Author(s): Roland Bannister

History

As a child growing up in Newcastle my parents and maternal grandparents treated me and my siblings to excursions to Singleton, Paterson and other Hunter Valley places. Although I enjoyed the mysterious old-world homes of a few remaining Singleton rellies, and although I recall the joy of swimming in the Paterson River, I was puzzled by my parents' special enthusiasm for these places. But even as a child I kind of understood that they loved visiting aged family, and that they were curious about the lives of our long gone Hunter generations. Now, after researching my family history, I understand this affection for these people and places more deeply.For this book I have researched my mother's Hunter Valley ancestors and written accounts of their lives. Some were rural labourers, others were farmers, some were miners, and a few were publicans. Some came to Australia as convicts, but most came free. Some attracted a great deal of notice in the records, others hardly any. My forebears were individuals, each with their unique lives, their own stories, their own highs, and their own lows. Yet, at the same time, they were representative of the British emigrants who moved onto the lands of the Worimi and Wonnarua peoples. I have drawn on family recollections, family photographs and documents, government document archives, the usual BDM certificates, and the wealth of newspaper reports now available on Trove. I have recounted family yarns, but have been careful to verify or modify them in the light of evidence from the records. In lived my working life in Newcastle, Glen Innes, and Wagga Wagga and so have a keen appreciation of country NSW. My mission is to understand people by understanding their place, and to understand place by understanding the people. My key questions is What are these people doing in this place at this time? Special family places in the Hunter include Paterson, Vacy, Eccleston, Singleton, Rix's Creek, Camberwell, Carrowbrook, and Newcastle. I have illustrated the book with images from our family collection, and have scoured archival and other sources for more.