Paterson, New South Wales

Paterson is a small township in the lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia. Located within Dungog Shire it is situated on the Paterson River. At the 2006 census, Paterson had a population of 345 people. It is in the middle of what was once dairy, timber and citrus country and is now more significantly a feeder town for the nearby mining industry in the Upper Hunter and the city of Newcastle.

It is approximately 15 minutes drive north along either Tocal or Paterson Roads from the nearest major township of Maitland. The Paterson railway station lies on the main North Coast Railway Line between Sydney and Brisbane with daily services north to Dungog and south-east to Newcastle.

Adjoining areas include Duns Creek, Martins Creek and Vacy.

History
The area was once occupied by the Gringgai clan of the Wanaruah Aboriginal people. The first known European in the area was the man whose name the town was to adopt, Colonel William Paterson, who, in 1801, surveyed the area beside the river that Governor King named in his honour.

As with so many colonial settlements, timbercutters, after local supplies of red cedar, followed in the footsteps of the explorers and surveyors. Indeed, the Paterson River was then known as the Cedar Arm due to the abundance of timber. By 1818 there were known to be eight farms along the river, six of them belonging to convicts.

The first land grant in the area was made to Captain William Dunn in 1821 on land by the river to the south of the town. Although the townsite was the third to be surveyed in the Hunter Valley, after Newcastle and Maitland, it was not proclaimed until 1833. Paterson soon became an important river port. As such it also became a service centre to the surrounding community. Considerable supplies of tobacco were grown, as well as grains, grapes, wine, citrus fruits and cotton. Shipbuilding also commenced with the development of the river trade.

Many early settlers were Scots and hence a Presbyterian Church preceded an Anglican establishment. Indeed St Ann's, built in the late 1830s, is said to be the oldest Presbyterian Church on mainland Australia. The river trade began to decline in the 1850s as the road to Maitland improved. Timber mills were established by the 1870s. In its heyday Paterson had four stores, five hotels, two shipyards, a sawmill, a tannery, four blacksmiths, two butchers, a bakery and a boarding school for girls.

By the time the railway arrived in 1911 the long-term decline of river transportation had taken its toll. With bizarre symbolism the railway line passed directly over the wharf and a mishap during the construction of the railway bridge in 1909 sunk one of the local boats, the Anna Maria, which had been contracted to carry the BHP made girders. The boat was salvaged but was nearly destroyed again when a spark from a steam train set it ablaze. The last steam boats visited the area in the 1930s.

Throughout the 20th century agriculture has been the major source of local income. Citrus production was particularly strong at the turn of the century, with an estimated 30,000 cases being handled at the port each year.

Bushranger Captain Thunderbolt's wife, Mary Ann Bugg (one of two known women bushrangers), was tried at the Paterson Court House during the 1860s.

The poet Dorothea Mackellar spent some time during her teenage years at a nearby property.

Present day
There is an active historical society that maintains sites of historical importance in the area. The society has a museum collection in the Paterson Court House that is open once a week. The area is also serviced by Paterson Public School, and the local newsletter The Paterson "Psst".

During March Paterson holds an annual festival at Tucker Park, with market stalls and local produce. The nearby Tocal Agricultural College holds a small farms Field Days on the first weekend in May, showcasing the college and local agricultural interests.