Lower George Street – 1848 – Joseph Fowles

Fowles’s 1848 view of Lower George Street records a dense frontage of shops, hotels and other premises along the waterfront-side street. The elevation also includes the site of the old gaol, showing how commercial buildings and civic landmarks appeared together in early Sydney.

George Street & Bridge Street – Sydney – 1848 – Joseph Fowles

Joseph Fowles’s 1848 Sydney street view records the built frontages of George Street and Bridge Street, including shops, hotels and other commercial premises. Presented as an elevation, the panorama documents the scale and variety of central Sydney buildings before later redevelopment.

George Street and Charlotte Place – Sydney – 1848 – Joseph Fowles

Joseph Fowles’s 1848 Sydney street view records the frontages of George Street and Charlotte Place, including shops, hotels and other commercial buildings. The elevation captures the adjoining streetscape and the range of façades that shaped central Sydney before later redevelopment.

William Dampier

William Dampier (1651–1715) was an English navigator, explorer and writer whose voyages took him across the Pacific and Indian Ocean. In 1688 he became one of the earliest English visitors to parts of the Australian coast, recording observations later published in A New Voyage Round the World. His journals contributed to European knowledge of Australia, while reflecting the limited and colonial viewpoint of his era.

19th Century Convicts

During the nineteenth century, Britain transported thousands of convicts to New South Wales, where many served their sentences under the colonial system. This post brings together related historic images and records that help document the people and institutions connected with that history.

Newcastle – New South Wales

Newcastle sits at the mouth of the Hunter River on the NSW coast — Awabakal Country around the harbour, the entrance headland dual-named Nobbys-Whibayganba. Europeans noted coal here from the late 1790s; a secondary convict station ran 1801–04 and was re-established more permanently afterward. Coal extraction and shipment shaped the place from those earliest years, and the port grew into one of the world’s great coal-export harbours as railways and breakwaters improved access.

Macquarie-era works (including Macquarie Pier toward Nobbys) and later nineteenth-century civic building marked the shift from penal outpost to free town. Newcastle was proclaimed a city in 1885. Signal stations, Nobbys Light (1857–58), customs and commercial wharves, and a dense inner-city street grid record that industrial rise; twentieth-century steelmaking (BHP) and successive harbour redevelopments layered on. The working harbour is still central to the city’s identity even as the waterfront has diversified.

Photographs here sketch historic streets, harbour edges and coastal landmarks — read them with the separate Nobbys Head post for the entrance geology and lighthouse.

Newcastle grew around its harbour and coal industry, becoming a major port on the New South Wales coast. The city’s historic streets and buildings reflect its development from a penal settlement into an industrial centre. Coal mining began in the Newcastle area in the early nineteenth century, helping establish the port as a major coal exporter. Newcastle was proclaimed a city in 1885. Its harbour remains an important working port linked to the Hunter River.

Early Settlers To Follow Up

Early sydney settlers first fleet onwards

Governors Of New South Wales 

1788 - 1793- Arthur Phillip

1810 - 1821 - Governor Macquarie

Richard Jones Mansion - Pitt Street south western side near Hunter Street 

- judge Therry's Home 

- Samuel Terry's Home 

FAMOUS INNS OF SIN 

- The Brown Bear

- the Cat and Fiddle 

- The Jolly Sailor 

- The Rose Of Australia

- The World Turned Upside Down 

- The Whaler's Arms 

- The Hero Of Waterloo

PEOPLE OF INTEREST 

- Morris Asher - THE RAT PIT - Dog and Rat Fighting. 

- Richard Jones - President Of The Bank Of NSW And Founder of The Bank Of Australia

- Major Robert Ross - lieutenant Governor October 1786

- Captain Tench Of The Marines

- Captain John Hunter 

- Phillip Gidley King 

- Robert Campbell - (Father Of Australian Commerce) - Campbell's Wharf

- Captain John Piper  - "The Prince Of Australa" - John Pipers House At Point Eliza Now called Point Piper

- John Cadman

- Francis Greenway Residence - And A List Of The Buildings The He Designed 

- Joseph Foveaux 

- John Palmer 

- Simeon Lord - former Convict And Later Merchant - Had A Mansio. 

- Mary Haydock 

- Captain Reiby

- Frederick Goulburn - First Colonial Secretary 

- David Collins - Judge Advocate 

- James Underwood and Underwoods Ship Building Yard 

- Isaac Nicholls - Australia's First Postmaster On April 25th 1809

- lieutenant Willam Kent - 1751 - 1812 

- John Dunmore Lang - The Australian College

George Crossley

- John Watts - Architect 

- James Bloodsworth - Emancipated Convict And Master Builder 

The Proclamation Of A Colony - 7th February 1788

The Procalmation Of A Colony - 7th February 1788 - Arthur Phillips Insrtructions - 

“The 7th February 1788 was a memorable day which established a regular form of Government for the coast of New South Wales. For obvious reasons, all possible solemnity was given to the proceedings necessary on the occasion. On a space previously cleared… The whole colony numbering 1030, was assembled. 
The military drawn up, & under arms, the convicts stationed apart….The convicts seated in a half circle, the Maribnes paraded in front of them, and the officers grouped in the centre.

& near the person of the Governor, those who were to hold the principal office under him. 

The Royal Commission from George III was then read by David Collins, the Judge Advocate, & then he read the commission of the other Officers, also the Act establishing the colony, and other formal documents.

By this instrument Arthur Phillip was constituted & appointed

Lieutenant General and Commander in Chief, in & over the territory called New South Wales 

The Marines fired 3 Volleys, & the first Governor of New South Wales, after thanking his officers and soldiers for their behaviour so far, addressed the convicts, promising rewards to those who conducted themselves well;unsparing severity to offenders. 

& the Colony of New South Wales was Consumated. The residence of the Governor, what he quaintly called his "Canvas House", & the tents of the officers were pitched on the east side of the little creek, with the flagstaff reared in front of them, and closeby were planted the various fruit trees procured from Rio De Janeiro & The Cape Of Good Hope. 

It’s such a shame that we, as 6th, 7th & 8th generation Australians don’t appreciate the struggles, trials & tribulations our forefathers went through & sacrificed way before World War 1. It’s now not in living memory 

What sort of Australia are we creating in the 21st Century? 

Australians used to be well respected & had resilience that was related to them. The Constitution in 1901 brought all the Colonies together under a Commonwealth. But over time the party system and the Constitution & other related documents have changed. 

A generation of New Puritans has arisen through the wealth of this country, which will ultimately be our undoing. Freedom doesn't come for nothing. We know nothing of the things our forebears fought 

George III, 

By the Grace of God, 

King of Great Britain, France & Ireland, 

Defender of The Faith;

To our Trusty & well beloved Arthur Phillip Esq

We, reposing Special trust & Confidence in the prudence, courage & loyalty of you; 

the said Arthur Phillip, of our Special Grace;

Have thought fit to Constitute & Appoint you 

to be our Governor General  & Governor In Chief,

In, & over our territory called New South Wales,

Extending from the northern cape, 

or extremity of the coast called Cape York, 

in Latitude 10 degrees 37 minutes; 

to the southern extremity 

in Latitude 43 degrees 39 minutes South

& all the country westward, 

to the 135th degree of East Longitude, 

including all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean, within the Latitude name. 

Our will and pleasure is that you take the oath

 for the due execution of the Office & Trust 

of our Governor General & Governor In Chief, 

for the due & impartial administration of justice. 

& we do hereby authorize & empower you 

to keep & use the Public Seal, 

for sealing all things whatsoever; 

that shall pass the Great Seal 

of our said Territory & its dependencies. 

We further give & grant unto you 

Full Power & Authority to administer & give Oaths 

To any such person or persons, as you shall see fit.

To Constitute & Appoint Justices Of The Peace, 

Coroners, Constables, & other such necessary officers 

For the better administration of justice. 

To pardon offenses & remit fines & forfeitures. 

To levy, arm, muster & command; 

& employ all persons whatsoever 

Residing within the said Territory And its dependencies;

For the resisting of all enemies

Pirates & Rebels; Both at sea & land. 

To execute Martial Law in time of invasion, 

& at other times when by law, it may be executed. 

To erect, raise & build as many forts & platforms, 

Castles & cities, burrow, towns 

& fortifications as you shall judge necessary.

To Constitute & Appoint Captains, Lieutenants, 

Master Of Ships, & other commanders and officers. 

To Punish convicts, & execute Offenders at sea,

or during their time of  abode at Ports Harbors And Bays

We likewise give & grant you 

full power and authority to grant land & control commerce, to Appoint fair Marts and Markets. 

And we require & command all officers & members, 

civil & military, & all other inhabitants 

to be obedient, aiding & assisting to you, 

the said Arthur Phillip, 

in the execution of this our Commission, 

& in case of your death or absence out of the said Territory, to be obedient, aiding and assisting to such person Appointed by us 

to be Lieutenant Governor or Commander In Chief. 

Witnessed ourselves at Westminster, 

on the 2nd Day Of April 

in the 27th Year of Our Reign, 

By Writ of Privy Seal. 

And for so doing, 

this shall be your Warrant

Given At our Court of St James 

On the 26th Day Of March 1787 

In the 27th Years Our Reign 

GOD SAVE THE KING