Lieutenant John Shortland. An eye sketch of Hunter’s River. 1797. Signed J.S. [initials presumed to be those of Lieutenant John Shortland]. 1797 Lieutenant John Shortland, R.N. Lieutenant John Shortland of the H.M.S. Reliance officially “discovered” the River on the 10th September 1797 while on route to Port Stephens. The letter to his father reporting the … More Lieutenant John Shortland – Hunter’s River 1797
Name – MULUBINBA Origin – The Aboriginal inhabitants of Newcastle. Known to the Rev. Threlkeld as “The Newcastle Tribe” and identified as “Mulubinbakal” (male) or “Mulubinbakalleen” (woman). Now known as The Awabakal People. How Long was it in use? – ca. 7000 years? Evidence Our evidence for this word comes from the works of the … More The many names of Newcastle – Mulubinba
For many years we’ve wondered about the early settlement of Newcastle in 1801 under the command of Corporal Wixstead. We first found out about him in Huntington’s serialised history of Newcastle published in the Newcastle Morning Herald of 1897: Corporal Wixstead arrived at Hunter’s River aboard the schooner Francis on the 23rd July 1801, accompanied … More Corporal Wixtead and the fate of Newcastle’s first settlement in 1801