Wellington. The former gaol was built in 1863 but most of what can be seen was built in 1878. Now other uses.
Wellington. Population 1,800.
Explorer George Evans, Deputy Surveyor for NSW ventured down to Macquarie River valley in 1814. He was followed by explorer John Oxley in 1817 and an outpost of government and white occupation was established where Wellington now stands. These early illegal squatters had taken up runs as the convict depot opened in 1822 but most came in the early 1830s after the convict depot’s closure and the beginnings of the mission era. Later they became leaseholders and the white pioneers of the district.
One of the early pastoralists who took up a run near the convict settlement was Joseph Montefiore, a Jewish businessman and speculator from London. He arrived in NSW in 1829 and in 1834 he received a land grant (free) of 2,560 acres in the Wellington Valley. He called his property Nanima and he asked for assigned convicts to work on his property which he soon increased by 1,000 acres and by 1838 he owned 12,500 acres. He had other properties and as a banker, merchant and investor in copper mines he eventually settled in the new colony of South Australia in 1846 hence Montefiore Hill in North Adelaide. This site was named after his investor brother Jacob Montefiore, one of the SA Colonisation Commissioners. Joseph Montefiore left the colony of South Australia in 1860 and returned to London. But back in 1838 Joseph Montefiore decided to establish a village on his lands called Montefiores two miles from the former convict depot and Church Mission. But this plan failed and in 1846 there were only two houses, two hotels and four stores in the village. By 1858 the town was partially demolished and little remained as the nearby government town of Wellington was being established. Little survived in Montefiores except for the Lion of Waterloo Hotel which is still standing. It was first licensed in 1842 and built the year before by a Belgian named Nicholas Hyeronimus who previously lived in Molong. The hotel retains its vernacular Georgian style. Nicholas Hyeronimus became the Member of Parliament for wellington and died in 1860. Although the license was never cancelled it started re-operating as a licensed hotel in 1993 after new owners had done a restoration between 1989 and 1993. The big problem with Montefiores was that all land was leased land and settlers could not buy freehold land. This limited their willingness to build other than bush shanties. During the early years Captain Charles Sturt visited Wellington Valley in 1828 and reported on the limestone caves. Sturt was not impressed but scientific explorations began in the late 1860s. The caves since then, with their many steps, has become a tourist attraction. Apart from cave formations the earth beneath wellington also contained gold. A small rush to the area occurred in 1856 followed by a bigger and longer one from 1869 to 1881 when companies with deep shafts extracted gold worth over £26,000. Wellington was not a major gold field district.
Government land sales for Wellington began in 1846 but with no rush of buyers. (Wellington was named just after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 in honour of the Duke of Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon.) A few years later it had several general stores, a hotel, Courthouse and a few houses. Public structures came much later. The foundation stone of the Anglican Church designed by architect Edmund Blacket was laid in 1865. It was completed in 1867.The Catholics built a temporary structure in 1859 and started erected their stone church in 1864. A National School opened in Wellington in 1861 but was replaced with a bigger one in 1864 and again in 1867. The Bank of NSW opened their first branch in 1865. As time moved on more hotels opened making a total of four by 1874, along with wheelwrights, butchers, bakers, harness makers, brewery and a newspaper etc. In 1877 the railway from Bathurst and Sydney reached the town. The railway station opened in 1880 and the new Post Office officially opened in 1904.
Wellington. The former gaol was built in 1863 but most of what can be seen was built in 1878. Now other uses.
Wellington. Population 1,800.
Explorer George Evans, Deputy Surveyor for NSW ventured down to Macquarie River valley in 1814. He was followed by explorer John Oxley in 1817 and an outpost of government and white occupation was established where Wellington now stands. These early illegal squatters had taken up runs as the convict depot opened in 1822 but most came in the early 1830s after the convict depot’s closure and the beginnings of the mission era. Later they became leaseholders and the white pioneers of the district.
One of the early pastoralists who took up a run near the convict settlement was Joseph Montefiore, a Jewish businessman and speculator from London. He arrived in NSW in 1829 and in 1834 he received a land grant (free) of 2,560 acres in the Wellington Valley. He called his property Nanima and he asked for assigned convicts to work on his property which he soon increased by 1,000 acres and by 1838 he owned 12,500 acres. He had other properties and as a banker, merchant and investor in copper mines he eventually settled in the new colony of South Australia in 1846 hence Montefiore Hill in North Adelaide. This site was named after his investor brother Jacob Montefiore, one of the SA Colonisation Commissioners. Joseph Montefiore left the colony of South Australia in 1860 and returned to London. But back in 1838 Joseph Montefiore decided to establish a village on his lands called Montefiores two miles from the former convict depot and Church Mission. But this plan failed and in 1846 there were only two houses, two hotels and four stores in the village. By 1858 the town was partially demolished and little remained as the nearby government town of Wellington was being established. Little survived in Montefiores except for the Lion of Waterloo Hotel which is still standing. It was first licensed in 1842 and built the year before by a Belgian named Nicholas Hyeronimus who previously lived in Molong. The hotel retains its vernacular Georgian style. Nicholas Hyeronimus became the Member of Parliament for wellington and died in 1860. Although the license was never cancelled it started re-operating as a licensed hotel in 1993 after new owners had done a restoration between 1989 and 1993. The big problem with Montefiores was that all land was leased land and settlers could not buy freehold land. This limited their willingness to build other than bush shanties. During the early years Captain Charles Sturt visited Wellington Valley in 1828 and reported on the limestone caves. Sturt was not impressed but scientific explorations began in the late 1860s. The caves since then, with their many steps, has become a tourist attraction. Apart from cave formations the earth beneath wellington also contained gold. A small rush to the area occurred in 1856 followed by a bigger and longer one from 1869 to 1881 when companies with deep shafts extracted gold worth over £26,000. Wellington was not a major gold field district.
Government land sales for Wellington began in 1846 but with no rush of buyers. (Wellington was named just after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 in honour of the Duke of Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon.) A few years later it had several general stores, a hotel, Courthouse and a few houses. Public structures came much later. The foundation stone of the Anglican Church designed by architect Edmund Blacket was laid in 1865. It was completed in 1867.The Catholics built a temporary structure in 1859 and started erected their stone church in 1864. A National School opened in Wellington in 1861 but was replaced with a bigger one in 1864 and again in 1867. The Bank of NSW opened their first branch in 1865. As time moved on more hotels opened making a total of four by 1874, along with wheelwrights, butchers, bakers, harness makers, brewery and a newspaper etc. In 1877 the railway from Bathurst and Sydney reached the town. The railway station opened in 1880 and the new Post Office officially opened in 1904.