Name: Hunter Estates
Location: Hunter River Region, New South Wales, Australia
A comprehensive comparative heritage study of pre 1850s homestead complexes located throughout the Hunter Region.
The Hunter Region, settled as part of the second main wave of settlement to occur in Australia, between 1820 and 1850, was driven wholly by new, decisive government policies structured towards the agricultural development of the colony and the management, employment, and care of convicts by private settlers. These policies led to the arrival of a large number of new, free settlers with substantial means, who established the estates, stations, and pastoral runs throughout the Hunter Region; built homestead complexes; and introduced a range of highly successful agricultural industries, relying on large numbers of convicts as their workforce.
The study identified the location of over 200 surviving estates throughout the region and provided a range of recommendations for the continued care and conservation of these historic sites, as well as recommendations for individual heritage listings.
Photograph: Tocal, Paterson, NSW (2012)