The Oaks, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
The Oaks is a town located in the Macarthur Region
of New South Wales
, Australia
in Wollondilly Shire on the south western edge of the Sydney
Basin. The Oaks is located 76 kilometres (47 mi) south-west of Sydney via the Hume Highway
, 13 kilometres (8 mi) west of Camden
and 290m above sea-level. At the 2006 census
, The Oaks had a population of 1,586 people.
Despite a long-standing economic dependence upon coal mining and despite the urban development inspired by its proximity to Sydney, The Oaks has essentially remained an attractive semi-rural district.
prior to colonisation, whose territory stretched from Botany Bay
in Sydney down to Jervis Bay
on the south coast, and in to Burragorang in the ranges. The area was fiercely contested between the Tharawal and the Europeans, particularly between 1812 and 1816 (culminating in a massacre at Cataract Gorge). A group of the Gandangara people near Appin
were caught by Macquarie's
troops while they were sleeping. Fourteen Aboriginal men, women and children were killed. On Macquarie’s orders, the bodies of two of the men were hung in trees as a warning to others.
Introduction of European diseases had a great effect on the Aborigines of the area. The Tharawal and the Gandangara eventually moved into the area around The Oaks. Members of both tribes ended up working for the Europeans in the 1920s when they were placed on reserves and their children forcibly removed
until the practice ceased in the 1960s.
and George Bass
, due to the sighting of some cows which had strayed from the Government Farm at Farm Cove
. The herd had increased from 8 to around 40 and the area they were found in was then named 'Cow Pasture Plains'. Until 1822, it was forbidden to settle in the region although it was noted as being an excellent area for cultivation as a succession of governors sought to protect the herd from exploitation or molestation as an investment in the colony's future.
John Warby was appointed Superintendent of Wild Cattle at the Cowpastures in 1803 and by 1806 was also a Constable in the district; acted as a guide on a number of exploring parties and expeditions. Warby was the first to explore the Oaks region. A botanist by the name George Caley
explored the area between 1802 and 1804. He penned the name 'The Oaks' due the predominance of She-oaks
in the area.
In 1815 Governor Macquarie established cattle yards at 'The Oaks', Cawdor (half way between Camden and Picton), and Brownlow Hill and later at Stonequarry Creek (Picton) to which wild cattle were taken to be reclaimed for the government herds. July 7, 1822, the Oaks station was relinquished to Major Henry Colden Antill.
Many of the cattle were later moved to Bathurst
. The stations were closed in 1826.
The district was surveyed between 1822 and 1827 as land grants were extended to the area. The first was issued in 1823 to John Wild a former Lieutenant
and Adjutant
of the 48th Regiment
, who had been the superintendent of Government Stock on the cattle station at Cawdor
and T.C. Harrington. Wild established a farm on the 'Vanderville' estate and built a homestead in the late 1820s with the help of Aboriginal and convict
labour. Wild primarily raised cattle but he also ran sheep and pigs, grew wheat and tobacco, and established a dairy.
In October 1822 William Fisher was acting Constable at 'The Oaks'. On the 7th of October he was recommended for position of Chief Constable
and Poundkeeper at Cawdor. On August 7, 1823, he was dismissed from this position, but later took up the position of District Constable, County of Argyle
in August 1824.
St. Mathews Anglican Church c.1838/39, was built at The Oaks by the families of John Wild of Vanderville and Major Russell of Orthez for their servants and families, it is constructed of local timber. The church still stands today, but has been renovated twice to preserve it. The church cemetery contains the headstone of Henry Kable Jr, son of Henry Kable
and other caskets which were removed from Burragorang Valley before it was flooded for the building of Warragamba Dam
.
and The Oaks began running their cattle in the Burragorang Valley, explored by Francis Barrallier in 1802-03 when Governor King
asked him to find a way through the Blue Mountains. It was most likely that the pastoralists drove their cattle along what is now called Burragorang Road. This road runs from The Oaks to the Burragorang Valley and was surveyed in 1827 by Robert Dixon
. It was merely a basic bullock-dray track until the traffic generated by the silver mines required an improved surface.
Labour shortages became an issue when convict transportation
to New South Wales
ceased in 1840 and convicts received their ticket of leave, Free settlers with large holdings sold or let portions of their land to emancipist
s as they did not have or could not afford a large enough workforce to work their land. The economic focus then shifted from mixed farming to wheat from the 1840s and a wheat mill was established in the area. The 1850s became a period of economic expansion for the area. Early in the 1860s, wheat rust devastated the wheat industry. The farmers moved their focus to market gardening, dairy farming, hay production and the building of hay presses. Oranges and milk became staple products.
. The discovery of Galena
by Billy Russell and Billy George opened a relatively brief phase of development activity at Yerranderie
. The exploitation of Lead
and Silver
drew attention to the area in 1890, but it was only when John Vigar Bartlett began to produce payable ore in 1898 that real expansion of the silver field occurred. 1891 was the beginning of mining for iron ore, in the area between The Oaks and Picton
. After economic growth in the 1920s the depression hit the community hard and people began to move away. Coal mining and timber getting were also carried out in the Burragorang Valley at Nattai on a small scale in the 1930s but it soon became the principal economic activity and, after World War II, led to a resurgence of the township although massive retrenchments from the local mines occurred in the early 1980s.
). Flooding caused the settlement to move to higher ground. When a post office was opened later in 1858 the village was officially recognised as 'The Oaks'. Lots were advertised for sale in Sydney and by 1860 there were some 8 houses, 2 blacksmith shops, a wine saloon, school and the hotel in the village. The Oaks Hotel was in operation by 1863 and closed approximately 100 years later. It then became a sanatorium
for people suffering Tuberculosis
. It was thought that the relative high altitude was conducive to the health of the patients. The original Church of England, St. Mathews, was now too far from the village and so St. Luke's was built in 1892 on a town allotment to service the new village.
Macarthur, New South Wales
Macarthur is a region in south-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region includes the local government areas of the City of Campbelltown, Camden Council and Wollondilly Shire. It covers an area of 3,067 square kilometres and has a population of close to 240,000 residents...
of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in Wollondilly Shire on the south western edge of the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
Basin. The Oaks is located 76 kilometres (47 mi) south-west of Sydney via the Hume Highway
Hume Highway
The Hume Highway/Hume Freeway is one of Australia's major inter-city highways, running for 880 km between Sydney and Melbourne. It is part of the Auslink National Network and is a vital link for road freight to transport goods to and from the two cities as well as serving Albury-Wodonga and...
, 13 kilometres (8 mi) west of Camden
Camden, New South Wales
-Education:Camden is the location of research facilities for the veterinary and agricultural schools of the University of Sydney. The local government area has two public high schools, Camden High School and Elderslie High School, as well as eight Catholic and three Anglican schools.-Culture:The...
and 290m above sea-level. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, The Oaks had a population of 1,586 people.
Despite a long-standing economic dependence upon coal mining and despite the urban development inspired by its proximity to Sydney, The Oaks has essentially remained an attractive semi-rural district.
Pre European history
The area was once part of the traditional land of the Tharawal AboriginesTharawal people
The Tharawal people were the Aboriginal inhabitants of southern Sydney and the Illawarra region in 1788, when the first European colonists arrived. The Tharawal people lived in the areas from south side of Botany Bay, around Port Hacking to north of the Shoalhaven River and inland to Campbelltown...
prior to colonisation, whose territory stretched from Botany Bay
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
in Sydney down to Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay is a large bay bounded by the state of New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, and a detached enclave of the Australian Capital Territory. HMAS Creswell is located between Jervis Bay Village and Greenpatch in the Jervis Bay Territory.-History:...
on the south coast, and in to Burragorang in the ranges. The area was fiercely contested between the Tharawal and the Europeans, particularly between 1812 and 1816 (culminating in a massacre at Cataract Gorge). A group of the Gandangara people near Appin
Appin, New South Wales
Appin is a town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia in Wollondilly Shire. It is situated about 16 kilometres south of Campbelltown and 35 kilometres north west of Wollongong.-Early history:...
were caught by Macquarie's
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
troops while they were sleeping. Fourteen Aboriginal men, women and children were killed. On Macquarie’s orders, the bodies of two of the men were hung in trees as a warning to others.
Introduction of European diseases had a great effect on the Aborigines of the area. The Tharawal and the Gandangara eventually moved into the area around The Oaks. Members of both tribes ended up working for the Europeans in the 1920s when they were placed on reserves and their children forcibly removed
Stolen Generation
The Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments...
until the practice ceased in the 1960s.
Post European history
The Oaks was called simply "Oaks" until 1895. An expedition was undertaken in 1795 which included Governor HunterJohn Hunter (New South Wales)
Vice-Admiral John Hunter, RN was a British naval officer, explorer, naturalist and colonial administrator who succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1795 to 1800.-Overview:...
and George Bass
George Bass
George Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.-Early years:He was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George Bass, and a local beauty named Sarah Nee Newman. His father died in 1777 when Bass was 6...
, due to the sighting of some cows which had strayed from the Government Farm at Farm Cove
Farm Cove, New South Wales
Farm Cove is a tidal inlet and shallow bay in Sydney Harbour, separated from Sydney Cove by Bennelong Point . Known to the indigenous inhabitants of Sydney as Woccanmagully, Farm Cove was used by them as an initiation ground and for the "Kangaroo and Dog Dance".The land immediately adjacent to Farm...
. The herd had increased from 8 to around 40 and the area they were found in was then named 'Cow Pasture Plains'. Until 1822, it was forbidden to settle in the region although it was noted as being an excellent area for cultivation as a succession of governors sought to protect the herd from exploitation or molestation as an investment in the colony's future.
John Warby was appointed Superintendent of Wild Cattle at the Cowpastures in 1803 and by 1806 was also a Constable in the district; acted as a guide on a number of exploring parties and expeditions. Warby was the first to explore the Oaks region. A botanist by the name George Caley
George Caley
-Early life:Caley was born in Craven, Yorkshire, England, the son of a horse-dealer. He was educated at the Free Grammar School at Manchester for around four years and was then taken into his father's stables. Coming across a volume on farriery, he became interested in the herbs mentioned in...
explored the area between 1802 and 1804. He penned the name 'The Oaks' due the predominance of She-oaks
Casuarina
Casuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera .They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall...
in the area.
In 1815 Governor Macquarie established cattle yards at 'The Oaks', Cawdor (half way between Camden and Picton), and Brownlow Hill and later at Stonequarry Creek (Picton) to which wild cattle were taken to be reclaimed for the government herds. July 7, 1822, the Oaks station was relinquished to Major Henry Colden Antill.
Many of the cattle were later moved to Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
. The stations were closed in 1826.
The district was surveyed between 1822 and 1827 as land grants were extended to the area. The first was issued in 1823 to John Wild a former Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
and Adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
of the 48th Regiment
48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
-History:The regiment was first raised in 1741 as James Cholmondeley's Regiment of Foot in Norwich, England during the War of Austrian Succession. The regiment first saw action at the Battles of Falkirk and Culloden in 1745-1746, campaigning against the Young Pretender. In 1748, it was renumbered...
, who had been the superintendent of Government Stock on the cattle station at Cawdor
Cawdor, New South Wales
Cawdor is a village of Wollondilly Shire, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- External links :...
and T.C. Harrington. Wild established a farm on the 'Vanderville' estate and built a homestead in the late 1820s with the help of Aboriginal and convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
labour. Wild primarily raised cattle but he also ran sheep and pigs, grew wheat and tobacco, and established a dairy.
In October 1822 William Fisher was acting Constable at 'The Oaks'. On the 7th of October he was recommended for position of Chief Constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
and Poundkeeper at Cawdor. On August 7, 1823, he was dismissed from this position, but later took up the position of District Constable, County of Argyle
Argyle County, New South Wales
Argyle County was one of the original Nineteen Counties in New South Wales and is now one of the 141 Cadastral divisions of New South Wales. It includes the area around Goulburn. It is bounded by Lake George in the south-west, the Shoalhaven River in the east, and the Wollondilly River in the...
in August 1824.
St. Mathews Anglican Church c.1838/39, was built at The Oaks by the families of John Wild of Vanderville and Major Russell of Orthez for their servants and families, it is constructed of local timber. The church still stands today, but has been renovated twice to preserve it. The church cemetery contains the headstone of Henry Kable Jr, son of Henry Kable
Henry Kable
Henry Kable was born in Laxfield, Suffolk, England. Kable was known for being a businessman, but was convicted of burglary at Thetford, Norfolk, England, on 1 February 1783 and sentenced to death. This was commuted to transportation for fourteen years to America, but the American Revolution meant...
and other caskets which were removed from Burragorang Valley before it was flooded for the building of Warragamba Dam
Warragamba Dam
Warragamba Dam is the primary water source for the Australian city of Sydney. It is approximately to the west of Sydney on the Warragamba River, a tributary of the Hawkesbury River, and impounds Lake Burragorang.- Overview :...
.
Farming
Pastoralists from Camden, CampbelltownCity of Campbelltown, New South Wales
The City of Campbelltown is a Local Government Area in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, located about 55 km south west of the Sydney central business district. Australia...
and The Oaks began running their cattle in the Burragorang Valley, explored by Francis Barrallier in 1802-03 when Governor King
Philip Gidley King
Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...
asked him to find a way through the Blue Mountains. It was most likely that the pastoralists drove their cattle along what is now called Burragorang Road. This road runs from The Oaks to the Burragorang Valley and was surveyed in 1827 by Robert Dixon
Robert Dixon (explorer)
Robert Dixon was an Australian surveyor and explorer, born in Darlington, England.-Arrival in Tasmania:Dixon arrived in Tasmania in May 1821 with his brother George...
. It was merely a basic bullock-dray track until the traffic generated by the silver mines required an improved surface.
Labour shortages became an issue when convict transportation
Convictism in Australia
During the late 18th and 19th centuries, large numbers of convicts were transported to the various Australian penal colonies by the British government. One of the primary reasons for the British settlement of Australia was the establishment of a penal colony to alleviate pressure on their...
to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
ceased in 1840 and convicts received their ticket of leave, Free settlers with large holdings sold or let portions of their land to emancipist
Emancipist
An emancipist was any of the convicts sentenced and transported under the convict system to Australia, who had been given conditional or absolute pardons...
s as they did not have or could not afford a large enough workforce to work their land. The economic focus then shifted from mixed farming to wheat from the 1840s and a wheat mill was established in the area. The 1850s became a period of economic expansion for the area. Early in the 1860s, wheat rust devastated the wheat industry. The farmers moved their focus to market gardening, dairy farming, hay production and the building of hay presses. Oranges and milk became staple products.
Mining
George Caley re-traced Barralier's route into the Burragorang Valley in 1806. Caley also failed to cross the Blue Mountains; however, he did find coal in the valley and discovered Thirlmere LakesThirlmere Lakes National Park
Thirlmere Lakes is a national park in New South Wales , 70 km southwest of Sydney, and lying just to the west of Thirlmere, New South Wales. It is part of the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site...
. The discovery of Galena
Galena
Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...
by Billy Russell and Billy George opened a relatively brief phase of development activity at Yerranderie
Yerranderie, New South Wales
Yerranderrie is a ghost town located near Kanangra-Boyd National Park of New South Wales, Australia in Wollondilly Shire.-History:Yerranderie was formerly a silver mining town of 2000 people, but the mining industry collapsed in 1927, and the town was cut off from direct access from Sydney by the...
. The exploitation of Lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and Silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
drew attention to the area in 1890, but it was only when John Vigar Bartlett began to produce payable ore in 1898 that real expansion of the silver field occurred. 1891 was the beginning of mining for iron ore, in the area between The Oaks and Picton
Picton, New South Wales
Picton is a small town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly Shire. The town is located 80 kilometres South-west of Sydney, close to Camden and Campbelltown. It is also the administrative centre of Wollondilly Shire....
. After economic growth in the 1920s the depression hit the community hard and people began to move away. Coal mining and timber getting were also carried out in the Burragorang Valley at Nattai on a small scale in the 1930s but it soon became the principal economic activity and, after World War II, led to a resurgence of the township although massive retrenchments from the local mines occurred in the early 1980s.
Vanderville
The widow of John Benton Wild, Emmeline Wild, donated 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of 'Vanderville' for the establishment of a village in 1858. This area was located on the banks of Werriberri Creek (a Tharawal name for the song of the willie wagtailWillie Wagtail
The Willie Wagtail is a passerine bird native to Australia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, and eastern Indonesia. It is a common and familiar bird throughout much of its range, living in most habitats apart from thick forest...
). Flooding caused the settlement to move to higher ground. When a post office was opened later in 1858 the village was officially recognised as 'The Oaks'. Lots were advertised for sale in Sydney and by 1860 there were some 8 houses, 2 blacksmith shops, a wine saloon, school and the hotel in the village. The Oaks Hotel was in operation by 1863 and closed approximately 100 years later. It then became a sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
for people suffering Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. It was thought that the relative high altitude was conducive to the health of the patients. The original Church of England, St. Mathews, was now too far from the village and so St. Luke's was built in 1892 on a town allotment to service the new village.