THE development of Swansea by Europeans was sparked by a nautical mistake.
In July 1800, a schooner sailed from Sydney to Newcastle to pick up coal. The skipper, Captain William Reid, mistook the mouth of Swansea Channel for Newcastle Harbour.
It was not until later that Captain Reid realised he had steered into Lake Macquarie. The lake was unofficially called Reid's Mistake, until it was named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Swansea Heads is still sometimes referred to as Reid's Mistake.
In 1853, the families of Captain Thomas Boyd and John Taaffe arrived at Reid's Mistake in a ketch called The Turtle, settling on the headland near Swansea, then called Galgabba. The two families contributed greatly to the development of the area.
Boyd and a native Australian, Billy Mischievous, ran an export business in swans. Boyd also opened a store above his kitchen where settlers travelled from afar for supplies. Taaffe built the settlement's first hotel.
Chinese fishermen started working in Swansea in the 1850s. In 1863 two Chinese fisheries were established producing up to 70 tons of cured fish a year. They also cultivated gardens and supplied vegetables.
Coal was another significant industry, with the Murray Brothers' mine opening south of Galgabba Point in 1863.
A teacher from Sydney set up a school in 1875 in a hut which usually had drying possum skins hanging from the walls outside.
The government spent several thousand pounds building breakwaters on either side of the entrance and deepening Swansea Channel to make it easier for passing ships.
The clearing of the entrance turned the area into a small port which developed a reputation as a boat building centre.
Called Pelican Flat by European settlers, the town was to undergo a further name change. At a public meeting in October 1887, the name Swansea was adopted.
Influential in the change was Robert Francis Talbot who saw a resemblance between the area and the Welsh seaport. Talbot was born in Dublin in 1844. After a career in the Navy, which included a posting in Australia, he returned to the Antipodes and was employed as a miner at Catherine Hill Bay. He then worked as a land surveyor, during which time he built a hotel. By 1877 he owned and operated the principal store. When the postmaster resigned, Talbot successfully applied for the position.
On September 3, 1879, Talbot wrote to the postmaster general's office, advising that the New Wallsend Colliery and its supporting industries had closed, and the Catherine Hill residents were moving out, some to the new settlement known as Pelican Flat, five miles away at the sea entrance to Lake Macquarie. With the imminent opening of a saw mill and colliery there the population would reach 300, he said.
He was allowed to move the post office to the new general store he had built in the thriving community. His next venture was to build a hotel there in 1882.
On October 8, 1887 Talbot wrote to the R Stevenson MP: "At a Public Meeting held here on the 7th instant, it was unanimously carried that the name of this rising township should be altered from Pelican Flat to Swansea."
The change of name was approved and took place on November 1, 1887, and the Village of Swansea was proclaimed on February 3, 1906. Today Swansea is a popular holiday area because of its proximity to the ocean and Lake Macquarie.
This article originally appeared in Planet Swansea which was published by the South Wales Evening Post.
In July 1800, a schooner sailed from Sydney to Newcastle to pick up coal. The skipper, Captain William Reid, mistook the mouth of Swansea Channel for Newcastle Harbour.
It was not until later that Captain Reid realised he had steered into Lake Macquarie. The lake was unofficially called Reid's Mistake, until it was named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Swansea Heads is still sometimes referred to as Reid's Mistake.
In 1853, the families of Captain Thomas Boyd and John Taaffe arrived at Reid's Mistake in a ketch called The Turtle, settling on the headland near Swansea, then called Galgabba. The two families contributed greatly to the development of the area.
Boyd and a native Australian, Billy Mischievous, ran an export business in swans. Boyd also opened a store above his kitchen where settlers travelled from afar for supplies. Taaffe built the settlement's first hotel.
Chinese fishermen started working in Swansea in the 1850s. In 1863 two Chinese fisheries were established producing up to 70 tons of cured fish a year. They also cultivated gardens and supplied vegetables.
Coal was another significant industry, with the Murray Brothers' mine opening south of Galgabba Point in 1863.
A teacher from Sydney set up a school in 1875 in a hut which usually had drying possum skins hanging from the walls outside.
The government spent several thousand pounds building breakwaters on either side of the entrance and deepening Swansea Channel to make it easier for passing ships.
The clearing of the entrance turned the area into a small port which developed a reputation as a boat building centre.
Called Pelican Flat by European settlers, the town was to undergo a further name change. At a public meeting in October 1887, the name Swansea was adopted.
Influential in the change was Robert Francis Talbot who saw a resemblance between the area and the Welsh seaport. Talbot was born in Dublin in 1844. After a career in the Navy, which included a posting in Australia, he returned to the Antipodes and was employed as a miner at Catherine Hill Bay. He then worked as a land surveyor, during which time he built a hotel. By 1877 he owned and operated the principal store. When the postmaster resigned, Talbot successfully applied for the position.
On September 3, 1879, Talbot wrote to the postmaster general's office, advising that the New Wallsend Colliery and its supporting industries had closed, and the Catherine Hill residents were moving out, some to the new settlement known as Pelican Flat, five miles away at the sea entrance to Lake Macquarie. With the imminent opening of a saw mill and colliery there the population would reach 300, he said.
He was allowed to move the post office to the new general store he had built in the thriving community. His next venture was to build a hotel there in 1882.
On October 8, 1887 Talbot wrote to the R Stevenson MP: "At a Public Meeting held here on the 7th instant, it was unanimously carried that the name of this rising township should be altered from Pelican Flat to Swansea."
The change of name was approved and took place on November 1, 1887, and the Village of Swansea was proclaimed on February 3, 1906. Today Swansea is a popular holiday area because of its proximity to the ocean and Lake Macquarie.
This article originally appeared in Planet Swansea which was published by the South Wales Evening Post.
Swansea from the air and, below, a tea towel depicting the area.
