Koonawarra - History

Land grants

See also Dapto - history page

Richard Brooks and 'Exmouth'

A grant of 1300 acres was marked out by Surveyor Meehan on the 5th of December 1816. This property was granted to Richard Brooks one of the first five land grantees in the Illawarra. The property was known as 'Exmouth' and had a frontage to Lake Illawarra from Brooks Creek to near Tallawarra, extending west to Mullet Creek. Richard Brooks did not reside on 'Exmouth' he employed managers named Neale and Cream to run the property.

William Browne and 'Athanlin'

William Browne (generally known as Merchant Browne) received two grants of 3000 acres and 800 acres. The 3000 acre property known as 'Athanlin' encompassed part of Koonawarra and extended into Yallah.

"'Athanlin' had frontage to the northern entry to Lake Illawarra and for some distance upstream, and to the western shores of Lake Illawarra. It covered all the land lying between Richard Brooks 'Exmouth' and Major Johnston's grant of 1500 acres on Macquarie Rivulet called 'Macquarie Gift'" (Lindsay 1994, p. 14)

(Dowd,1960; Lindsay, 1994; McDonald, 1976)

Early residents

William Browne

William Browne was the son of an Irish Officer in the East India Company's service and "a Persian woman of high degree, the widow of a Persian Merchant prince." (McDonald 1976, p.11) Merchant Browne as he was known was a member of the firm Browne and Turner Merchants of Calcutta. He was impressed by the climate and the relatively disease-free environment of New South Wales whilst on a trading voyage in 1809 -10.

He bought 2000 acres at 'Abbotsbury' near Cabramatta and removed his household from India to New South Wales, settling in 1816. "In the files of the Sydney Gazette of the year 1816 appear notices by him, intimating his intention to remain in the colony…"(McDonald 1976, p.11). He was a wealthy man and came with recommendations from the Secretary of State and nearly 20,000 pounds with which to embark in mercantile and farming concerns in the colony. He was regarded as a great acquisition to the colony and this may account for the extremely liberal allowance of land made to him in the Illawarra.

Browne, whilst not entirely happy with his grant set to work to develop it mainly through the agency of his three nephews, Henry, Thomas and Cornelius O'Brien. By 1820 both 'Abbotsbury' and 'Athanlin' were overstocked and cattle were transported annually "to the unoccupied country beyond the Blue Mountains" (Lindsay, 1994). William Browne died at 'Athanlin' on 6th October 1833.

(Lindsay, 1994; McDonald, 1976)

Richard Brooks

Local aboriginal people knew Richard Brook's 'Exmouth' property as 'Koonawarra'.

For more information on Richard Brooks see the Kanahooka - history page.

Early industry

Cattle & dairying

In the early 1830's Alexander Harris visited a cattle-station on the border of the "Yalla - Lake" which was probably either 'Exmouth' or 'Athanlin' where he enjoyed "a good dinner of hot beef steaks, bread and tea." (McDonald 1976, p.12)

"The land itself was described as being chiefly open forest land of good quality, well wooded and watered. "There were very few fences and the cattle were grazed on meadows and mountain sides being rounded up for branding from time to time. At suitable places stockyards were erected one being on the spur of the Illawarra Range, called Stockyard Mountain on that account. Under such circumstances cattle thieving was prevalent." (Cousins 1994, p. 37)

William Browne was a member of the Cattle-Stealing Prevention Association, formed in September 1827.

After William Browne's death in 1833, 'Athanlin' was bought by Henry Osborne and added to his property 'Marshall Mount'. Parts of the property included good dairy land such as 'Penrose' which was the home of the Evans family well known in the Illawarra as expert dairymen.

Henry Osborne was one of the aristocracy of early dairying in the Illawarra. In the 1840's he had a good herd of dairy cattle and because he owned his farm he was able to secure the best breeds for his property.

(McDonald, 1976; Cousins, 1994)

Early transport

Major Mitchell's South Coast Road

The first road through Koonawarra was marked out in 1834 by Major Mitchell, the Surveyor General. It ran southward two miles west of Wollongong it continued in nearly a straight line across 'Charcoal Creek' keeping a short distance from 'Mullet Creek' crossing that creek one hundred yards lower than the present ford. It continued in a straight direction across level ground so as again to fall in with the road at a mile and a half beyond 'Mullet Creek'. The line was then marked along some rising ground nearly in the same direction as the present road until a cut of two miles was made through William Browne's land. This avoided a considerable detour in the road and a bad swamp crossing near its head.

Railways

Dapto Railway Station opened in 1887 with the extension of the railway line to North Kiama. On the 12th December 1895 a private branch line with the dead-end exchange sidings at the junction was opened for the Australian Smelting Company.

The Illawarra Harbour and Land Corporation Railway Line was commenced in 1895 in an attempt to link the proposed Lake Illawarra Harbour to the "Ocean Seam Colliery". The line was to be six and three quarter miles long from Elizabeth near Lake Illawarra to the colliery half a mile west of the Old West Dapto Public School site.

Work on the railway commenced in September 1895, the line was to commence at Tallawarra Point and go westerly for two miles before crossing the main road and the Illawarra Railway line. This new line would have run right through Koonawarra, however it was never used. It was never placed into service over its whole length because the coal deposits when tested were found to be unsatisfactory. The quality of the coal was poor, presumably due to faults in the seam.

Only the northern end of the Illawarra Harbour and Land Corporation railway, apart from the Dapto Smelter section, was ever used to haul paying loads. There are some physical remains of this line still to be seen in Dapto.

(McDonald, 1976; Reynolds, 2001)