NORTHSIDE PORT MACQUARIE S FORGOTTEN PARADISE Bi-Monthly December 2011 Contact: Northside Progress Association Inc P.O. Box 6182 Port Macquarie NSW 2444 Email: northsiders1@gmail.com President: Narelle Milligan 6584 3271 Vice President: John Cornish 6583 5902 Secretary: Kim Chilton 6583 9401 This is the last newsletter for 2011 so, on behalf of the Committee, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. The Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, 7th December at 7.15pm and I m pleased to announce that most members of the committee will be re-nominating. Our Vice-President John Cornish will be resigning and I wish to thank him for his ongoing efforts of behalf of all of us. With others, John has spent many hours campaigning against the Macquarie Gardens proposal and the result was a win for our precious North Shore environment. Discussions continue with Council over a number of issues that haven t yet been resolved and it s good news that Jeffery Sharp, Director of Infrastructure Services, will attend our February Meeting to outline the status of the sewerage. The Committee also wishes to encourage you to take action to exterminate Indian Mynahs from our backyards. A workshop was help by Justine Elder to discuss tactics which will help preserve our native birds and prevent damage to houses. Information can be obtained from members of the Committee or Justine at myna@macleaylandcare.org.au Next year, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. In Eastern philosophy it s believed the Dragon is a deliverer of good fortune and a master of authority so I d like to think that we can nominate or support a candidate for Council elections who will keep the North Side and other rural areas in mind. We have unique issues that a CBD focus can t address. With best wishes, Narelle Milligan. C CONGRATULATIONS to Tomomi and Ben Davidson on the birth of their son, Johnny.
COUNCIL GM TO SPEAK AT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Port Macquarie Hastings Council General Manager, Tony Haywood, has confirmed he will address the North Shore Progress Associations annual general meeting early next month. All members are encouraged to attend the annual general meeting. Nominations and voting for committee members will be held on the evening. COME ALONG TO THE AGM AND HAVE YOUR SAY ON YOUR REPRESENTATION When: December 7, 2011 Time: 7pm for a 7.30pm start Where: North Shore Rural Fire Brigade Shed We hope to see you there. EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! Help keep those pesky Indian Mynas at bay - don't leave pet food outside for them to scavenge.
A History of the Riverside Area A land grant at the junction of the Hastings and Maria River (then called the Wilson) was made to one of Port s first school teachers. However, he did not take it up and it passed to Captain George Jobling. Although Jobling acquired a huge grant of 40,000 acres towards the Macleay district, he and his wife, Mary chose to make their home on the smaller portion of 200 acres overlooking lackmans Point. Around 1840 a convict built house was constructed from stone quarried on the North Shore. Jobling and his wife established an attractive garden and one of the first vineyards in Port Macquarie on the hill at the western end of Riverside. This was one of the first stone buildings in the settlement of Port Macquarie. Annabell Boswell -Major Innes neice recounts visiting the Jobling s farm in her diary. She describes being rowed over the Hastings River by convicts and the pleasant surroundings and gardens of the couple. One of the Jobling s daughters, Isabella was invited to the Innes estate when the Govenor visited in 1847. The property was called Goolawa and they lived there until the captain died in 1852. Both he and his wife were buried at the point and their graves stones were still evident in the 1980s. At the eastern end of Riverside the area now known as Kings Point, was selected by Richard Napolean King on 9 March 1868. He and his wife Suzannah Maria, nee Kemp built a homestead there and raised Aubrey, Gus, Guy, Felix, Flora and Queenie. Richard had arrived in Sydney as a seven year old in 1837 and his family befriended Major William Kemp s family who arrived in Port Macquarie the same year. The Kings were married in 1857. Some of the mature fig trees currently on the point are thought to have been there during their occupation. Let s skip a century. Marina Dick (nee Wallace) has recounted her family living in the Jobling s convict built, stone house with embossed metal ceilings, as a child in the 1930s. Her grandfather built another house for the family nearby during this period. This was burnt down in 1960s. Three generations of Wallaces lived there as Marina s grandfather and father worked their diary farm. Apart from cattle they also had pigs, a vegie garden, chooks and fruit trees. A boat captained by Ricky Elford collected their cream which was carried to Wauchope, the milk was fed to poddy calves and the pigs. Roads were virtually nonexistent and they depended on boats for transport. Marina, her siblings and the Bennet children (family living in the house which is now 131 Riverside) were conveyed by Marina s grandfather s half cabin launch to Blackmans Point and then to the south bank of Hastings via the Blackmans Point Ferry. There were two ferries operating at this site as it was then the main highway between Sydney and Brisbane. A small one teacher school with grades one to six was at Blackmans Point south and another school was at Hibbard. The Tolhurst children who lived near the current interesection of Shoreline Drive (then Maria River Road) and Riverside caught the Hibbard ferry to attend the Hamilton School. (continued over page)
A History of the Riverside Area (continued) Mrs Tolhurst has recounted some of her experiences including during floods which lapped at their veranda and snakes crawling onto the deck to escape the waters. There was no electricity and the northshore families depended on kerosene light, a meat safe, a canvas cooler. They were partly self-sufficent providing their own bread, butter, milk, vegies, eggs and would kill a beast to supply their meat needs. A battery run wireless provided their entertainment. By 1970s there was a smattering of houses and a track that ran from the Hibbard Ferry to Otto Muller s old house (at 131 Riverside) adjacent to Wallace Island - the only remaining house at the western end of Riverside. As the Port Macquarie and Wauchope population expanded, the need for land became apparent and several subdivisions were permitted in the area Three full time, toll free ferries serviced the needs of the small number of locals. Hacks ferry off Mundays Lane gave residents access to the Highway near Telegraph Point and the Hibbard Ferry both run by the DMR and the Settlement Point Ferry operated by the sand miners. At that stage land west of Limeburners Creek came under the duristiction of Hastings Shire and that to the east belonged to Port Macquarie Council. AUSTRALIA DAY LONG WEEKEND Residents are advised that council has banned alcohol and cars from the reserve on the North Shore near the Settlement Pt ferry landing. The police and rangers will be called if visitors do not observe the regulations which are in force for 36 hours prior to and after Australia Day.
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