Hawkesbury Family History Tour, Part 1

Thousands of Australians have traced their family history connections back to the Hawkesbury district on the north-west outskirts of Sydney.  A tour of this historic district, including the churches and graveyards where family members are buried, provides great insights and turns aimless tourism into a purposeful day’s outing, discovering one’s past.

This particular itinerary for a self-drive tour has been designed for the numerous descendants of my convict forebears Robert Forrester, Paul Bushell, David Brown & Charles Homer Martin. It requires an early start, and no dawdling along the way, but gives a quick overview of the geographic setting of the lives led by these men and their wives and families. You can 'hop, skip and jump' in their footsteps and later come back again to walk more slowly across particular sites of interest.

Thompson Square

The most meaningful place to start this tour is at historic Thompson Square, Windsor, on the crest of the hill at the northern end of George St, just before the road drops down to the old bridge across the Hawkesbury. Turn left at the roundabout for parking. [If you turn right instead of left, you’ll see the site of the Old Government House and signposts for Tebbutt’s Observatory, not part of this tour guide.]

At Thompson Square is located the memorial to the Hawkesbury Pioneers. Robert Forrester is listed as a 1788 arrival, Paul Bushell who arrived in 1790 is listed incorrectly as a 1792 arrival and David Brown is listed correctly as a 1792 arrival. Charles Homer Martin, who arrived late in 1818, is not mentioned at all. Women's names are always missing! Robert's wife Isabella Ramsay arrived as a convict in 1791, Paul Bushell's first wife arrived as a convict in 1792 and David Brown's wife Eleanor Fleming arrived free in 1791.

Pioneer Memorial, Thompson Square, Windsor, c 2005

The Government Stores where it is believed Paul Bushell worked for a time once faced this Square, approximately in the location of the old building you can see on the left hand side of the picture. Beside the Square is the old Royal Hotel (now the Macquarie Arms Hotel), operated for many years by Paul Bushell’s eldest son George Thomas Bushell with wife Jane. For a time George’s sister Isabella was involved until she became licensee of the Royal Exchange Hotel further along George St, on the corner of Johnston St.

Macquarie Arms Hotel, formerly Royal Hotel, c 2005

At 5 Thompson Square is the old Pioneer Museum, behind which and accessed from Baker Street is the new and impressive purpose-built HawkesburyRegional Museum, open from 10am-4pm, closed Tuesdays. The Museum Bookshop sells copies of my three books on early Hawkesbury pioneers.

Louise Wilson's 'Hawkesbury Pioneer' Books

However too much time spent in the Museum will cut down available time for visiting the family-specific sites, so a leisurely viewing of the Museum might be an activity for another day.

If you need your early morning caffeine hit, try any one of a number of cafés at Thompson Square before setting out, but be quick about it. (I like the Bridge Café.) Bushell’s old hotel will be a good stop for refreshments at the end of the day.

St Matthews Church, Windsor

Then drive down the road on the Hotel side of the Square and turn left along the River. You’ll pass Baker Street on your left, and then a park with public toilets. Keeping to The Terrace and Moses St, this road leads you eventually to the historic St Matthew’s Church with its distinctive tower and its fascinating cemetery.

The magnificent Francis Greenway-designed church of St Matthew, in its marvellous setting, was the scene of many family weddings, baptisms and funerals. The photo below was taken close to the bottom corner of the churchyard where Robert Forrester is buried, flanked by headstones for close family members, two on either side.

St Matthews Church of England, Windsor, c 2005

The main headstones for the family to look for are:

• Bushell - George Thomas, 1892, & his wife Jane, 1909 (in a Vickery grave)
• Bushell – Isabella, 1918 (with her Turnbull family)
• Bushell – Beatrice Maud, 1951
• Bushell –Joshua Herbert 1926, Rosehannah Ellen 1952, their children Joshua Aubrey 1928, Ethel Gwendoline 1960, Claude William 1961, Wallace 1967 & Joshua’s sister Mary 1922
• Chapman – Elizabeth (née Forrester), 1814
• Daley – Charles, 1886, second husband of Isabella Jane Forrester (who is buried in Melbourne)
• Forrester – Robert, 1827
• Forrester – John, 1875, with his second wife Hannah, 1856
• Forrester – Henry, 1873, and his second wife Maria, 1868
• Forrester – Lucy, 1823, first wife of Henry
• Forrester – Robert, 1835, son of Henry
• Forrester – William, 1869 (not with either of his wives)
• Forrester – George, 1878, his estranged wife Louisa, 1897, sons Robert Henry, 1915, & William James, 1913
• Lovell – Thomas, 1839 (first husband of Isabella Jane Forrester)
• Ridge – Margaret, 1873, son Richard, 1892, & daughter-in-law Mary Ann, 1860

Note the distinctive style of some of the Bushell graves at Windsor (and later at Wilberforce), with low square-built encasement and plain headstones, compared with the more decorative style of the Forrester graves.

Cornwallis

Next stop is to view Robert Forrester’s 1794 land grant. Beside St Matthews Churchyard, turn down Greenway Crescent into Cornwallis Rd, crossing the old bridge built by William Cox. Just past the bridge turn right into Deerubbun Park and drive to the parking area at the end, where it is possible to stand on the levee bank and survey the Argyle Reach, the the stretch of river where Robert Forrester and others first farmed in 1794, before levee banks were built. Whilst standing there, imagine the flood devastations they would have suffered.

Argyle Reach, Hawkesbury River, Windsor, 2008

Continue along Cornwallis Rd towards Richmond. Stop when you reach the memorial to the Eather Family, 15 members of which were drowned in the 1867 floods, the worst ever in the history of the Hawkesbury. The next block you pass, for approx. 200 metres on BOTH sides of the road, is the land where Robert Forrester first farmed in 1794. From here his wife Isabella Ramsay was rescued during the 1806 floods.

Eather Memorial, with Robert Forrester's 1794 Land Grant in Background, 2016

The driveway on the right hand side of this picture is today’s entrance to Robert's old block, 104 Cornwallis Road. It is private property.

Entrance to Robert Forrester's 1794 Land Grant (driveway on right of post), 2016

As adults, his sons John, Henry and William continued to favour Cornwallis as the location for their farms but the specific locations of their farms have not been identified.

To find Robert Forrester’s second land grant at the Hawkesbury, continue along Cornwallis Rd, passing the sign to Gorricks Lane which shows where the river was once crossed to gain access to Freeman’s Reach. Proceed along Cornwallis Rd and turn left into Cupitts Lane. As you approach the slope along flat ground and then head up the slope, the land on the right hand side of Cupitts Lane was Robert Forrester’s second grant.

View of Robert Forrester's 1804 Land Grant, c 2008

At the top of the slope, the corner of land on the left hand side of Cupitts Lane was part of this same grant, and the flat area of land on the right hand corner of Cupitts Lane was where Robert’s house was located and is possibly the farm where Bella Ramsay was buried. Today’s address is 1 Cupitts Lane.

Richmond

St Peter’s Church of England at Richmond is next. Turn right from Cupitts Lane into Dight St, and travel past the Air Force Base (on your left). The road becomes Jersey St. Cross Francis St heading slightly to your right and then immediately turn left into Bourke St and turn right at Windsor St (the main road). At the end of Windsor St, on your left, is St Peter's, another Francis Greenway-designed church. Opposite is the graveyard, with two headstones of interest:

• Forrester – Robert, 1870, against the hedge to the left of the entrance gate
• Griffiths – Thomas, 1826 (first husband of Mary Brown), to the left of the entrance gate, towards, the far right hand corner
• Mary Griffiths/Waterford née Brown is also buried here, but her grave is unmarked.

Kurrajong

Now it's time to head for the hills, at Kurrajong. Continue past St Peter’s Church down the hill along Old Kurrajong Rd, turning left where it meets Ridge’s Lane. At the intersection with the main Kurrajong Rd, turn right towards North Richmond and cross over the Hawkesbury. In North Richmond the name of this road changes to its more famous name of Bells Line of Road.

Follow Bells Line of Road up the hill for some distance, past Kurmond and past the left turnoff into Old Bells Line of Road and the village of Kurrajong, heading still towards the west. On the upward slope of the main escarpment you will eventually come to a large roadhouse on the right hand side of the road, on the corner of Hermitage Rd, where you should turn right. 

Along picturesque Hermitage Rd, which follows a ridge line, Robert Forrester’s sons Robert and William were granted land in the 1820s. From 1827 Paul Bushell owned these two Forrester blocks and also purchased two adjoining blocks as part of a sawmilling business. The two Forrester brothers and their brother-in-law Charles Homer Martin were all sawyers and probably cleared these blocks of timber. The approximate location of the land drops below both sides of the road beyond the charming old house at 49 Hermitage Rd, extending approximately from 82 Hermitage Rd to its intersection with Douglas Farm Rd.

49 Hermitage Rd, Kurrajong

Turn around when you reach Douglas Farm Rd and return to Bell’s Line of Road and turn right, still heading uphill. If you are lucky the roadhouse might be open and you can seek refreshments combined with spectacular views. 

The other land granted to three of the Forrester brothers, in 1816 and 1821, is located to the left of the steep climb up the escarpment (known as Douglass Hill or Bellbird Hill) to Kurrajong Heights. Before you reach North Kurrajong village (where a small café may or may not be open), the north-eastern corner of Robert Jnr’s old block commences at the intersection of Bell’s Line of Road with Queen St. He and his brothers John and Henry obviously held land that dropped down the escarpment and was not of much practical use to farmers.

Turn around and retrace your steps, heading back down the mountain. Turn right from Bell’s Line of Road into Old Bell’s Line of Road. At the T-intersection in Kurrajong village turn towards the right into Grose Vale Rd, and follow this road along the ridge line and down the hill. (Note that in Kurrajong village there are several cafés side by side, with panoramic views over the Hawkesbury district below, and a toilet for patrons. The cafés are found by turning left at the T-intersection in Kurrajong Village). 

GroseVale

Near the intersection of Grose Vale Road and Cabbage Tree Road, at the end of the short road behind the Grose Vale Community Centre, is ‘Rosemount’, where George Forrester’s estranged wife and family lived.  It has been subdivided into ten acre allotments, offering spectacular views across the Grose Valley.

Further down Grose Vale Road, off to the right hand side at the bottom of the hill, where the Grose River meets the Nepean and becomes the Hawkesbury, were the later farm holdings of John and Robert Forrester Jnr.  Turn right at Grose River Road and follow it down to Navua Reserve by the river, just to soak up the atmosphere of the general location.  After he returned from Tasmania, Robert Forrester Jnr lived upstream from here, his old place more easily accessible from Springwood Road.  John Forrester’s later grant known as ‘Jane’s Farm’ was just downstream, directly below ‘Belmont Park’ St John of God Private Hospital.

Return to Grose Vale Road, noting almost immediately the hospital’s private road to your right, leading down towards the old location of ‘Jane’s Farm’.  Grose Vale Road will eventually bring you back into the village of North Richmond.  At the main cross roads you should take the right hand turn, towards the Richmond Bridge over the Hawkesbury River. 

To find Robert Forrester Jnr’s old stamping ground, if you have the time and he is your special interest, turn to the right in Richmond, at Bosworth Rd, which becomes Castlereagh Rd, and then right again at Springwood Rd and recross the river at Agnes Banks, to Yarramundi, where the Hoskisson massacre occurred.

View of Hawkesbury from Springwood Rd at Agnes Banks, 2005

Just along here, on the right hand side, is Mahons Creek Rd.  Robert Forrester lived in this general vicinity for about 30 years after he returned from Tasmania.

Catholic Cemetery, Windsor

Return to Windsor along the main road, and turn right at the sign to Windsor Railway Station at George St. Here on the corner of the main road is the Roman Catholic Cemetery. The Catholic Church in Windsor, rather confusingly called St Matthews, is located in Tebbutt St, opposite the same McQuade Park faced by St Matthews Church of England. 

• One family grave is of interest here, that of William Norris, husband of Susannah Martin, almost in the centre of the cemetery.

On the opposite corner to the Catholic Cemetery is a car yard which was once the town land attached to Forrester’s Lower Farm. 

Presbyterian Cemetery, Windsor

Continue on along George St past the railway station, under the railway line, and take the first turn to the right into Bell St, where can be seen, behind the station in Church St, the small Presbyterian Cemetery. The Presbyterian church building succumbed to the ravages of white ants, was declared unsafe and closed in March 1966 and no longer exists.

• The Bushell graves in this cemetery are for Paul’s grandson David Oscar Bushell 1931, his wife Mary Alice, 1941, and their children Arthur 1955 & wife Barbara 1927, Bruce Oscar 1953 & wife Kate 1987, James Joshua 1963 and Linda May Crothers née Bushell, 1958
• Of interest to the Brown family is the Smith headstone for Robert Smith, 1852, his wife Sarah (née Brown), 1894, children Mary, 1838, James 1839, James, 1907 and Ellen 1913. Sarah was a sister of Paul Bushell’s second wife Isabella.

George Street

Retracing your steps to George St and turning right, you will soon come to the house ‘Glenroy’, at 465 George St, where Gertrude Cobcroft née Bushell (Isabella’s daughter) lived in fine style.

Retrace your path along George St, crossing over the main road and continuing along George St towards Windsor. You may wish to turn right at Christie St and enter the underground car park for the Hawkesbury Central Library, located at 300 George St, Windsor. The Library has an excellent Local Studies Department and extremely helpful and friendly staff. But if you wish to have enough time complete the ‘sites tour’, you will need to return to the Library later if you wish to browse through local history books, or conduct your own research. The Library has public toilets and is open most weekdays until 7pm. An adjoining café may be open, depending on the time of your visit. If you wish to visit the Library briefly, the exit route from the Library car park brings you back into George St, where you turn right.

Further along George St you come to Catherine St, where Robert Forrester once owned Catherine Farm, and then the Royal Exchange Hotel on the left hand side, at the corner of George and Johnston Sts, operated for many years by Paul Bushell’s daughter Isabella Bushell.  Then turn right at Fitzgerald St to avoid the pedestrian mall section of George St, and turn left at Macquarie St, the main road to Sydney. Turn left again at the T-intersection and head back up the hill to your starting point at Thompson Square.

The next stage of this Tour is described in Part 2.