Late yesterday afternoon we received a copy of the Mitchell Field Book that contains the first recorded mention of Nobbys as ‘Whibayganba’. The Mitchell Library reference is:
Mitchell, Thomas, Sir, 1792-1855.
Field Book – Port Jackson & Newcastle, 1828. Includes sketches (Locn No.: C 40 – Request Microfilm CY 1560)
We have seen numerous references to the name in a variety of spellings so it is good to see it in its first documented form and couldn’t resist uploading a scan of the page.
There are two panoramas of Newcastle including the Chinese pagoda building that was part of our light beacon prior to the creation of the Nobbys Lighthouse.
This afternoon I have asked Emeritus Professor Fryer to see whether he (or his colleagues in Surveying) could examine the survey readings for the Newcastle Township and compare them with those of the Armstrong Survey of 1830. This information will also be of interest to art historians wanting to compare the actual perspective readings with the artistic colonial portrayals of the township.
I’ll try to get the Field Book into our online Virtual Source books as soon as possible.
Gionni Di Gravio
University Archivist and Chair – Coal River Working Party
19 September 2008
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