Places
A - F
Abrolhos Islands (Brazil)
Group of pointed rocky islands and associated dangerous reefs off Caravelas, Brazil, between latitudes 17 and 18 S. The name is from the Portuguese abre olhos, 'open your eyes', or 'keep your eyes open'. The Abrolhos archipelago was an obstacle to shipping between Rio de Janeiro and St. Salvadore (Bahia).
Abrolhos Shoal (also known as the 'Brazil Banks')
Dangerous shoals off the coast of Brazil.
Agnes Bank (NSW)
Andrew Thompson's farm, portion 29, parish of Castlereagh, a consolidated grant of 200 acres granted to John Howell and acquired by Thompson, with 78 acres added. It includes the southern end of the Yarramundi Lagoon. It is usually called 'Agnes Banks'.
Albion Farm (NSW)
The farm mentioned by Macquarie was Albion farm, at Woodville, on the Paterson River. It belonged to John Tucker. Macquarie refers to John Tucker, junior, born at Sydney on May 8th 1795. His father was storekeeper at Newcastle.
Allan's Farm (NSW)
Property belonging to David Allan near the junction of Bunburry Curran Creek with Georges River (at present day Macquarie Fields). He later received 2,200 acres at Red Point (near Port Kembla) in the Illawarra.
Anthlin (NSW)
William Browne's farm and comprised 3,000 acres on the west side of the Lake Illawarra. Browne was in occupation before 1822 but the grant was made in 1823. This property passed to the Osborne family. Also known as 'Yalla.'
Badgelly Hill (NSW)
The context suggests that Macquarie passed by the foot of the present Mount Annan, not by the foot of the present Badgelly Hill, which is three miles to the northward.
Bajelling (NSW)
Mount Annan.
Bankstown (NSW)
The Bankstown district originally comprised the area of which the present centre is Liverpool, at the head of navigation on Georges River. The modern town of Bankstown is distant about three miles northeast.
Bass Rock (East Lothian, Scotland>
Prominent island situated in the Firth of Forth, three miles north-east of North Berwick. One mile in circumference and rising on all sides to a height of 350 ft. (107 m). The Bass has a lighthouse, the remains of a sixteenth century chapel, a fortress and prison. A natural haven for thousands of seabirds on the east coast of Scotland.
Baulkham Hills (NSW)
Early settlers at Baulkham Hills include George Best and John Pye. George Best arrived in the William & Ann in 1791 and John Pye the same year in Britannia. Both settled at Baulkham Hills in 1796. They were industrious farmers and prospered.
Bay of All Saints ('Bahia de Todos os Santos')(Brazil)
Area surrounding Bahia, the port of St. Salvadore.
Discovered by Amerigo Vespucci on 1 November 1501, All Saints Day, and therefore named 'Bahia de Todos os Santos' . Several rivers empty into the Bay and provide easy access to the Reconcavo - the semitropical area of land surrounding the Bay of All Saints (and extending inland for approximately 25 miles).
Under the Portuguese this area produced much of the world's sugar, as well as becoming an important producer of cotton, tobacco and manioc (cassava). These products formed the basis for a large slaveholding plantation society dominated by an entrenched planter aristocracy.
Bennelong Island/Bennelong Point
Originally a small tidal island consisting of a pile of rocks with a small beach on the western side located on the tip of the eastern arm of Sydney Cove (now called Bennelong Point). Separated from the mainland at high tide. For a short period in 1788 it was called 'Cattle Point' because it was used for confining the few cattle and horses that had been brought from Cape Town by Governor Phillip with the First Fleet.
In December 1798 a half-moon battery was constructed at the extreme northern end of Bennelong Point, mounted with guns from H.M.S. Supply.
The tidal area between little Bennelong Island and the mainland was filled with rocks excavated from the Bennelong Point peninsular in 1818-1821 when the whole area was levelled to create a platform and to provide suitable stone for the construction of Fort Macquarie. While the fort was being built a large portion of the rocky escarpment, known as the Tarpeian Way, at Bennelong Point was also cut away to accommodate the road from Sydney Cove to Farm Cove. The existence of the original tide island and its rubble fill were largely forgotten until the late 1950's when both were rediscovered during the excavations related to the construction of the Sydney Opera House.
Bent's Basin (NSW)
Macquarie records that he viewed "a large and deep beautiful basin formed by the River Nepean from the bottom of this farm where the river bursts into it through a very narrow opening in the mountains." He is referring to Ellis Bent's land grant called 'Moulsey.'
Bent's Farm (NSW)
Property belonging to Ellis Bent who travelled to NSW in 1809 on board the Dromedary with the Macquaries to be become the first practising barrister in the colony; upon arrival he replaced Richard Atkins as Judge-Advocate. He received two grants on the Nepean River at Bringelly called 'Moulsey' (1265 acres) and 'Wolverton' (800 acres). The purchase of grazing stock for 'Moulsey' had been acquired with financial assistance from Lieut. John Birch, Paymaster of the 73rd Regiment (whose wife owned the adjoining property); while the latter property, 'Wolverton', had been granted by Macquarie for the ultimate benefit of Bent's two infant sons, Ellis and Robert. Both properties appear to have been sold by Bent prior to his death in November 1815.
Bill of Portland (Dorset, England)
Rocky peninsular extending into the English Channel. Highest point (496 feet) on the Isle of Portland and connected to the mainland by a shingle ridge known as Chesil Beach; area 12 sq km.
The island is famed for its hard white limestone which has been quarried here for centuries. The stone was used for the building of St. Paul's Cathedral. London. It was also used in the construction of the breakwater that protects Portland Harbour - built by convict labour between 1849 -1905 - to create a naval base.
The coast at Portland can be treacherous to shipping as a result of powerful coastal currents, and below Pulpit Rock, at the tip of the Bill of Portland, is a tidal confluence known as the Race. This promontory, as well as adjoining shingle beach of Chesil Beach, has made this area one of the most dangerous beaches in Europe and the site of numerous wrecks and drownings.
Birch's Farm (NSW)
Known later as 'Greendale Farm', belonged to Mary Birch, wife of J. Birch (paymaster of the 73rd Regiment).Macquarie granted her the land here on the Nepean in 1813 - and it was given to her as provision for her young family when her husband was adjudged to be insane. In 1815 she was leasing her land and at least 20 acres of it were under wheat when Macquarie visited the area.
Black-Heath (NSW)
Major Antill's diary for 15 May 1815 records 'The fog continued the whole of the night, and the weather was much milder than we had found it for some nights past. From the appearance of this Station, it being a kind of heath, but a very wild scenery, The Governor gave it the name, of Blackheath, though to my eye, very unlike its namesake.'
Blaxland's farm (NSW)
The "small farm belonging to Mr. Gregory Blaxland" was a farm of 280 acres granted to Lieutenant Villiers of the New South Wales Corps in April 1809. It was immediately assigned by him to Gregory Blaxland. It came within the category of those grants to officers of the Corps, which Macquarie was directed to cancel, but Macquarie allowed Blaxland to retain it. It is portion 23, parish of Claremont, and adjoins, on the south, Gregory Blaxland's 2,000 acres, which had been a grant named Lee Howe, portion 22, parish of Claremont. It was from the hut that they began their journey over the Blue Mountains in 1813.
Brimstone Gully (Picton, NSW)
The descent described by Macquarie appears to be near the junction of the Nattai and Wollondilly Rivers. The present Brimstone Gully is a few miles away, nearer to the junction of the Wollondilly and Cox's Rivers.
Caley's Repulse (Linden, NSW)
Cairn of stones; popularly ascribed (from Macquarie's time onwards) to colonial botanist and explorer, George Caley; however he did not venture into that part of the Blue Mountains. It is far more likely to be of Aboriginal origin - there are similar cairns in the Mountains which have undoubtedly been constructed by Aborigines.
Campbell's Farm (NSW)
Macquarie gave J.T. Campbell 2020 acres south of Bent's Farm. It consisted of two grants: 'Shancomore (1550 acres) and 'Ballynashannon' (470 acres).
Castlereagh (NSW)
Macquarie founded five towns in the Mulgoa district: Castlereagh, Windsor, Richmond, Wilderforce, and Pitt Town. All that remains of the original town site of Castlereagh is a graveyard.
Castlereagh District (NSW)
Macquarie refers to the "extreme chain of farms along the Nepean". These were the Castlereagh farms which extended along the eastern bank of the Nepean for nine miles from Penrith towards Richmond. They were Crown grants made in June 1803, and had been occupied for seven years at the time of Macquarie's visit.
Chops, The (England)
The 'Chops of the Channel', the western entrance of the English Channel when approaching from the Atlantic.
Coal Island (Newcastle, NSW)
During an expedition to Newcastle in July 1801 in the survey brig Lady Nelson (accompanied by the schooner Francis) Lt. Col. Paterson, investigating the coal resources of the region, changed the name at the harbour entrance from Hacking's Island to Coal Island. However by 1810 Coal Island had become known as Nobby's - there is no clear historical explanation for the adoption of this name. [see Profile: Nobby's]
Corvo (North Atlantic Ocean)
The northernmost island in the Azores archipelago.
Cowes (Isle of Wight, England)
[see: Two Cows]
Cowpastures (Camden, NSW)
Name first used by Governor John Hunter in 1795 to describe the Camden region, south-west of Sydney. The name reflected the place-name usage in England to describe the common grazing land near a village. To the northwards the 'Cowpastures' was ill-defined (beyond Narellan) and to the south its limit was Stonequarry Creek. The Aborigines called the place 'Baragil', or 'Baragal'.
Cowpastures Road (NSW)
Opened as a track from the settlement of Prospect Hill to the Cowpastures in 1806.
Dawe's Point (NSW)
Western point of Sydney Cove. Named 'Point Maskelyne' in 1788 by First Fleet officer Lieut. William Dawes (1762-1836) after Nevil Maskelyne (1732-1811), the Astronomer Royal; but subsequently became known as 'Dawe's Point'. Originally called 'Tarra' by the indigenous people of Sydney, the Cadigal. Pronounced 'Tar-ra' as recorded in the Notebooks of Lieut. Dawes.
Deal (Kent, England)
Coastal town, serving the anchorage in the Downs (also adjacent to the shifting Goodwin Sands, which lie approx. 5 miles offshore). No harbour facilities, only a steep shingle beach.
Deptford (Kent, England)
Located on the Thames River, south of Rotherhithe. The district developed in the eighteenth century to become a small town, so that by 1801 the population already numbered 18,000.
Derwent (Tasmania)
The name for the port of Hobart Town, and used in shipping reports and clearances, rather than the town it supported (similarly, Port Jackson was used rather than Sydney); gradually however the city names supplanted the old port names.
Devil's Back (NSW)
Near Cecil Park, on the road from Liverpool to Mulgoa.
Diego Ramirez (Chile)
[Islas Diego Ramrez]
Rocky island group off the coast of Chile, 60 miles SW of Cape Horn, southernmost of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.Named by Bartolomeo de Nodal, in 1619, after a cosmographer who accompanied his expedition.
Downs, The (Kent, England)
The Downs was an area of sea off the east coast of Kent between the Straits of Dover and the Thames estuary. It was protected from westerly winds by the land, and from easterly winds by the Goodwin Sands. Ships would congregate in the Downs awaiting an easterly wind to carry them down the Channel or round the North Foreland and enter the estuary to move up to London.
The Downs could also be a dangerous area - for the Goodwin Sands were constantly shifting, and were not always adequately marked; storms could cause ships in the Downs to be driven onto the shore or upon the sandbanks. There was no natural harbour in the vicinity of the Downs, though Ramsgate Harbour provided some protection for merchant shipping, especially in southerly winds.
Dungeness (Kent, England)
Great expanse of shingle jutting out into the English Channel off the southern tip of Kent, extremity of Romney Marsh (formerly called Denge Marsh). Located midway between Hastings and Dover.
Eastern Farms District (NSW).
Located between Parramatta and Ryde.
Emu Island (NSW)
Exmouth (or Koonawarra) (NSW)
Richard Brooks' farm of 1,300 acres. Brooks had a manager here as he resided at Denham Court.
Falkland Islands (South Atlantic Ocean)
A group of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean east of Patagonia. The first European to sight them was John Davis in 1592. Two years later they were again sighted by Sir Richard Hawkins. In 1598 they were visited by the Dutch seaman Sebald de Wert who named them the Sebald Islands; but they were renamed the Falkland Islands in 1693 by Captain Strong, of the British Navy, in honour of the First Lord of the Admiralty. Since the eighteenth century there have been competing claims for sovereignty of the islands by Britain, France, Spain, and most recently Argentina [currently British territory].
Fernando de Noronha (Brazil)
Island group 200 miles NE of Cape Sao Roque, Brazil [Long. 32 33' W, Lat.3 53'S].
Discovered c. 1503 by Fernando de Noronha, a Portuguese participant in the dyewood trade. The main island covers 10 square miles, is volcanic in origin, and is dominated by a 1,050-foot peak.
Strategically located off the bulge of Brazil, the island was used as a penal settlement from the 1700s onwards and continued to receive a few political prisoners as late as the 1980s. The Brazilian military currently controls the territory. In 1989 the waters surrounding Fernando de Noronha were declared a Marine National Park.
Fort St. Antonio (Brazil)
Fortress at the entrance to the port of St. Salvadore.
Frogmore (NSW)
Mrs. O'Connell's farm of 'Frogmore', (portion 109, parish of Londonderry), was a grant of 600 acres, on 1 January 1806, to Mrs. Mary Putland, daughter of Governor Bligh. She married Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice O'Connell on 8 May 1810 (after the death of her first husband Lieut. John Putland on 4 January 1808). The town of St. Mary's is built, in part, on this grant.
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