Journeys in Time: Places

Places
L - Q

Lachlan Vale (NSW)
Farm belonging to William Broughton.

Launceston (Tasmania)
Launceston was named in 1807 as the main settlement at Port Dalrymple. The name came into general use from about 1818 and also gradually became the name for the port instead of Port Dalrymple or the Tamar. Named after Governor King's birthplace in Cornwall, England. Briefly known as Patersonia.

Lion's Rump, The (South Africa)
Rocky promontory located at the approach to Table Bay, adjacent to Table Mountain; nearby was 'Sugar Loaf Hill' or the 'Lion's Head'.

Liphook (or Lipook) (Hampshire, England)
Village located just within the Hampshire boundary from Sussex on the road from London to Portsmouth [north-east of Petersfield]. A regular coaching stop - the most famous posting inn in the village was the late-17th-century Royal Anchor Hotel, patronized by the famous, among them Samuel Pepys, Admiral Nelson (on his way to Portsmouth and Trafalgar in 1805) General Blucher (on his way to London after the victory at Waterloo in 1815), and later, Queen Victoria.

Lizard, The (Cornwall, England)
The Lizard Point is the most southerly tip of England, jutting into the English Channel between Penzance and Falmouth.

London Docks
Opened at Wapping in 1805. These were the docks nearest to the City of London, and until 1826, all ships arriving in London - except those from the East and West Indies - had to unload at London Docks There were two main docks: the Western Dock (20 acres) with a lock into a basin and from there into the river on the south; and an Eastern Dock (7 acres) with a basin and locks into the river on the east. The docks were linked by a small Tobacco Dock. The docks were surrounded by high walls and locked at night (as Macquarie discovered) to prevent smuggling and theft.

Macarthur's Farm (NSW)
Camden Park estate belonging to John Macarthur.

Macquarie Gift (NSW)
Colonel George Johnston's farm comprised 1,500 acres. It was initially called 'Macquarie Gift', but was later known as 'Johnston's Meadows'. Colonel Johnston's farm was managed by a man called Wilson, a pioneer stockman in Illawarra.

Macquarie Pier (Newcastle, NSW)
Named after Lachlan Macquarie. Construction commenced from the mainland under the command of Capt. Wallis in 1818 using convict labour. The stone was quarried from the Fort Scratchley area (then named Signal Hill); work was abandoned 5 years later when the pier extended halfway to Nobbys island. In 1836 work on the pier recommenced under the command of Capt. G. Barney and this time Nobbys Island was quarried for rock. The pier was finally connected and completed in 1846.

Manangle (NSW)
A 2,000 acre farm on the banks of the Nepean granted to Walter Davidson by Governor King on 18 December 1805. Originally called 'Belmont' the land had a river frontage onto the Nepean River and was straddled on either side by two grants to John Macarthur known as Upper Camden, and Lower Camden (totalling 5000 acres).[Macarthur had been permitted to take his land grant in two parts to maximise his access to the river]. The combined effect was that the land grants to Davidson and Macarthur extended along the left bank (western side) of the Nepean for a distance of more than 8 miles (12 kilometres). When Davidson returned to England in March 1809, Macarthur had the free use of his friend's grant.

The Aboriginal name 'Menangle' (or 'Manangle') came from the pond which stood on Davidson's land. [Similarly 'Carabeely' was the name of the pond on Macarthur's Upper Camden grant, while 'Belgenny' or 'Belkennie' the pond on the Lower Camden grant].

Margate (Kent, England)
Sea port at the mouth of the Thames, on the Isle of Thanet. After extensive storm damage in January 1808, a new stone pier was built at the entrance to Margate at a cost of £90,000. N. of Ramsgate.

Meadow Banks (NSW)
Farm on York Plains which was on a grant of 50 acres given to Joseph Wright on 1 January 1817.

Meredith Island (NSW)
Located inside Port Stephens, midway between present-day Soldiers Point (south) and Fame Point (north). Now known as Boondaba (or Middle) Island.
[Latitude 32 41' S, Longitude 152 04' E.]

Named after Elizabeth Macquarie's close personal friend and school companion, Miss Harriet Meredith (17??-1828). Their friendship endured until c.1828, when Miss Meredith died, bequeathing to the widowed Elizabeth Macquarie £2000 and her London home located at 58 Upper Charlotte Street (near Portland Place).

Minto District (NSW)
Macquarie s excursion on 8 November 1810, followed in general the present Liverpool-Campbelltown road through the district of Minto. He mentions the farms of:

Richard Guise (Casula)
Charles Throsby (Glenfield)
James Meehan (Macquarie Fields)
William Arden Lewin (Macquarie Fields)
Captain Richard Brooks (Denham Court).

From 'Denham Court' Macquarie branched south-west to the farms of Dr. Robert Townson ('Varroville'), and of the recently deceased Andrew Thompson ('St. Andrews').

Moor Bank (or Moorbank) (NSW)
Shortly before Macquarie's arrival Thomas Moore (1762-1840) was granted 1,300 acres in the George's River district by Lt. Governor Paterson. This grant was confirmed by Macquarie, who appointed him magistrate for the district on 7 May 1810. Moore also accompanied Macquarie on his tour of the district when the town site of Liverpool was declared on 15 December 1810. Moore remained at Liverpool until his death on 24 December l840. His property, 'Moorebank', was bequeathed to the Church of England, and Moore Theological College was established with the proceeds.

Mount Brisbane (NSW)
Macquarie gave this name to the top of the Illawarra Range behind Mount Keira.

Mount Taurus (NSW)
Named because it was a favourite grazing ground of the wild cattle. It was also known as Spaniard's Hill.

Mount Throsby (NSW)
The hill named Mount Throsby by Macquarie is probably Mount Marshall.

Mull, Isle of (Inner Hebrides, Scotland)
Island off the west coast of Scotland (third largest of the Hebridean Islands). Mountainous, with a jagged coastline that is broken up by deeply penetrating sea lochs and inlets. Exposed on its western seaboard to Atlantic gales which bring large amounts of rain and strong winds, and the narrow glens funnel the wind into the central areas. Mull is approximately 24 miles (38 km) from north to south, and 26 miles (42 km) from east to west; separated from the Scottish mainland in the NE by the Sound of Mull, and in the SW by the Firth of Lorne.

Mull and Australia: The Macquarie connection is distinguished, in particular, by the extremely large number of place names in New South Wales and Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) whose origins are derived from locations and features on the Isle of Mull and its environs. Lachlan Macquarie used his governorship (1810 -1821) as an opportunity to commemmorate, through nostalgic place names, the places and personal associations that he had kept with Mull since his boyhood. He was born on the adjoining island of Ulva on 31 January 1761.

Newcastle (NSW)
Site of the future city of Newcastle was discovered on 9 September 1797 by Lieut. John Shortland (on board HMS Reliance). He was seeking escaped convicts from Sydney when he found the river entrance which he named Hunter's River. He made camp at a site that he called Freshwater Bay (now Newcastle). On the rough survey map of the harbour entrance he marked and named the distinctive island at the entrance Hacking's Point (later changed to Coal Island - and then Nobby's)

Nobby's (NSW)
Name for Coal Island, Newcastle. The first mention of the name 'Nobby's' is to be found in the Sydney Gazette on 6 October 1801, reporting the loss of two seamen from the ship Resource (William Wallis and William Ratkin).

Originally described by Capt. Cook in May 1770 as "a small clump of an island lying close to shore". The island was originally named Hacking's Island by Lieut. John Shortland in 1797 and subsequently visited by Lieut. Col. Paterson in 1801 who renamed it Coal Island. Ensign Barrallier was responsible for the survey work on the island during this expedition and he stated that Nobby's was 302 feet high - more than twice its current height. The reduction is the result of stone being quarried for the construction of the breakwater (Macquarie Pier) linking Coal Island to the mainland at South Head (now Fort Scratchley). This project, originally initiated by Macquarie in 1818 was finally completed in 1846 . When connected to the mainland the island became known as Nobby's Head.

In 1855 the summit of Nobby's was further reduced (from 62 metres to its present height of 28 metres) during the construction of a signal station and dwellings for lighthouse staff. The lighthouse finally replaced the coal-fired beacon that had operated from South Head (Signal Hill) since 1804.

Aboriginal name for the island: Whibay-Garba.

Nore, The (Kent, England)
The Nore anchorage was situated in the River Thames estuary, just off the entrance to the River Medway (adjacent to the Isle of Sheppey). It was largely protected from easterly winds by the sandbanks of the estuary. It was the common point of arrival and departure for vessels proceeding into and out of the Thames. Once they had reached the Nore anchorage vessels were required to wait until the tide, and force and direction of the wind, was favourable to proceed further.

Nowenong (NSW)
Now known as Menangle Park (on the opposite side of the Nepean River to Walter Davidson's 'Manangle').

Parramatta River Farms (NSW)
Among the first grants on the Parramatta v. were those of Isaac Archer, Royal Marines, 80 acres, January 3rd 1792 Michael Connor, 80 acres at Ryde, April 6th 1798 (portion 21, parish of Hunters Hill), Alexander Macdonald, Corporal, Royal Marines, January 3rd 1792, and John Ramsay, 50 acres, February 22nd 1792.

Penrith (NSW)
The town of Penrith was built upon a grant of 1,000 acres on the Nepean to Captain Daniel Woodriff, R.N. (which he received on 1 February 1804).

Pernambuco (Brazil)
City/state located in northeast Brazil between the Sao Francisco and Panaiba rivers. It was the largest Portuguese colony in Brazil in the sixteenth century and by the early seventeenth century had become its most prosperous - and was the world's leading sugar region. This prosperity was based upon a plantation society completely dependent upon the importation of black African slaves. By the late the late eigteenth century this primacy had been eclipsed by Dutch and English initiatives elsewhere in South America and the Caribbean. On the coast, the port of Recife provided anchorages for deepwater vessels and sheltered dock facilities for ships visiting the city/state of Pernambuco (with slaves or collecting cargoes of agricultural produce.

The Ponds District (NSW)
Located between North Parramatta and Ryde.

Port Dalrymple (Tasmania)
The early name for the port on the Tamar River at Launceston.

Portland Head (NSW)
At the time of Macquarie's visit in 1810 there were no grants on the Hawkesbury below Sackville Reach.

Prince Regent's Glen (NSW)
Valleys now named Jamieson, Megalong and Kanimbla.