PENNANT HILLSIn search of the

T R E V O R PA T R I C K

�

J A M E S S Y M E S

�

A N D R E W T I N K

A History of the Settlements

known as Pennant Hills on the

Pennant Hills Range

1788 to 1906

This work is dedicated to the memory of Molly Disselduff

Published by Pennant Hills Local Studies Group10 Lawrence Road Kenthurst, NSW 2156, AustraliaCopyright © Local Studies Group, Trevor Patrick, James Symes, Andrew Tink 2007

First published 2007

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication:Patrick, Trevor G.In Search of the Pennant Hills: a history of the settlements known as Pennant Hills on the Pennant Hills Range 1788–1906.

BibliographyIncludes indexISBN 9780646470405

I. Pennant Hills (NSW) – History. I. Symes, James G. II. Tink, Andrew. III. Title.

994.4102

Front cover picture: Thomas Pennant© National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG D19671)

Project management and design by Jenssen Design2a Glen Street, Milsons Point, NSW 2061Edited by Deirdre Mowat.Printed and bound in Australia by Penfold Buscombe (Aust) Pty Ltd20 Baker Street, Banksmeadow, NSW 2019. Telephone (02) 8333-6555

C O N T E N T S

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 00

INTRODUCTION 00

1 Theories on the origins of the name ‘Pennant Hills’ 00

2 Governor Arthur Phillip and the earliest settlements in the Pennant Hills 00

3 The Pennant Hills and the rise of the large landowners 00

4 Governor Hunter and the ‘Missionary Grants’ 00

5 Threats to the colony in the time of Governor King 00

6 Land grants and other happenings in the time of Governor King 00

7 Turmoil and change: Governors Bligh and Macquarie 00

8 The history of Brush Farm 00

9 The One Tree Hill signal station 00

10 Surveys of the Pennant Hills and their geological formation 00

11 Land use in the Pennant Hills in the 1820s and 1830s 00

12 The beginnings of communities: the fi rst churches 00

13 The beginnings of communities: the fi rst schools 00

14 The beginnings of communities: the fi rst post offi ces, shops and police station 00

15 Life in the colony and changes to land allocations in the Pennant Hills: 1850 ~ 1880. 00

16 The arrival of the railway in the Pennant Hills 00

17 The third Pennant Hills village 00

APPENDICES

1 Further extracts from Outlines of the Globe by Thomas Pennant 00

2 The memoirs of Joseph Holt 00

Index 00

4 In Search of the Pennant Hills

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

Many people and organisations gave help during the preparation of this book. In particular we would like to thank Ralph Hawkins and Jilly Warren for their expertise in historical accuracy. Thanks are due to the following for their encouragement and input: Australia PostProfessor Bobbie Bamford at Australian National University LibraryReginald Clive ArndellBrian AshHelen BarkerElizabeth BoeselEdward (Ted) Bowerman Jane Britten at Woollahra LibraryM.H. BrophyMargaret Brown Jennifer Broomhead at the State Library of New South Wales Leo Byrne Vivienne ChanceNeil Chippendale at Hornsby Shire LibraryAnn ChristmasHilda Clark Len ClarkKen Coles Mary Coles Patricia DeweyMegan DunnLurline Eaton Margaret Fearnley Jean FitzhardingeForestry Commission of New South WalesBert Freeman Bruce Freeman Brian Gallagher John Gallard

Geology Department at Macquarie UniversityHazel Ghisla Warren Ghisla Wady GordonMargaret Haig Harold Hitchcock Hornsby Shire CouncilReverend Canon Horsley Marcia Horvai Gilbert HoyleDon Hudson Malcom W. JohnstonAndrew LaarhovenLands Department of New South WalesRon LeslieNick Lomb and the Sydney Observatory MuseumDepartment of Main RoadsGeoff Mathie Lorna Mearns Dr Anthony Meyer Eric Moody Owen Nannelli Keith NewhallNational Library of AustraliaNational Portrait Gallery of England Jenny Noble Alice OxleyAndrew PatrickBeverley PatrickLachlan PatrickPennant Hills District Civic Trust Inc. Professor Pam Peters at Macquarie UniversityGertrude Phillips Melva PhillipsRobert Prys-Jones at the Natural History Museum, Hertfordshire UK

David Rabb June Rabb Raleigh Paper Limited Redemptorist Fathers John Reed Jack Reid Dawn Rule Bob Rosengreen Mrs SalisburyJune SandersonGrahame Sanderson Phillis SchafferJohn Schaffer Helen SharpeBen Shields Harry Shipway Irene Shipway Nancy SmithMargaret SymesPauline Thompson Graeme Thompson Peter Topper Gordon Twyman Reverend Les VitnellArthur WakemanPeter Waite Robin Walsh, manager LEMA Project at Macquarie University Library The National Library of Wales Tony Zeaiter Sandy Zeaiter Iain McAulay and David Jenssen book designers

Above all we thank our editor Deirdre Mowat for her precision, patience and advice which have enabled us to present this manuscript to readers in a stylish and cohesive form.

I N T RO D U C T I O N

On a hot summer’s day in February 1998 three committee members of the Pennant Hills District Civic Trust – Alex Cook, Brian Ash and Ron Leslie – met with local historian Ralph Hawkins to consider a suggestion by a previous committee member, Ron Frew, to erect some kind of memorial to the convict timbergetters who opened up this district. Ralph Hawkins had written a book on this subject and his knowledge would be a great help and guide.

It was quickly decided that it would be more fruitful to establish a display in the new Pennant Hills Library (which was then under construction) showing many aspects of the establishment of the modern community. These displays were to be prepared by local historians and changed from time to time. Hornsby Shire Council was approached to include the appropriate display cases in a prominent area of the library building, and Mayor Steven Pringle and General Manager Robert Ball agreed with Civic Trust’s Ron Leslie to lend their support.

Many local historians were invited to contribute to the preparation of displays and some took up this offer. The fi rst display was presented when the library was completed and many more have been prepared since under the direction of Trevor Patrick. It became apparent that there was no single source of a well-researched, complete history of Pennant Hills: parts were found in separate sources, some of which were of dubious

accuracy. Research undertaken for the displays yielded a rich collection of information, which could be used as the basis of a reference book to fi ll the gap. This was the beginning of the book.

The Local Studies Group held meetings to share information and plan the research and writing with the support of Council’s Library Division. Chaired by Ron Leslie of the Civic Trust, contributors included Trevor Patrick, James Symes, Andrew Tink, Helen Barker, Patricia Dewey, Ralph Hawkins, Ken Coles, Mary Coles, and a library representative.

The accumulation of information, photographs, maps and documents became so great that it was too much for one volume and it was necessary to fi nd a natural point for the story to be split into two volumes. So began the fi rst volume: In Search of the Pennant Hills: A History of the Settlements known as Pennant Hills on the Pennant Hills Range 1788 ~ 1906. The story of the early years of Pennant Hills is closely aligned with the development of the colony of New South Wales, leading up to the founding of the Shire of Hornsby. The granting of land in batches by the government to create farms over the years ensured continuing development of the district. This in turn created demand for the establishment of infrastructure such as roads, wharves, churches, meeting places, post offi ces and commercial enterprises, and led

to the three different settlements known as Pennant Hills. Just as history is not a single event, but a chain of events, outside infl uences (such as the Castle Hill Rebellion) had an effect on the farms of the district, and prominent people who purchased properties in the region, such as Blaxland, Marsden and Macarthur, each brought change in his own way.

The site of the modern suburb of Pennant Hills was determined by the opening of the northern railway line and the construction of a station at its present location. After that time, Pennant Hills became a permanent place and developed into what it is today.

This volume has been researched and written by Trevor Patrick and James Symes, with a chapter on Brush Farm by Andrew Tink, and the manuscript was edited by Deirdre Mowat. To these people I give my personal thanks and congratulations for a job well done.

Ron Leslie 30 August 2006Convenor, Pennant Hills Local Studies Group.

The quotations in this book are exact transcriptions of the original, including spelling, and no attempt has been made to correct typographical errors. Readers should be aware that names were often spelt differently in different places and at different times.

Introduction 5

6 In Search of the Pennant Hills

C H A P T E R 1

Theories on the origins of the name ‘Pennant Hills’

Theories about the origin of place names which date back to the earliest days of European settlement in Australia can be the subject of great debate amongst historians, as there is often little documentation of precisely when, why and by whom particular areas were named. This is very much the case for the name ‘Pennant Hills’.

There are two theories about the name. One of these relates the word ‘pennant’ to its meaning as a fl ag used for signalling purposes. The theory suggests that soldiers stationed in the area of present-day West Pennant Hills watched for the rising of such pennants at Government House in Sydney, and that they then raised their own pennant to transmit the sign to Parramatta that the governor was on his way. However, there were in fact never any soldiers stationed there, nor were fl ags ever raised in that area until Australia Day, 1988!

The only recorded evidence of such a signalling system in the region is of the one which operated from 1824 until 1829 near the corner of present-day Marsden Road and Stewart Street in Ermington. This installation was part of a larger system, which transmitted messages between the fl agstaff at

South Head – which was set up to watch for arriving ships – and the township of Parramatta. However, the use of the term ‘Pennant Hills’ can be found in much earlier documents. Works listed by Governor Hunter on 28 September 1800 mentioned that ‘Another stock-yard was designed for Government at Pendant Hills in Dundas district but is not yet begun to be inclosed.

Will be inclosed when wanted’.1 In an 1801 muster list, ‘Pennant Hills’ was mentioned as the place of residence of Ann Fay, the wife of William Bellamy.2 In 1802, Governor King wrote to Joseph Banks referring to ‘the range of Pennant Hills’.3 Writing about the Castle Hill Rebellion in 1804, Elizabeth Macarthur also makes reference to the rebels having gone to the Macarthur farm at ‘Pennant Hills’ for weapons and recruits.4 George Caley, who travelled by foot from Parramatta to the sea in February 1805, mentioned in his journal of this trip ‘Capt. Macarthur’s farm at Pennent hill’.5 These references were made almost a quarter of a century before the signal station was in existence, suggesting that the fl ag theory lacks a substantive basis.6

An alternative suggestion was put forward in 1920 by historian James Jervis, who wrote about the origins of various place names in Sydney. Jervis stated:

The origin of the name Pennant Hills is somewhat obscure. It was in use between 1790 and 1800. Probably it was named after Thos Pennant, who was a famous naturalist, and who wrote many books on natural history. Pennant was a correspondent of Sir Joseph Banks. Early documents refer to the Pennant Hills.7

Theories on the origins of the name ‘Pennant Hills’ 7

Thomas Pennantby John Keyse Sherwin,

after Thomas Gainsborough,

published 1 January 1779

© National Portrait Gallery, London

8 In Search of the Pennant Hills

Bofpf

cp

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Thomas Pennant (1726 ~ 1798) – who never visited Australia – was a prominent ornithologist and zoologist, and a prolifi c author of the eighteenth century, whose writings about natural history, topography and travel were based on his many tours of the British Isles and his research into the world’s animal kingdom. It was said that his writings achieved great success by always making dull scientifi c matters interesting. Pennant belonged to a distinguished Welsh family, who had an estate at Downing, in Flintshire, for many generations. His friends included Sir Joseph Banks, Captain James Cook and Francis Grose senior, whose son, also Francis, administered the colony of New South Wales when Arthur Phillip returned to England in 1792. His keen interest and support of the journeys of these men to the other side of the world possibly led to his name becoming preserved in that of the suburb we now know as Pennant Hills. Under the patronage system of the eighteenth century, the colonial pioneers often acknowledged their supporters in England by naming geographical features in their honour, although many of these people never travelled to Australia. Governor Arthur Phillip, for example, named Sydney after Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, who was the Home Secretary in the British cabinet8, and Rose Hill (the early name for Parramatta) commemorated George Rose, who was Secretary to the Treasury and one of Phillip’s neighbours in England.

THE LIFE AND WORK OF THOMAS PENNANTThomas Pennant was born on 14 June 1726 in Holywell, Flintshire, in Wales. His education commenced at the Wrexham School and his passion for natural history was inspired by a book published by Francis Willughby in 1678 titled Ornithology (the study of birds). In 1744 he attended The Queen’s College, Oxford, and he was awakened to the wonder of minerals and fossils by a tour through Cornwall in 1747. In 1750 his literary career began with his description of an earthquake at Downing being inserted in the Philosophical Transactions, the offi cial publication of the Royal Society. In 1754 he became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and three years later Carolus Linnaeus prompted him to join the Royal Swedish Society of Sciences in Uppsala. He married Elizabeth Falconer in 1759 and they had two children: a daughter, Arabella; and a son, David, who lived until 1841.

In 1760 he resigned from the Society of Antiquaries and the next year commenced writing British Zoology, being elected as High Sheriff of Flintshire in the same year as a commitment to serve his community. On the death of his father in 1763, the Downing family estate passed to him; and in 1765 his wife, Elizabeth, died. Continuing his passion for the natural world, the fi rst part of his British Zoology book was published in 1766 with the profi ts from the sale of the book going to the Welsh School, Grays Inn Lane, London. He visited the continent and made the acquaintance of Voltaire, the famous French author and philosopher. The next year Joseph Banks welcomed Pennant as a Fellow of the Royal Society, London. The year 1771 saw the publication of A Tour in Scotland in 1769, which proved very popular; Synopsis of Quadrupeds was also released in the same year. An honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford was conferred on him in 1771, and during the next year he toured Scotland accompanied by Reverend J. Lightfoot, a botanist, and Moses Griffi th, a landscape artist. The highlight of that year was being honoured with the ‘Freedom of Edinburgh’.

A tour in 1773 of Ireland followed by a trip to the Isle of Man with Francis Grose senior added to Pennant’s knowledge of the natural world. In 1776 John Keyse Sherwin painted his portrait, in the style of the noted English artist Thomas Gainsborough. He celebrated his second marriage to Anne Mostyn in 1777, which produced two children: a daughter, Sarah, who unfortunately died when she was aged fourteen years, and a son, Thomas, who lived until 1846. A string of books followed from 1778 with A Tour in Wales; History of Quadrupeds and Journey to Snowdon (1781); Journey from Chester to London (1782); Arctic Zoology (in three volumes, 1784,1785,1787) which included information from Sir Joseph Banks; and An Account of London (1790) which went into three impressions. Pennant’s correspondence with author Gilbert White was the basis for White’s book Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, Wales (1789). Being aware of his mortality, he wrote The Literary Life of the late Thomas Pennant, Esq. (1793), detailing his life’s work. He went on to write History of Parishes of Whiteford and Holywell (1796).

Pennant then commenced writing Outlines of the Globe, based on his correspondence with the major explorers around the world. The fi rst and second volumes of this work were published in 1798. He died on 16 December 1798, aged seventy-two years, and his second wife, Anne, died in 1802. The third and fourth volumes of Outlines of the Globe were published posthumously in 1800 by his son David. The fourth volume gave details of the settlement at Sydney Cove obtained through his correspondence with Joseph Banks.9

RIGHT

Thomas Pennantby John Keyse Sherwin, after Thomas

Gainsborough, published 1 January 1779.

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Blessed with a memory the most retentive , his powers of composition were rapid; his works were generally

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printed , as they fl owed from his pen with litt le or no f p p g yf p p g y

correction, hence some inaccuracies may be expected, but p y fl f py fl f p

their numbers are trifl ing..Theories on the origins of the name ‘Pennant Hills’ 9

His benevolence to the poor was unbounded, his repeated exertion to relieve the wants of a populous neighbourhood, by the importation of corn,

in times of scarcity, was truly munifi cent. Temperate in diet, he enjoyed the fruits of abstinence, and, until a few years previous to his decease, possessed

an unusual share of health and vigour.

10 In Search of the Pennant Hills

Of his literary character the public is the impartial judge, and that public not only in this, but in foreign countries has fi xed on it the stamp of approbation. Blessed

with a memory the most retentive, his powers of composition were rapid; his works were generally printed, as they fl owed from the pen, with little or no correction, hence,

some inaccuracies may be expected, but their numbers are trifl ing.

THOMAS PENNANT AND THE EARLY EXPEDITIONS TO NEW SOUTH WALESPennant’s connection to the explorers and founders of the colony of New South Wales stemmed largely from his membership of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge (usually known simply as the Royal Society), the oldest and probably the most famous scientifi c organisation of any kind in the world. It has enjoyed a continuous existence since King Charles II approved its formation in 1660. The Society represents British science throughout the world, and the fellowship comprises all parts of the Commonwealth. The Society, however, is not a government institution, being since its foundation an independent body. It is made up of Fellows, who pay an annual subscription and who make their own rules and appoint their own offi cers, and its patron is the ruling monarch.

The Royal Society was the premier scientifi c body of the eighteenth century and played a strong part in promoting expeditions around the globe, through its infl uence with the British Admiralty and the government. It was the Royal Society that urged the Admiralty to commission an expedition to observe the transit of Venus across the face of the sun in 1769. Lieutenant James Cook undertook this journey on the Endeavour, which ultimately led to his discovery of the eastern coast of Australia; and Joseph Banks, on behalf of the Royal Society, accompanied him.

THOMAS PENNANT, as remembered by his son David:

The pen of a son may not be calculated to record the character of an affectionate and beloved parent; the bias of natural affection may operate too forcibly, yet the silence of the person most intimately acquainted with the various virtues of Thomas Pennant, would justly draw down the reproach of ingratitude.

His religious principles were pure and fervent, yet exempt from bigotry; though fi rmly attached to the established church, he, by his writings and conduct, conciliated the esteem of those of a different persuasion. A steady friend to our excellent constitution, he ever laboured to preserve it entire; this induced him to petition for the reform of some abuses during the administration of Lord North, at a period when the infl uence of the crown was supposed to have exceeded its due bounds; this brought him forward in later times, with additional energy, to resist the democratic spirit, which menaced tenfold evils. The duties of a magistrate he exercised with candour, with temperate yet zealous warmth to protect the oppressed. His benevolence to the poor was unbounded, his repeated exertion to relieve the wants of a populous neighbourhood, by the importation of corn, in times of scarcity, was truly munifi cent. Temperate in diet, he enjoyed the fruits of abstinence, and, until a few years previous to his decease, possessed an unusual share of health and vigour. His conversation was lively, replete with instruction and brilliant with sallies of true humour; yet too great sensibility at times lowered his natural fl ow of spirits, and occasioned severe dejection.

Of his literary character the public is the impartial judge, and that public not only in this, but in foreign countries has fi xed on it the stamp of approbation. Blessed with a memory the most retentive, his powers of composition were rapid; his works were generally printed, as they fl owed from the pen, with little or no correction, hence, some inaccuracies may be expected, but their numbers are trifl ing. Such, candid Reader! Is the true but imperfect sketch of the character of a man who to superior talents united the utmost goodness of heart...10

1

2

3

4

5

6

An ardent naturalist and botanist, and a wealthy landowner, Banks had been admitted to the Society in 1766 at the very young age of twenty-three years. He was ready to fi nance scientifi c expeditions, as well as take part in them and undergo the many risks and discomforts of foreign exploration. He had already been a member of an expedition to Newfoundland, where he had made considerable collections of artefacts from the natural world.

Thomas Pennant wrote to Banks on 10 April 1768 suggesting he use his infl uence to mount an expedition of exploration to the Pacifi c Ocean.11 Banks gathered a team of eight scientists and engaged Dr Daniel Solander, the Swedish naturalist, to ensure botanical science and natural history would be advanced through discoveries made on the journey. Banks bore all the expenses of the staff and equipment necessary for carrying out botanical and other biological investigations at the places the expedition would visit. They duly accompanied James Cook on his fi rst voyage from 1768 to 1771.

Pennant’s books on the natural world were carried by Cook as texts for reference on his journeys of discovery. Cook wrote in his journal during the voyage:

.... at Goose Cove, New Zealand, left fi ve Geese, brought from the Cape of Good Hope. Lieutenant Pickersgill was one who shot a White Hern which answers exactly with Mr. Pennant’s description of the White Herns that either now or were formerly in England. Mr Pennant described the White Hern, in his book titled British Zoology.12

Cook claimed the entire eastern landmass of Australia in 1770, naming it New South Wales. Pennant in his fi nal book (Outlines of the Globe, volume four, 1800) included a map showing all the known land features, with the eastern shore of Van Diemen’s Land linked by dotted lines to Point Hicks where Cook fi rst sighted land. Across those dotted lines he indicated the possibility of a strait that divided the country, foreshadowing the eventual discovery by Matthew Flinders and George Bass of the waterway that bears Bass’ name.

ABOVE

Appearances of Venus passing across the face of the sunfrom illustration by Captain James Cook RN 1789

TOP

Captain James Cook RNPicturesque Atlas of Australasia 1888

Theories on the origins of the name ‘Pennant Hills’ 11

12 In Search of the Pennant Hills

SIR JOSEPH BANKS 1743 ~ 1820Joseph Banks was born on 13 February 1743, the only son of William and Sarah (nee Bate). He was educated at home before attending Harrow in April 1752 then Eton in September 1756. He entered Christ Church, Oxford, as a gentleman commoner in December 1760. His ancestral home, Revesby Abbey in Lincolnshire, had been owned by the family since his great-grandfather purchased it in 1714. He was not a good scholar but at the age of fourteen years he became interested in botany after admiring the beauty of the fl owers around Eton, and immediately began to study the subject. At Revesby Abbey, Banks found in his mother’s dressing room a copy of Gerarde’s The Herball (1597), which described and illustrated all the plants he had seen. He studied this book assiduously. At Oxford, fi nding that botany was not taught there, he imported a lecturer from Cambridge, Mr Israel Lyons, whose fees were paid directly by Banks and his fellow students.

Banks left Oxford in December 1763, taking possession of the family estate in February 1764. He formed a friendship with John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich – a neighbour and fellow devotee of angling – which was to affect considerably his subsequent career. He devoted himself to botanical studies with such zeal that in 1766 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the youngest on record.

He was elected president of the Royal Society in 1778, and held this offi ce for forty-one years. Under Banks, the Society attained a scientifi c and social prominence throughout Europe. He received correspondence from all the governors and senior men of the fl edgling New South Wales colony and also employed botanists to travel there to collect specimens of the natural world and send them back to England. He entertained generously at his house in Soho Square, which he had bought in 1777. Here he gave weekly receptions at which all were welcome and free to inspect his exceptional library of works on natural science and his collections; they also heard the latest scientifi c news, and the accounts of travellers who had lately returned from foreign lands. He also invited many of his friends – foreign men of science and travellers or explorers who had returned from their journeys – to breakfast with him, and afterwards in his study he discussed with them their experiences and heard their news to more advantage than was possible at the evening receptions.

A man of such wide interests and endowed with such ample wealth was of course the object of many appeals for support or assistance. These he examined carefully and was a generous patron of those who could satisfy him they were capable of carrying out their plans and that they were worth attempting. Banks apparently valued the presidency of the Royal Society above any other distinction that had been bestowed upon him.13

The Endeavour returned to England after nearly three years with a very large range of specimens from the botanical, insect and animal kingdom. Among the birds collected by Banks from New South Wales was a particularly beautiful red and blue parrot, which he named the ‘Pennantian Parrot’.14 Its Latin name of Psittacus pennantii was bestowed by John Latham (1740 ~ 1837),15 the pre-eminent ornithologist of the eighteenth century. He was a close associate of Banks and Pennant, and was the fi rst to describe and scientifi cally name many Australian birds. It seems likely that this bird was named after Pennant, refl ecting his interest in the voyage as well as his fascination with birds. The parrot is now commonly known as the crimson rosella.

The voyages of Cook were followed in 1787 by the departure of the First Fleet for New South Wales under the command of Arthur Phillip, to form a penal colony there in an attempt to solve the problem of England’s overcrowded jails, which were full of convicts who could no longer be sent to America after its independence in 1783. Both Banks and Pennant were keenly interested in Phillip’s mission. Pennant gained considerable knowledge from Banks and this formed the basis of Pennant’s most important literary work as far as Australia was concerned: the four-volume series entitled Outlines of the Globe. The books give a view of our planet through the eyes of the explorers and colonists of the eighteenth century, at the time when the foundations of science were being laid down.

RIGHT

Portrait of Joseph Banks surrounded by artefacts brought back to England from his voyage of discovery with James CookBenjamin West, Lincolnshire County Council,

The Collection, Art and Archaeology

in Lincolnshire

Theories on the origins of the name ‘Pennant Hills’ 13

14 In Search of the Pennant Hills

In the fourth volume, subtitled The View of the Malayan Isles, New Holland and the Spice Islands (1800), Pennant wrote a vivid account of the early colony of New South Wales. He described the Aboriginal people:

...two, sometimes more [Aboriginal people], will venture in one of them; they keep along the shoals to strike the fi sh, which appears to be their principal subsistence; they also eat the fowls, or the few quadrupeds they can contrive to take. On many of the tall trees were cut notches in the stems to facilitate their ascent. They seemed to conceal themselves on the top, and by that means surprise the birds as they alight, or catch them at roost; or from this situation, kill with their lances any beast that chances to pass beneath. As to their cookery, they content themselves with eating their meat raw, or at best with giving it a slight broiling over their fi res.16

He gave an account of Botany Bay through Cook’s eyes:

THE country is hilly, but not mountainous; part covered with tall trees, quite clear from Underwood; in some parts near the shores, were extensive tracts hid by brushwood; and in many places swamps full of the Mangroves, or Rhizophora mangle... Many rills discharge themselves into Botany Bay, but it wanted depth of water to give room for ships of large size. The soil

in places was black and fat, and gave Captain Cook reason to believe it would be productive of any sort of grain. The trees were fi lled with birds of most beautiful colors, particularly those of the parrot tribe. The country abounded with plants, and from that circumstance the harbor was called Botany Bay. This entire coast was named New South Wales, from the extreme south to the extreme north; a denomination given near two centuries ago to part of the territories adjacent to Hudson’s Bay.17

He explained why and how the First Fleet was sent to New South Wales:

IN the year 1787, when we began to be at a loss about the disposal of our criminals, legislature was advised to banish into this country, all those who had been by royal mercy reprieved from death, or who had been convicted of crimes liable only to the punishment of transportation to our late colonies.

AN act was passed for that purpose in the same year, and in consequence a fl eet was prepared to convey to this distant country as many convicts, as at that time fell under the penalty of the law. The Sirius frigate was fi tted out to convoy the governor. The gentleman selected for the arduous charge was Captain Arthur Phillip, who had long served in our navy with great credit, and for some time was engaged in the service of Portugal, during part of which he with great good conduct and humanity performed a duty similar to that his country now committed to him; for he was employed once, if not oftener, in conveying the criminals of that nation to its colonies of the Brazils.

THE governor sailed from Spithead on May 13th, 1787. On June 3rd he and his fl eet reached Teneriffe; on August 5th anchored off Rio de Janeiro; on October 13th in Table Bay, at the cape of Good Hope, which he left on November 12th in the Supply; reached Botany Bay on January 3rd, 1788, having performed, in a bad sailer, a voyage of seven thousand miles [11,265 kilometres] in fi fty-one days; the Syrius and the whole convoy anchored safely in the bay on the 19th and 20th of the same month.18

ABOVE

Portrait of Captain James Cook RN 1782© National Library of Australia with permission

RIGHT HAND PAGE

BACK

Dutch map of portions of the coastline of New Holland 1753Department of Geographic Information,

‘Terres Australes Bellin 1753’

LEFT TO RIGHT

Aboriginal warriorPicturesque Atlas of Australasia 1888

Crimson rosella, known as the Pennantian parrot in 1791Copy held in the Mitchell Library, State

Library of New South Wales

Governor Arthur PhillipPicturesque Atlas of Australasia 1888

Governor Arthur Phillip commemorative medalThe Royal Australian Mint, Canberra

Theories on the origins of the name ‘Pennant Hills’ 15

16 In Search of the Pennant Hills

The establishment of the colony at Sydney Cove was traced:

Mr. Phillip had previously taken a most exact survey of every part of the proposed place of settlement; he found it bad as a port, and from the wet nature of the environs, suspected that the air would affect the health of the new colonists. He observed that Captain Cook mentioned a bay, in Lat. 33º 5’ south, very little distant from the other, which he had named Port Jackson, and where he thought there was good anchorage. Mr. Phillip lost no time, but made a thorough examination of that also; he found it equal at least to our celebrated harbor, Milford Haven, in old South Wales. It opens with an ample mouth, and after some space, divides into two most extensive meandering branches, with numbers of other small bays, creeks, or coves, pointing again to the right and to the left, so as to form the fi nest and most secure harbor in the world, capable of containing the navies of Europe itself.

HERE Mr. Phillip determined to establish his colony; and fi xing on a place which he named Sydney Cove, began immediately to trace the outlines of the fi rst street of his intended town. The offi cers live in huts, but houses are building of brick and stone; the governor is very moderate in that designed for him, which contains only six rooms. The land allotted for cultivation has been found to be very good, and to return on the fi rst trial two hundred bushels [7 cubic metres] of wheat, and sixty [2 cubic metres] of barley. The destruction made by rats was very great; in a short time they destroyed not less than twelve thousand pounds [5500 kilograms] of fl our and rice, brought over with the fi rst transportation. There are also vegetables in plenty, from seeds brought from England. I cannot enter into the account of the whole proceedings; by the detail given in the two pamphlets published by J.Debrett, imperfect as they are, may be seen the humanity of government in providing every necessary for the use of the convicts, yet I fear it has been disappointed in its hopes. The immense expence we have been at in sending provisions from hence, from the Cape of Good Hope, and from China (notwithstanding the glossing over several particulars) gives reason to imagine that our colony has been at the point of starving.

THE Kangaroo, and others of the Opossum tribe, may be eaten, but those animals, which never were numerous, will soon become extinct in the neighbourhoods of the colony, and we dare not, for fear of the natives, trespass beyond our bounds; the New Hollanders still continue very hostile. Fish is found in plenty, but the turtle, on which we seemed to have some dependence, is a very precarious article.19

The description of Arthur Phillip’s exploration of the countryside around the colony of Sydney gave a vivid (if somewhat erroneous) portrayal of this new land:

The caulifl owers and the melons of his Excellency’s garden are admirable in their kind. CLAY is discovered, which makes good bricks; but no limestone has as yet been found. As to shell lime, the quantity is so small, that it is impossible to collect suffi cient for use. How fatal are these defects to the progress of architecture in Hollandia Nova. Neither are there any hopes of its becoming a marine power, as it wants timber fi t even to build a boat. Norfolk Island, I fear, must not only be its nursing mother, but the resource for the support of its marine.20

The Pennantian parrot now known as the crimson rosellaAndrew Patrick

The Pennantian ParrotArtist: Sarah Stone circa 1790.

Copy held in the Mitchell Library,

State Library of New South Wales

MULTITUDES of nuts and fruits of distant regions are frequently fl ung in great abundance on this coast, brought thither by the wind and waves, as those of the Antilles are to the shores of Norway, or the Scottish Hebrides. Among them are cocoanuts in abundance; but all are covered with Balani, or other marine productions, a sure sign of the length of the voyage. They are supposed to have been brought by the trade winds, which blow full on this shore, and to have come from Terra del Espirito Santo, or the New Hebrides Islands, visited by Captain Cook in 1774.21

THE LEGACY OF THOMAS PENNANT IN NEW SOUTH WALESIf ‘Pennant Hills’ was derived from the name of Thomas Pennant, it is unclear exactly by whom or when it occurred, as there is no offi cial documentation announcing the title. It does seem likely that the initial use of the term referred not to a single place but to the entire range of hills which rises between the present suburbs of Ryde and Parramatta on the northern side of the Parramatta River, and that this range was known as ‘the Pennant Hills’.

Possibly it was Governor Phillip who chose the name. Port Jackson was explored by Phillip soon after the arrival of the First Fleet. An area named midway along the western arm of this waterway – later called the Parramatta River – was One Tree Hill (situated at the corner of present-day Stewart Street and Marsden Road, Ermington), which had a distinctive tree acting as a guide to any traveller. This site was on the lower slopes of the range of hills and was nearby to where some of the earliest land grants were made by Phillip in 1791.

Phillip was certainly aware of Pennant’s work as a naturalist, and Pennant was one of the subscribers to Phillip’s book The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay (1789).22 Phillip specifi cally mentioned Pennant in the book as being ‘the fi rst author who gave a scientifi c description of the Kanguroo, in his History of Quadrupeds, p. 306. No. 184 and of the New Holland Opossum, p. 310. No.188’.23 The Pennantian parrot featured in Phillip’s book, and was illustrated by Latham:

PENNANTIAN PARROTOrder and Genus the same, Species 134.

Size of the scarlet lory, length sixteen inches: the bill of a bluish horn colour: the general colour of the plumage scarlet; the base of the under mandible and the chin covered with rich blue feathers: the back black, the feathers edged with crimson: wings blue, down the middle much paler than the rest: the quills and tail black, the feathers edged outwardly with blue, and three of the outer tail feathers, from the middle to the end, of a pale hoary blue: the tail is wedge shaped, the middle feathers eight inches [20 centimetres] in length; the outermost, or shortest, only four [10 centimetres]; the bottom of the thighs blue, legs dusky, claws black.

This beautiful bird is not unfrequent about Port Jackson, and seems to correspond greatly with the Pennantian Parrot, described by Mr. Latham in the supplement to his General Synopsis of Birds, p. 61 differing in so few particulars, as to make us suppose it to differ only in sex from that species.24

The bird was also mentioned and illustrated in the book Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales (1790) by Dr John White, Surgeon-General to the settlement, where he comments that he ‘...saw the Pennantian Parrot for the fi rst time’.25 Sir Joseph Banks and Thomas Pennant were among two hundred names listed as subscribers to this book.

Theories on the origins of the name ‘Pennant Hills’ 17

After Phillip left the colony, Francis Grose junior took over as the lieutenant governor from December 1792 until December 1794. Grose’s father – Francis Grose senior – had travelled to Scotland with Pennant so it is quite possible that Grose junior may have been acquainted with him. So it may also be feasible that Grose junior bestowed the name ‘Pennant Hills’, as he was responsible for granting adjoining land on the slopes of these hills.26

Alternatively, it may have been one of the subsequent governors who decided upon the name.27 Lieutenant Governor Paterson – who took over command from Grose junior from December 1794 until September 1795 when Governor Hunter arrived – was keenly interested in botany and acquainted with Joseph Banks. He too granted much land on the slopes of the Pennant Hills.

Perhaps the name was coined by Governor Hunter. He also corresponded with Banks and sent him journals listing the naturalist discoveries made in the colony.28 Hunter granted land further up in the Pennant Hills during his time and was also the fi rst to use the name in a document, as has been noted earlier in this chapter. Hunter governed the colony until September 1800, which was the year that the fourth volume of Pennant’s Outlines of the Globe was published: perhaps the appearance of the book in that year was responsible for the usage of the name.

Whilst it will probably never be ascertained who assigned the name to the range of hills, it was clearly in use by 1800 and the term covered a wide location for a considerable period of time. It was not part of any of the offi cial district or parish names, but later became attached to two distinct settlements in the region. This appeared to cause few problems until the advent of post offi ces required that only

one such establishment could bear the name of ‘Pennant Hills’. The arrival of the railway line in the area culminated in

a third, quite separate, village being established much further north in the hills, which eventually took the name of ‘Pennant Hills’.

The main thoroughfare on the northern shore of Parramatta River built by Phillip led from the town towards

the farms in the grants in the ‘District of The Field of Mars’ and ‘The Ponds’ in 1791. The road is still used today, and is

variously known as Pennant Street, Victoria Road and Kissing Point Road along its route. The fi rst documented use of the term ‘Pennant Street’ was in a map of 1822 29, and at that time Pennant Street also referred to the part of the road now named Victoria Road. The main

thoroughfare later built along the ridge to the north from Parramatta to the heights was named Pennant Hills Road, and at the end of the

twentieth century given the title of the Cumberland Highway. These street names seem linked to the use of the term ‘the Pennant Hills’ and could

well be a further legacy of the eighteenth century ornithologist who took such an enthusiastic interest in the young colony of New South Wales, yet who was never actually to see it for himself.

18 In Search of the Pennant Hills

The Pennantian ParrotArtist: Sarah Stone circa 1790.

Copy held in the Mitchell Library,

State Library of New South Wales

NOTES1 Historical Records of Australia (HRA), series 1,

vol. 2, Library Committee of the

Commonwealth Parliament 1914 ~ 1925,

Sydney, p. 619.

2 R Hawkins, ‘On the origin of the name

of Pennant Hills’, Local Colour, 1989, vol. 4,

no. 13, p. 13.

3 King to Sir Joseph Banks, Mitchell Library:

reel FM4/1748, p. 156.

4 Elizabeth Macarthur to John Piper, April

1804, Piper Papers, Mitchell Library, A256,

p. 423.

5 George Caley, Journey to the sea, 1805. Journal

1802 ~ 1807, Mitchell Library: Microfi lm

FM 4/2568.

6 Interestingly enough, another site in Sydney

connected to the same fl agstaff system –

Woollahra – also has been the subject of

controversy: as to whether its name comes

from the Aboriginal word ‘Woo-la-ra’ which

was noted by Daniel Southwell in 1788 to

mean ‘The Lookout’. This was later taken

to mean that the word related to the fl agstaff

established at South Head by Captain

Hunter, yet this was not in place until 1790,

two years after the fi rst mention of the term,

making such a theory untenable. B Crosson,

‘“Woollahra” and lookouts’, Woollahra History

and Heritage Society Briefs, Brief no. 11, 1989.

7 JJervis ‘The origin and history of the place

names of the Parramatta and adjoining

districts’, Journal and Proceedings Parramatta

Historical Society, 1921, vol. 2, p. 50 (as read

before the Parramatta and District Historical

Society 7 September 1920).

8 R Appleton (ed.), The Australian encyclopaedia,

4th ed., Grolier Society, Sydney, 1983, p. 241.

9 Information about Thomas Pennant

obtained from following websites:

www.llgc.org.uk; www.en.wikipedia.org;

www.encyclopedia.jrank.org; www.bbc.co.uk

10 D Pennant, Introduction to T Pennant,

Outlines of the globe, vol. 4: The view of the

Malayan Isles, New Holland and the Spice Islands,

Luke Hansard, London, 1800. Further

extracts of the introduction can be found

in Appendix 1.

11 Joseph Banks papers, Mitchell Library, series

72.130.

12 JC Beaglehole (ed.), The journals of Captain

James Cook on his voyages of discovery, vol. 2,

Hakluyt Society, Cambridge, 1968, p. 126.

13 LA Gilbert, ‘Banks, Sir Joseph (1743 ~

1820)’, in D Pike (ed.), Australian dictionary of

biography, vol. 1, Melbourne University Press,

Melbourne, 1966, pp. 52–55.

14 R Hawkins ‘On the origin of the name of

Pennant Hills – conclusion’, Local Colour,

1989, vol. 4, no. 19, p. 2.

15 J Latham, Supplement to A general synopsis

of birds, Leigh and Sotheby, London, 1787,

p. 61. The bird was later renamed

Platycercus elegans.

16 T Pennant, Outlines of the globe, vol. 4: The view

of the Malayan Isles, New Holland and the Spice

Islands, Luke Hansard, London, 1800, p. 108.

17 Pennant, p. 108.

18 Pennant, pp. 109–110.

19 Pennant, pp. 111–112.

20 Phillip sent a contingent to Norfolk Island

in February 1788 to establish a second small

colony, partly for strategic reasons and also

to grow additional food. Thomas Pennant

discussed this colony in his writings: refer

to Appendix 1.

21 Pennant, p. 139. Further extracts from the

book can be found in Appendix 1.

22 A Phillip, The voyage of Governor Phillip to

Botany Bay, John Stockdale, London, 1789,

republished Angus & Robertson, Sydney,

1970, p. xxxi.

23 Phillip, p. 204.

24 Phillip, p. 94.

25 J White, Journal of a voyage to New South Wales,

J Debrett, London, 1790, p. 142.

26 Hawkins, vol. 4, no. 19, p. 3.

27 Hawkins, vol. 4, no. 19, p. 3.

28 Appleton (ed.), p. 200.

29 Assistant surveyor James McBrien’s map

of 1822 showed the three thoroughfares on

the north side of the river as Pennant Street,

Ross Street and Grose Street: T Kass,

C Liston and J McClymont, Parramatta:

A past revealed, Parramatta City Council,

Parramatta, 1996, p. 113.

Theories on the origins of the name ‘Pennant Hills’ 19

Governor Arthur Phillip (1788 ~ 1792)

To Sydney townshipTo Parramatta township

Drif

tway

Penn

ant S

treet

Parramatta River

1 John Anderson {50 acres}2 Isaac Archer {80 acres}3 Joseph Bishop {50 acres}4 Curtis Brand {30 acres}5 John Carver {80 acres}6 John Colthread {80 acres}7 Thomas Cottrell {80 acres}8 Edward Elliott {30 acres}9 Matthew Everingham {50 acres}10 William Field {50 acres}11 Thomas Howard {30 acres}12 William Hubbard {50 acres}13 John Irving {30 acres}14 Thomas Kelly {30 acres}15 James Manning {80 acres}

16 Joseph Marshall {30 acres} 17 Alexander McDonald {130 acres}18 John Pedrick {30 acres}19 John Ramsey {50 acres}20 William Reid {60 acres}21 John Richards {30 acres}22 Anthony Rope {70 acres}23 James Ruse {30 acres}24 Phillip Schaffer {140 acres}25 John Summers {30 acres}26 Thomas Swinerton {80 acres}27 Thomas Tynan {80 acres} 28 Edward Varndell {30 acres} 29 William Wade {50 acres} 30 Robert Webb {60 acres}

{Melrose Park}

{Eastwood}THE PENNANT HILLS

One Tree Hill

1814

1229

322

28 4

1021

1925

11

9

1

16

8

20 30 13 24

23

15 517

26

277

26

{Ermington}

District of The Field of Mars

District of The Ponds

Vin

eyard

Cre

ek

Creek

20 In Search of the Pennant Hills

FIRST LAND GRANTSGovernor Arthur Phillip 1788 ~ 1792

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Note: Brackets around suburban names have been used to identify locations which did not exist at the time of the map. Map not to scale.

Map interpretation by Trevor Patrick 2007 from the map by W. Meadows Brownrigg, Surveyor, Jamison Street, Sydney 1835 and AO 215.