1838~ The cost being over £4,000 for

ohurch and rectory.

:Before the church was built the spiritual needs were catered for by

the Rev. T'aomas Hassall, also lmown as the "Galloping Parson", held his first

service in l;Iulgoa in 1827. He was the Rector at Cobbitty. He had charge of

a parish vlaich included Cobbitt;y, IvTulgoa, Wollongong and Goulbourn. He was

the first Australian to take Holy Orders.

The Rev. Hassall was appointed the first Rector of St. Thomas' but

resigned five days after the consecration' of the church he helped to build,

and was sllcceeded by the Rev. T.C.lv1akinsono

st. 'I'h~mast is built or" honey coloured sandstone, on a rise overlooking

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the Mulgoa valley~ T'ne minutes of the meeting dated 23rd June, 1839,

reoord that; "Mr. George Cox oe o. agreed Viith 1111'. Robert Drysdale to' quarry,

cut and set the stonework of the ohuroh, the work to be valued and paid for

when done"~

This gen"Glemen1s agreement produced a magnificent church in little

more than tvro years, l).nder the supervi sion of Mr. Chodley, an arohi tect of

Georg~ Streets Syfuley.

Among the articles of interest, are the Communion vessels given' by the

Cox family, and still in use ~ The windows and plaques installed in the .

walls of the churoh do homage to the memory of the pioneers of the valley~

Also a walk through the graveyard, one can learn much, of the stalwart

sons of William Cox s \'Iho came to thi s lovely valle;:,' to subdue it, and its

inhabitantso Also the lesser known settlers, t}le school teachers and"the

good and fai thful 0 servants" of the settlers of the valley, the scene around

is the result of their labors, but they have passed beyond the veil, as

also their descendants, only their names live on, and will'live so long as

pen is left to write Australian histOl'Yo

The Irril\?;tion Schem~

In 1890 a bill VI(3,S passed by the New South Wales Legisla°l;-Clre anti tIed

the p:Iulgoa Irrigation Bill. Ren:..-.y Gorman and George Cha.ffy were responsible

for it; they had powers under it to acquire land to erect plant, and use .

the waters of the Nepean and distribuJG9 them as far as St. Marys.

The Company aoquired (on conditions not lmown) about 12,000 acres in

various estates, which were cut up into' vineyard and fruit farms, township

lots and villa lots~ The conditions and terms of sale were:-

For the vineyard and farms, which were of, from 5 to 20 acres,

and were from £30 to £35 per acre, and the terms, if cash,

-7 per cent acre on application, 'the balance within one month

of acceptance, less 2! per cent~

Forotime terms, £7 per acre deposit, balance at 5 per cent

per annum added to the purchase money; and divided into 60

monthly payments secured by mortgagee.

Township lots £25 each, payable by £5 deposit, balance in

2 years:

Villa lots at £95 each, £20 deposit, the balance in 2 years.

Every purchaser would be entitled to certain water rights;

. Had. the scheme been Successful, it would have been very good for the

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The remains of the scheme can still be seen on the WimuoQL--ne Estate'~

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19 -

promoters but unfortunately when 1893 arrived, after three attempts the

scheme was abamlonecl •

A liquor lioense for a hotel which was erected in 1892 was applied for •

The name of the hotel was the Irrigation Rotel, but when the irrigation

scheme v/nich was started on GBorge Co:>: t s prcperty fell through, the hotel

closed, and the people had to go elsewhere to be irrigated by medium of a

'hotel~

earl

VIas this the home of the Jew in the cenSUS of 1836?

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streets had reached the sum of £1800 At that cru.cia1 moment Dr. Black's ear

became itchy, "frdch he scratched, and found himself the proud owner of a.

block of land in l\Ielbourne.

While in Sydney on holiday, time heav:Y: on hi s hands, he walked ;i..nto

where an auction of J,.and was being held of sites in He1bourne. With no

intention of buying, a block at the corner of, Swanson Street and Collins

In 1915, this corner b10Ck sold for £65,000. So much for an itchy

Near the present site of the Public School at Mulgua, stood a

slab hut ~ It was called the tTabernacle t ~

Thomas Black M.D. who practised in Mulgoa in 1836. As far as I can

work out his place of abode was near the paJl< at Mu1goa. Close to his home >(, -

bv.llock teams were reharnessed, and loads reallocated to teams going west,

south, north and to Sydney. Fist fights were a common oceurence amongst

the teamsters, and that's Vihen the Doctor was called in to patch up bruised,

broken' and bloodied faces. Re made a small fortune out of them~

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Qaptain James Watson

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II:1I

Forbes~

(see index: in bOtll of these).

'Who's Master, Who's lJian?

Michael CanllOn

Royal Historical Socy~

(op. the early gra..'1ts)

Historical Records of Australia

Series 1'; Vol 2; 1792-1800

ML99o'~1/123A

Vo17 1809-13~

lt1L990'~1/123A

Truth: Old Sydney by Old Chum

R~201920 Vol. 92 pp~132-5

SJrdney Society in Crown Colony' Days

Q,991/F; pp135-137.

On Sir Henry Parkes living quarters;

p. 148

SJrdney :Morning Herald, December, 1847.

Sydney Gazette; Hay, 1803, I'furch 1829.

Journal and proceedi11G's: vol 4s 1917

Memoirs of William Cox:, J.P: Q).926/3C

Mulgoa Past and Present. Ps 166 onward

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