;- .. ..- .,_.-- +-- ------ .. I , 11 "> " f : .~. ': . " ., ""~,,. ,. ,. '.,1'0 >,,,,t,. ~ .,... ':. .' .. ..... ; ~.. :. "::' , ,',. Ir: . , ", ",' ". .' .. '~ ., . :. .,. : 't ' <':' . ,~ >'! "~'. I .' " ~. '.. ~ l, ~" .. .,' .),1,' ':' , .. ~ .', .. .;.'." I . ~,:,' ,' . '," .. ~ ~ !' .•. .... "'f : ~:~.:.?::~:;:: ~:i~:?~~~;' . " ..... ,- <'.;/." ~ ;'. '::.\:'" ... Historical. ,(.' ·;'},.~.;t ..... : ' ".; :~. ·::····\t)· . '. '. ~.~ ~~. \./: '" .. ,,,, .y . '. '" "," ~ .... ~ :::.*".... .:,;'.. ,;:. '~.: ~ ; ..... ; '. , •••• ,< ," ':.\ ',;.. ..:\.-.:.: ~ t: '.. >.. \ .;. :'~. ~, ;- . ., .. :" . ." .:~ ~ "''; >: ~:.,.~ . '~: ': : ~, ':' . .:,'.: • d • . ' ..i· .... ~ f '( 1 ': I~ • ~ .~ .' "",. ';,~ ~ . .' ' '. ,., ra '.. ':. ::;?:~::,;,;~'~ ~~m .' ~". ':;; ':~{t.;~;~.•.::,~~.i,~.·f.~':" , .. :}';;,.,' '. ~ ~. .' 1'._.;:., ~ 'l _~.. ' . ~ • I ". , ~.',. :' ... ' .. .'. .. ,'. ~. ··:f~~·';·:!i~·· ~ .' " I.' \'.). ~';:.~:.:.:...'.,,':.:.'~\':., ~<:: .:;::(::;;.... "0 " -: .. ;: ~'~.;:.:, :~.;~ ..: 1"';'1;::, -:- ," \-~ .. -.. .- . " :.( .... ..... / ., .. ',' -':: .. '() O-;~/J~Jr,,' .' , ' .. ~.' ." "" Ji. 'f, . '. .-- 1: • - - .... _ ~'. , . 1" I JUDY BIRMINGHAM "f ./ ~ .' '; . ~~./'. Department Of Archaeology, .ff.r:~:,j University Of Sydney '~f"}: i N.S.W. 2006 'r \,' I~ '~~;tc:~~ 02·6922763 Off 02-323796 Res ~. I -~>' J :r.,- " ,I Introduction I This survey covers the historical development of the area occupied by Fort Scratchley during the period 1797 1..' I to the'present. All previous 'histories of the fort have tGnded to concGntra te upon only one aspect of the area" s I history resulting in a bias- this bias tends to neglect, anything before the begi.nnings of fortification. It has I therefc:>re been found "necessary, to begi:p. research from fir~t ..... principles. For the purpo,ses of this survey the area of I study will be referred to by the topographical name, "Signal r- Hill" • I I 'I 1I I' t I L , ! I i '. r' I , I I ,. i I i l !I I f' 1 II r ! 11 I I -----------~~ I An .. 1!.:!:s~orica+_Survey of Fort Scratchley I Newcastle, N.S.W. First o~ficial notice ,of Signal Hill was' made in 1797, I on September the 9th of that year Lieutenant John Shortland, in pursuing the "Cumberland" which had been taken from I ,Sydney by convicts landed in a small cove a few metres to the north-west of the hill.' Shortland formed a camp near a I run of fresh-water at the base of the hill which he named 1--, Braithwaite Point after a friend of his family. In examining I the immediate vicinity he discovered coal in the form of' three seams lying between sea-level and thirty feet above sea-level. The discovery of coal is remarked upon by Collins I l in 'his description of the' colony in New South Wales: I ~ i I~ Shortlands pursuit, however, had not been without I its advantage; for on his return he entered a river which he named Hunter River about ten leagues to the, il southward of Port Stephens, into which he carried three fathoms water, in the shoalest part of its I entrance, finding deep water and good anchorage within • •••• In this harbour was found a considerable quantity I of very good coal and lying so near the water side f I as to' be conveniently shipped • •••• Some specimens L , of this coal.were taken to Sydney. ,I ~ From Sydney Governor Hunter forwarded these specimens of ,I coal to Sir Joseph Banks in .i.£ngland but nothing further, on i I the part .of ei~ther the British or Colonial Government took place. Ships visiting the ~rea during the following three II years did however, stop to pick coal for sale in India. In the mean ,time, attempts had beeh,made to extract ' I coal from the George's River'area south of Sydney. Governor I, I King had decided in early 1801 that if the George's River l venture failed, miners under the guidance ,of a convict, 'I ~ John Platt, would be sent to,the Hunter River. The move to I F,..... the Hunter River was precipitated by suspicions of a convict I I 'I rising in :rvrarch 1801 as well as by the arrival of Irish ; political prisoners.In consequence an expedition under the I~I charge of Lieutenant Grant left Sydney for the Hunter River on 10 June, 1801. 2 Other members of the 'party included I I 11 I I 2 I Lieutenant-Colonel William Paterson who was to gauge the economic potential of the Hunter District, Hnsign Barrallier who was to act as surveyor and JQhn Platt. PatersQn recorded, ,", I in h~s jQurnal fQr 15 June, 1801 that he had: 3 Landed and examined the point of land where the cQals I are, ,and likewise the sea cQast to the sQuthward • ••• I The PQint Qf land where I put the cQ,lliers to' wQrk I I, , I have called CQlliers' PQint. - NQbby's had been examined as a PQssible site fQrcQal , , I mining but the coal was found 'to be inferiQr to' that fQund at Brai thwai te P'Qint. Grant described the cQal mining I acti;ity in his journal for 4 July, 1801:4 I this day visited the cQal miners and fQund them hard I at work. They had fQWld a strata'of cQals nearly fQur L 'I feet in thickness and Qf excellent Xind. I il Barrallier wrote to' his patrQn, Charles Greville that:~ r- Coal is found on,the SQuth Side of the mainland called CQlliers' PQint. I l~p I is 'after Barrallier and ~hQWS the area explored by the 1801 expedition. CQlliers' Point is referred tQ'as CQal !... I ,Head, place-names do' nQt appear t'o have been constant at ,this time. I Meanwhile, Platt and anQther miner named BrQadbent had been preparing the wQrks at CQlli~rs' PQint. By OctQber - three miners were wQrking one adit remQving three tQns Qf I cQal per day.',SurgeQn Nlartin Nlason was left in charge of the settlement and in a letter to' King dated 21 November, i , , I 1801 he wrote the fQIIQwing: 6 I have 3,820 baskets "of coal at hand, or 19,0 tQns ••.• I With three minors and three carriers I rais 180 baskets, or 9, tQns a day. They can do this in five hQurs. One I mine is 34 yards' Under ground; one 'do.. , 31; Qhe dQ., 27; one do., 10. I can set nine more minQrs to' work immed­ iately, and with Qne drawer fQr each can rais 190 tQns I per week. ,The strata of coal we are now wQrking is 3 I fQot, high, Qut of which there is 14 inches of clay and other rubbish, so. we have but 22 'inches Qf neat coal; 1 ' ~, I L I I 3 over this there is a strata of 18 inches of good coal. In Fresh Water Bay ,I can open a mine where there is a I' strata of 3 foot neat coal under the above two stratas; the coals are of supereor ~uality. I send one cask as 1 a specimen by this conveyance ••••• Plat is a good r working minor; I believe him 'to be a' good man, but he I, cannot see much further into the ground than his pick cuts. L 1 During 1801 and early 1802 Newcastle coal was being sent . ~,' to the Cape of Good Hope and India. Whilst regular mining 1 continued coal ~as also removed by the crews of passing ships. Regular mining did cease however, in N.tarch 1802 when rI I Gover~or King withdrew soldters and convicts from Newcastle. I On 15 lVIarch, 1804 a permanent settlement was established ~ I at Newcastle under the superv.ision of Lieuten~nt Charles IvIenzies as a resuit of the rebellion at Castle Hill in , ' February 1804., IVIenzies was perhaps the first to indicate I the defensive' possibilit'ies of the later site of Fort ,Scratchle;y-. In his repol":t to Line he .. remarked that: 7 I A few guns could be placed to great advantage on a commanding ,height above' the town so as ,to prevent' " " any vessel, in case of being seized by convicts I r­ while up Paterson's River, from getting'out of the r, 1 Ha:rbour. :H;lsewhere in the same report IVlenzies described the coal I mining activity which had been started a-fr~sh.8 An, excellent mine has been opened" the: strata of which continued a yard six inches thick. This shall be worked I in a regul~r maru1er, so as to enable us, at a future period, to carry it on in a most extensive manner. I, ~he mines have hitherto been dug by individuals in a I shamefu~ manner. Never have they been at the trouble l I of leaving proper Gupports, leaving them to fall in any way, but until I receive your Excellency's cqmmands on ,...... ,this head, the chief miner shall take care that this I is not done in future. Under lVIenzies' supervision, salt bo,iling works were set i I I up on the southern slope leading to Signal Hill on the ocean I 1 I 4 side. In lVlarch 1805 new cast-iron paIl.s arrived from'England .to increase salt, production.Plate I shows the settlement I and,Signal Hill in the year 1812; a flagstaff is the only feature of significance on the hill itself., ~" I The next major phase in the history of Signal Hill began in 1813 when Lieutenant Skottowe of the 73rd Regiment and -- I Commandant at Newcastle erected a coal beacon and a new flag­ staff to aid ships attempting to fin,d t.he pqrt. 9The following lO I signals were displayed from the hill at this time: L. Yellow and Blue flag over ball- Flood tide has mude, I you may stand in for the harbour. Yellow and Blue flag over Red flag- The pilot has left the wharf. Yellow and Blue flag at masthead and ball at south yard­ arm- Heavy swell or fresh in the river renders it dangerous. Yellow and Blue flag at masthead and Red flag at south yardarm- Heavy swell 'or sea pre~ents pilot from r .• boarding you till you are under Nobby's.