History - Wollombi

Wollombi, sited on the junction of the Great North Road and the meeting place of the North and South arms of the Wollombi Brook, was a natural location for the centre of an expanding population. The village site was officially gazetted in 1833, and a plan of the village drawn up by Surveyor Sir Thomas Mitchell. Government huts were erected in 1834 and allotments were first sold in 1838.

The village grew rapidly, with a number of significant buildings (most still exist) erected between the 1840s and 1860s, including several Church schools, Catholic Church and several inns.

The slow decline of the village started in the 1870s, as "developments in road, sea and rail transport were increasingly isolating Wollombi" (J. Grady, quoted in "Wollombi Valley Description and History"). Although it took until the early 1900s for the population of Cessnock to overtake Wollombi, richer agricultural land in the north and rapid expansion of the mining industry led to a gradual decline in the population and economic importance of Wollombi.

Wollombi's population 1846 to 1901

Source: Wollombi Valley Description and History

send

More information:

Web Sites
Fairfax Walkabout
Hunter Valley Genealogy

Publications
Wollombi Valley Description and History, Wollombi Valey Progress Association (available at Wollombi General Store)