Upper reaches of the Lane Cove River
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Riverside Falls cascade into the Lane Cove River after rain
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EXPLORATION OF LANE COVE RIVER
Governor Phillip was the first European to lead an expedition into the Lane Cove River Valley, some three months after the arrival of the First Fleet in the colony in January 1788. The Lane Cove River had probably been named in February 1788 during an expedition around Port Jackson. Lieutenant Ralph Clark, accompanied by three convicts, explored the Lane Cove River Valley in 1790. They rowed some 10 kilometres up the Lane Cove River and recorded that they saw Aboriginal people.
The next recorded explorer was botanist George Caley who, in 1805, set out from John Macarthur's farm at West Pennant Hills. Caley was impressed by the stands of blackbutt and blue gums at Gordon and Pymble.
Settlers
The first European to live in the vicinity of the park is probably William Henry, who took possession of land north of Blue Gum Creek, some seven kilometres from the river mouth, in 1807. He lived on Millwood farm from 1814 to 1850, in what is now Fuller picnic area.
Many timber-getters were attracted to the area and began illegal operations in the 1820s. The sawyers camped out, living on salt beef and damper, felled the forest giants and dug great saw pits.
Joseph Fidden's grant, dated 5 April 1821, was on the south side of Fiddens Wharf Road. Bullock drays and jinkers carried logs along the ridge towards the city, turning off at Killara down Fiddens Wharf Road to reach the Lane Cove River. The six and a half hectares around Fiddens wharf was declared a wharfage reserve from which no timber could legally be cut. This resulted in the preservation of the fine stand of blackbutt which now remains.
When the sawyers left, in came the orchardists. They put up huts, made their own furniture, bread and clothes. Five orchardists were located around the weir area. Fuller's orchard was downstream of the present bridge, on the eastern bank of the river. Jenkins was next upstream, and William Henry was the grandfather of Maria Jenkins, Thomas Jenkins' wife. The kitchen of Jenkins' house has survived and is located next to the visitor centre. The homestead was weatherboard with a shingle roof. It was damaged by fire in the 1920s and was demolished in the 1930s. Robert Baker's orchard is now The Pines picnic area while the kitchen on the hill above the flat forms part of the park depot.
The only surviving homestead is Schwartz's, a large weatherboard house with an iron roof and verandah on three sides. George Baker and Hughes had holdings on the Ryde side of the River.
Thomas and Maria Jenkins had the largest property and the largest family (13). Their farm became popular with picnickers and the property was purchased for the inclusion into the national park in the 1930s.
All images sourced from the internet: Scenes in Lane Cove River National Park, West Chatswood.
The image (Left) below shows rowboats for hire at Lane Cove River National Park; at (Right) the Fuller Bridge crossing the Lane Cove River at Chatswood.
The river flows on to Greenwich Point and Woolwich where it merges with Parramatta River. Soon after it becomes part of Port Jackson, so named by Captain James Cook in 1770 when he viewed two headlands opening to a possible harbour from 3 kms offshore.
© Arthur Phillip Chapter of Fellowship of First Fleeters 2023 -
EXPLORATION OF LANE COVE RIVER
Governor Phillip was the first European to lead an expedition into the Lane Cove River Valley, some three months after the arrival of the First Fleet in the colony in January 1788. The Lane Cove River had probably been named in February 1788 during an expedition around Port Jackson. Lieutenant Ralph Clark, accompanied by three convicts, explored the Lane Cove River Valley in 1790. They rowed some 10 kilometres up the Lane Cove River and recorded that they saw Aboriginal people.
The next recorded explorer was botanist George Caley who, in 1805, set out from John Macarthur's farm at West Pennant Hills. Caley was impressed by the stands of blackbutt and blue gums at Gordon and Pymble.
Settlers
The first European to live in the vicinity of the park is probably William Henry, who took possession of land north of Blue Gum Creek, some seven kilometres from the river mouth, in 1807. He lived on Millwood farm from 1814 to 1850, in what is now Fuller picnic area.
Many timber-getters were attracted to the area and began illegal operations in the 1820s. The sawyers camped out, living on salt beef and damper, felled the forest giants and dug great saw pits.
Joseph Fidden's grant, dated 5 April 1821, was on the south side of Fiddens Wharf Road. Bullock drays and jinkers carried logs along the ridge towards the city, turning off at Killara down Fiddens Wharf Road to reach the Lane Cove River. The six and a half hectares around Fiddens wharf was declared a wharfage reserve from which no timber could legally be cut. This resulted in the preservation of the fine stand of blackbutt which now remains.
When the sawyers left, in came the orchardists. They put up huts, made their own furniture, bread and clothes. Five orchardists were located around the weir area. Fuller's orchard was downstream of the present bridge, on the eastern bank of the river. Jenkins was next upstream, and William Henry was the grandfather of Maria Jenkins, Thomas Jenkins' wife. The kitchen of Jenkins' house has survived and is located next to the visitor centre. The homestead was weatherboard with a shingle roof. It was damaged by fire in the 1920s and was demolished in the 1930s. Robert Baker's orchard is now The Pines picnic area while the kitchen on the hill above the flat forms part of the park depot.
The only surviving homestead is Schwartz's, a large weatherboard house with an iron roof and verandah on three sides. George Baker and Hughes had holdings on the Ryde side of the River.
Thomas and Maria Jenkins had the largest property and the largest family (13). Their farm became popular with picnickers and the property was purchased for the inclusion into the national park in the 1930s.
All images sourced from the internet: Scenes in Lane Cove River National Park, West Chatswood.
The image (Left) below shows rowboats for hire at Lane Cove River National Park; at (Right) the Fuller Bridge crossing the Lane Cove River at Chatswood.
The river flows on to Greenwich Point and Woolwich where it merges with Parramatta River. Soon after it becomes part of Port Jackson, so named by Captain James Cook in 1770 when he viewed two headlands opening to a possible harbour from 3 kms offshore.
© Arthur Phillip Chapter of Fellowship of First Fleeters 2023 -
Lane Cove River rowboats for hire
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Fullers Bridge over the Lane Cove River
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