This history of Bathurst, the first of two volumes, covers the settlement and early growth of the district up to the establishment of the first town council in 1862. In the process it examines some questions that have long needed detailed investigation. These include, where was the line of William Cox’s original road and who were the men who built it? How was Bathurst governed and managed during its early years? What evidence did Commissioner JT Bigge hear when he visited Bathurst and what did he say about it in his report on the affairs of New South Wales? What were the causes and the consequences of the Aborigine-white conflict of the 1820s? And what was the story behind the outbreak of bushranging in the same period? There are sections on the establishment and growth of schools and churches, and the religious and ethnic composition of the population. The goldrush period, the Chinese on the local diggings, and the long, acrimonious battle for local government are also examined. All this is related to wider events, national and international, that were significant for Australian communities such as Bathurst.
Written by Theo Barker
This history of Bathurst, the first of two volumes, covers the settlement and early growth of the district up to the establishment of the first town council in 1862. In the process it examines some questions that have long needed detailed investigation. These include, where was the line of William Cox’s original road and who were the men who built it? How was Bathurst governed and managed during its early years? What evidence did Commissioner JT Bigge hear when he visited Bathurst and what did he say about it in his report on the affairs of New South Wales? What were the causes and the consequences of the Aborigine-white conflict of the 1820s? And what was the story behind the outbreak of bushranging in the same period? There are sections on the establishment and growth of schools and churches, and the religious and ethnic composition of the population. The goldrush period, the Chinese on the local diggings, and the long, acrimonious battle for local government are also examined. All this is related to wider events, national and international, that were significant for Australian communities such as Bathurst.
Written by Theo Barker
