Gazetteer of Historical Australian Places
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The presence of coal was the first of the natural resources that caught the eye of the European visitors to the region. Newcastle was officially discovered by Lieutenant John Shortland in 1797, but there is evidence that in 1791 a group of convicts who had escaped had "there found a quantity of fine burng (sic) coal", thus being, arguably, the first Europeans to discover coal in Australia. (see the 1791 account of James Martin above). In 1796 there were fishermen collecting coal pieces in the area and a number of individuals began selling it in Sydney. The interest generated within government circles in Sydney inspired Governor King to send an exploration party to the Hunter in June 1801 led by Lieutenant Grant and Lieutenant-Colonel Paterson to report on "where the most eligible place would be to form a settlement, both with respect to procuring coals and for agricultural purposes". Their report informed the Governor of the alluvial flats as being "a very fit situation for forming a settlement for the cultivation of grain or grazing". They also reported on the presence of oyster shells along the beaches as well as good quality timber along the river. A small party were left behind to mine the coal at the present site of Newcastle, but due to the misconduct of a commanding officer the small settlement that had been working the seams was abandoned in 1802.
Please read Lieutenant James Grant's account of his visit to Hunter's River and Ash Island with some general observations of the Aboriginal people (PDF) from The narrative of a voyage of discovery performed in his majesty's vessel the Lady Nelson of sixty tons burthen, with sliding keels; in the years 1800, 1801, and 1802, to New South Wales [pp.149 - 172] The engraved plates are below.
Please note that (according to T.M. Perry Australia's First Frontier: The Spread of Settlement in New South Wales 1788 - 1829 Melbourne University Press 1963 p.56 note 8) they "regarded the Williams as the main stream and refer to it as the Hunter in their reports. The Hunter upstream from its confluence with the Williams they named the Paterson. Although the confluence of the (present) Paterson and Hunter was shown on their map, they did not explore the Paterson."
Grant, James, 1772-1833. The narrative of a voyage of discovery, performed in His Majesty's vessel the Lady Nelson, of sixty tons burthen, with sliding keels, in the years 1800, 1801 and 1802, to New South Wales. To which is prefixed, An account of the origin of sliding keels .. London : Printed by C. Roworth … for T. Egerton …, 1803.
AUCH - RB/COLL STACK/FOYER Q994.02/29 B
Grant, James, 1772-1833. The narrative of a voyage of discovery, performed in His Majesty's vessel The Lady Nelson, of sixty tons burthen, with sliding keels, in the years 1800, 1801, and 1802, to New South Wales. [Adelaide : Libraries Board of South Australia, 1973] Facsimile ed. Auch - Quarto Book Q994.402 GRAN
Professor Ross Deamer adds:
"In 1801 Gov. Hunter realised the need for the exploration of the Hunter River and ordered an expedition thence under the command of Col. William Paterson.
The expedition landed [1] on 14th June, 1801, at what Paterson was to call Coal Island, but now known as Nobby's Island.
Until June 28th the party was variously engaged in collecting coals, surveying the harbour and entrance thereto and exploring and mapping the channels and islands in the lower reaches up as far as and including Ash Island.[2]
Paterson formed the opinion that the Government would derive advantages by forming a settlement in the area so that organised mining operations may be commenced. He also recommended the area for the manufacture of salt, lime from burning the abundance of oyster shells, the salting of fish which were plentiful and for the despasturing of cattle.
On 29th June, a group proceeded up the river to Green Hills (now Raymond Terrace) where they spent the night and then instead of continuing up what appears from a boat to be the main stream, the Williams, then known as the Hunter, they entered the Paterson River (now the Hunter), which, Col. Paterson states had previously been known as the Cedar Arm. This would indicate that some adventurous souls had previously been along it for what was to be termed, the "red gold".
Paterson was to work up the river to what is now known as Mt Hudson, but was called by him Mt Anne, in honour of the Governor's wife. From the description of the journey the furtherest point reached by the expedition was some two miles beyond the "Dalwood Homestead", or the northeast corner of what was to be Maziere's grant.
The Report, submitted by Paterson upon his return, also stressed that the river flats beyond Green Hills were extremely suitable for agriculture and were well wooded with cedar, Ash and Box timbers of which there was a dearth in the known area of the colony.
[1] Paterson, Lt., Col., to Gov. King, 11th August 1801 - King Papers, Mitchell Library.
[2] Paterson's Journal, Mitchell Library."
Transcribed from: Deamer, Ross M Houses erected on original land grants in the Lower Hunter, Paterson and Williams River Valleys between 1800-1850 [manuscript] / Ross M. Deamer. University of Newcastle 1971 Auchmuty - Thesis THESIS 309 [pp.3-5]
Please click below for scanned excerpts from the Historical Records of New South Wales, Volume 4 Edited by F.M. Bladen Sydney 1896: