Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Building in the main street

 

Cessnock (including Bellbird, Nulkaba, Ellalong, Paxton and Millfield)
Mining town in the Hunter Valley
151 km north of Sydney via the freeway Cessnock, together with Bellbird, has a population of 17 914 and is situated 107 metres above sea-level. Although originally a service centre to travellers and the surrounding farms its real development as a town occurred when the area became a major mining centre at the turn of the century. Consequently there is little in the way of heritage buildings and today Cessnock is essentially a rather unattractive and uninteresting residential, commercial and government centre, although it is situated adjacent one of the state's most important wine-growing centres (see entry on Pokolbin).

Depending on which source is consulted it is variously believed that the original inhabitants of the area were the Darkinjang, Awabakal or Wanaruah peoples.

Many early landholders in the Hunter Valley were of Scottish descent. Some were the younger sons of noble families who had come to take advantage of generous grants when the family estate was bestowed upon the eldest son. One such case was that of John Campbell who was granted 1560 acres in 1826 along Black Creek where the town is now situated. He named the property after Cessnock castle in Ayrshire, Scotland, which belonged to his baronial grandfather. Unfortunately John died in 1828 at the age of 24 and his younger brother David returned to Scotland when the grant was transferred to elder brother George, still resident in his native land. George waived his rights in 1832 and David finally managed to secure a deed in 1834. However, by that time, he too had decided to remain in Scotland and he became an absentee landlord. Much of the property was sold in an 1853 enabling the emergence of a private village.

The locality was situated at an intersection on the Great North Road. The first road to join Sydney with the Hunter Valley it was built by 3000 convicts between 1826 and 1834. The junction became a camping place for teamsters. The Cessnock Inn was established here in 1856 for those travelling between Wollombi and Maitland. By 1858 there were still no more than eleven adults.

After the Robertson Land Act of 1861 the way was opened for small landholders and people began to settle on small farms along Black Creek and Anvil Creek in the area to the north and north-west of Cessnock. They were mostly wheat-growers but a German winemaker named Bouffier established a vineyard at Cessnock around 1866. The township developed as a service centre to local farmers and travellers. Wheat-growing declined after rust destroyed the crop in 1870.

With a view to establishing a village in the area, land had been reserved for a church and school north of present-day Cessnock as early as 1829. St Luke's Anglican Church was finally built there in 1867, the original slab-construction St Patrick's Catholic Church in 1872 and a school in 1877. A village was laid out there in 1884-85. Officially described as 'The Village of Pokolbin' it became known as Cessnock later in the decade. That name was transferred south to the town now called Cessnock in 1908 and the northern village became known by its local name, Nulkaba, which was officially adopted in 1927. By that time the farmland to the west had become known as Pokolbin.

Coal was discovered by William Keene in 1856 but the full potential of the Greta coal seam was not recognised until 1886 when T.W. Edgeworth David did some exploratory work. The first colliery (Richmond Vale) was opened in 1891 and was linked by rail with Maitland. Closed in 1967 it is now a mining museum. The East Greta, Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, Abermain, Aberdare and Hebburn collieries were all in operation by 1906 (the names recalling the mining areas of Wales and Northern England). Aberdare (opened in 1905) was the first mine at what is now known as Cessnock.

The local mining operations were very large, even by world standards. 17 collieries existed on the South Maitland Coal Field, employing nearly 10 000 men and boys and thus supporting a population of 43 000 in the district.

As a result of the collieries a land boom occurred between the turn of the century and the early 1920s. Subsequently the population, which had increased from 62 in 1871 to 165 in 1901, was 12 000 by 1926 when Cessnock became a municipality. Coalmining was supplemented by wine-making, timber, pottery, dairying and cattle.

Conditions at the mines were poor. The unionised workforce pressed for central rescue stations in the mines but their pleas were ignored. Some did not even have safety lamps. Then, on September 1, 1923, 20 men and their horses were killed in an underground explosion and fire at Bellbird Colliery. One of the rescuers, John Brown, the manager at Aberdare, also died.

Unrest continued throughout the 1920s. In 1929 Norman Brown was shot and killed at Rothbury when police fired their pistols to warn off thousands of miners protesting against scab labour during a lock-out. A monument to what has become known as the Rothbury Riots is located at North Rothbury.

Many mines closed during the Great Depression of the 1930s. They reopened during World War II which were profitable years for the mine-owners although unrest continued over pay and conditions. Striking employees were visited by novelist Katherine Susannah Prichard in 1944. The methods employed by the owners to accelerate extraction rendered vast amounts of coal inaccessible. The pits began to close from the late 1950s and wine slowly supplanted coal as the centrepiece of the local economy.

The City of Cessnock was declared in 1957 and the Greater City of Cessnock in 1984. The latter incorporates 25 formerly separate towns and mining villages which mostly developed around a particular colliery.

The Budburst Festival is held in September with a parade, markets, events and the Miss Cessnock quest.

Things to see:  

 

Flywheel from Aberdare Colliery near Tourist Information Office

 

Tourist Information
The Hunter Valley Wine Country Visitors' Centre is located at Turner Park on Aberdare St, about 1 km east of the intersection with Vincent St, Cessnock's main shopping strip. Vincent St was originally known as Mt Vincent Rd as it continued on to Ellalong and Mt Vincent. The information centre has plenty of information on the area's wineries, accommodation, restaurants and events.

 

Nulkaba
At the town's centre Maitland Rd, Wollombi Rd, Allandale Rd and Vincent St all meet at what is left of Black Creek (now cemented in and changed beyond recognition), along which the Campbells received the first land grant in the area.

Head north along Allandale Rd which originally lead through the farms which bordered Black Creek and Anvil Creek. 1 km brings you to Nulkaba. With a view to the future development of a village, land was reserved here for a church and school during the first surveys of the area in 1829. St Luke's Anglican Church was built in 1867, the original slab-construction St Patrick's Catholic Church in 1872 and a school in 1877. Intended as an administrative centre for the district a village was laid out in 1884-85 as 'The Village of Pokolbin' but became known as Cessnock later in the decade. That name was transferred to the town now known as Cessnock in 1908 and the local name, Nulkaba, was officially adopted in 1927.

 

Pottery kilns at Nulkaba north of Cessnock

 

As you drive north you can see, to the left, just past the cemetery, St Patrick's Catholic Church (1892) then, to the right, the interesting sight of some large and unusual-looking pottery kilns (c. 1880). They are located in the grounds of Potters Tavern.

Simply D'Vine Gallery and Gift Shop is situated at 49-53 Orient St, Nulkaba, tel: (02) 4990 4291.

 

Rusa Park Zoo
1.5 km north of the kilns is the turnoff into Lomas Lane, to the right, which takes you a further kilometre to Rusa Park Zoo, tel: (02) 4990 7714 or (02) 4990 1217. 1.4 km further north along Branxton Rd is Tandem Skydiving, located at Cessnock Airfield, tel: (02) 4990 1000.

 

St John's and Marthaville
Head south-west from Cessnock's main intersection along Wollombi Rd. The Wollombi-Maitland Rd was originally part of the Great North Rd, built by 3000 convicts between 1826 and 1834. The first right is Westmacott St where you will find St John's Anglican Church (1909) designed by Cyril Blacket. Return to Wollombi Rd and continue south. Just past the first roundabout, to the right, is a signpost indicating 'Historic Marthaville' (1889), now an arts and cultural centre, open Friday to Sunday.

 

Bellbird
Continue south-west along Wollombi Rd for 4 km to Bellbird where two collieries once operated. At the corner of Wollombi Rd and Kendall St is the Bellbird Mining Disaster Memorial in a small and unremarkable park to the right.

This simple monument stands opposite the site of Bellbird Colliery where, on Saturday, September the 1st, 1923, explosions and fires underground killed 20 men and their horses. Another man, John Brown, the manager at Aberdare, died in the rescue attempt. Working conditions at the time were very poor. The unionised workforce had pressed for central rescue stations in the mines but their pleas were ignored. Some did not even have safety lamps.

25 000 people attended the ensuing mass funeral. Subsequently the Central Mines Rescue Station was formed.

Unrest continued throughout the 1920s. In 1929 Norman Brown was shot and killed at Rothbury when police fired their pistols to warn off thousands of miners protesting against scab labour during a lock-out. A monument to what has become known as the Rothbury Riots is located at North Rothbury on the western side of Branxton Rd.

 

Lookouts
A signpost at the corner of Kendall St and Wollombi Rd indicates that it is the route to Bimbadeen scenic lookout. Follow this road, with the mountains dead ahead, for 4 km. It is then necessary to take a very sharp left turn. After about another 600 m turn left again through a little gateway with 'Bimbadeen' overhead.

Here you can join the Great North Walk. Sydney Cove is a mere 190 km distant, Newcastle 92 km, the Paxton Hotel 8 km and Pokolbin Rest Area 9 km. The views are excellent. To the east are a series of mountains. The tallest, capped by two large television transmitters, is Mt Sugarloaf where there is another outstanding lookout (see entry on Newcastle). In between is a very flat valley with occasional pockets of human habitation. Cessnock is in the near distance with Kurri Kurri further east and Maitland just discernible. The Watagan Mountains are to the right (south).

If you do not take the side road to Bimbadeen but continue along the main road, which becomes gravel after a short distance, you soon come to a fork. The right path leads up to Mount Bright Lookout. There is little to indicate its existence. You simply park your car on the side of the road and walk a short distance to a good vantage point although these can be hard to locate amidst the dense tree growth.

 

Millfield
Return to Wollombi Rd. 7 km south of Kendall St you will come to the pleasant and peaceful locality of Millfield. The land here was taken up by ex-convicts Patrick and Eupheme Dowlan in 1828. When the Great North Road went through the following year they set up an inn adjacent the thoroughfare. A village subsequently developed serving farmers and travellers.

Note the road on the left which leads through Paxton to Ellalong. 700 m beyond this turnoff you will come to the crest of a small hill where there are two buildings of interest.

The old slab hut to the left was licensed in 1838 as The Rising Sun Inn. The licensee was Thomas Pendergast. In 1840 it was held up by bushranger Edward Davis and his gang while Pendergast was being visited by John McDougall of Wollombi. After being robbed McDougall received a dozen lashes because of his reputation for being 'over fond of flogging whilst overseer of an iron gang' during the construction of the Great North Road. When McDougall's inn at Wollombi closed in 1845 he purchased the Rising Sun which is now a craft gallery and museum of sorts.

St Luke's opposite has an old bell from one of the oldest and largest properties in the district, Brown Muir. The owners, Robert (former chief clerk to the Colonial Secretary) and Thomas Crawford, were amongst the largest landholders in the area (8000 acres).

Further south is the beautiful old village of Wollombi.

 

Ellalong and Paxton
Return to Cessnock through Paxton, which grew around Stanford Main No. 2 Colliery, and Ellalong. After 9 km you will pass the Paxton Hotel and come to the crest of a small hill where there is an intersection. A right will take you south into the Congewai Valley, all of which was once owned by Thomas Crawford. A left turn leads, after 4 km, back to the Wollombi Rd just south of Bellbird.

This intersection is a good spot to view the rather attractive Ellalong Swamp. Never known to have run dry these wetlands are part of Quarrybylong Creek which flows into Congewai Creek. The mountains in the distance are the Watagans.

If you proceed straight ahead then, after 2 km, there is another turnoff on the left which also leads back to the Wollombi Rd, this time through the old mining village of Ellalong, originally a grant made out to Robert Crawford.

If you do not take this left the road continues on to Heaton Lookout which is 24 km distant (see entry on Cooranbong).

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