Morpeth in New South Wales probably never had a hope
of becoming the great port that its rival in the 1800s, Newcastle, eventually
achieved.
This picturesque town on the high
bank of the Hunter River, 34 kilometres by road from Newcastle, but a much longer journey along the winding river, overlooks a verdant valley.
Lieutenant Close selected land at
Morpeth in 1821 and by the 1830s the town was thriving as a river port. At its peak Morpeth boasted 18 inns which
provided accommodation and refreshment to the sailors, bullockies and other
tradesmen who frequented the town.
In Morpeth’s early years there
were probably great stands of cedar growing along the river valley. This timber was harvested to build the homes
of the Sydney gentry. During this period
coal was still being shovelled straight from riverbanks onto the ships of
entrepreneurs out to make a fast buck from the region, while official mines
were being established around Newcastle.
The Newcastle
and Hunter River Steamship Company established regular services from Morpeth to
Newcastle and Sydney and freighters and passenger vessels plied between these
ports throughout the 19th century.
On
10 December 1831 the Australian Agricultural Company officially opened
Australia's first railway which did not service Morpeth. Two years later, on 3 May 1833 the same
company received land grants at Newcastle and a 31 year monopoly on that town's
coal traffic. These developments in
Newcastle and the deforestation of the valley led to Morpeth’s eventual decline
as a trading port.
Enthusiastic
and ambitious public building projects continued in Morpeth until the late
1800s providing the town with a legacy of fine buildings.
Autumn
deciduous trees and the crispness of the upland air enhanced the soft light of
the change of seasons in this village which cloaks its boisterous beginnings in
genteel arts and crafts shops and fine wine and food merchants.
As
we strolled along Swan Street after indulging in a gourmet pizza and after
sampling the fine wines of the Morpeth Moonshine Distillery and Wine Cellar the
temptation to set up a Wordsworthian existence in one of the town’s quaint
backstreets was only overcome by the harsh reality of a paid-for but non- refundable ticket out of New South
Wales and the knowledge that Australia boasts few financially independent poets.
Claire Wood
Email: longline8@gmail.com
See also: Just Claire Wood, In theAtmosphere
Wednesday 2 May 2012
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