Tahlee New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 32°39′38″S152°00′07″E / 32.66056°S 152.00194°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 28 (SAL 2021) [1] | ||||||||||||||
Established | 1826 | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 2324 | ||||||||||||||
Elevation | 7 m (23 ft) | ||||||||||||||
Area | 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi) Note1 | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | AEST (UTC+10) | ||||||||||||||
• Summer (DST) | AEDT (UTC+11) | ||||||||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | Mid-Coast Council [2] | ||||||||||||||
Region | Hunter, [2] Mid North Coast | ||||||||||||||
County | Gloucester [3] | ||||||||||||||
Parish | Carrington [3] | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Port Stephens [4] | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Lyne | ||||||||||||||
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Tahlee is a suburb of the Mid-Coast Council local government area in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia, located on the northern shores of Port Stephens. [2] [3] [5] The suburb is sparsely populated with the only significant population centre being the historic pastoral property of Tahlee, from which the suburb takes its name. The remainder of the suburb is primarily undeveloped bushland. [5]
The earliest inhabitants of this area were the Worimi people tribe. Tahlee comes from the local Aboriginal word, Tarlee, meaning "sheltered from the wind and above water". [6] Early relationships between the original inhabitants and white settlers were relatively harmonious. In fact, the Australian Agricultural Company (AA Co) would not have succeeded without their help. Tahlee's history since the AA Co's first settlers arrived in 1826 has been inextricably linked to the property of Tahlee, which is located at the southeastern corner of the suburb, adjacent to Port Stephens. [5]
The Australian Agricultural Company was founded in 1824, through an Act of the British Parliament, with the right to select 1,000,000 acres (4,047 km2) of land in the colony of New South Wales, for agricultural development. After initial criticisms of the company's Sydney committee over their lack of enthusiasm in finding a suitable location to use as the company's base, the Port Stephens area was decided on after Robert Dawson, the company's first commissioner, arrived in Sydney on 23 December 1825 with stock, plant and equipment for the new settlement. [7] Port Stephens had been recommended by John Oxley, the Surveyor General of New South Wales, after the AA Co's committee had insisted on a base near the coast, where shipping facilities were available. On 1 January 1826 Dawson set out to explore Port Stephens, eventually deciding on the present site of Tahlee and Carrington as a suitable place for his headquarters. [7]
During his time as commissioner, Dawson began work on Tahlee House, the home of the AA Co's first four commissioners. Nearby, a site was chosen for a township, which Mr. Dawson renamed Carrington. [8] Robert Dawson led the AA Co until 1828 when the committee replaced him with his assistant, Mr. James Ebsworth, in an interim capacity.
Sir William Edward Parry, the Arctic explorer and hydrographer, became the next commissioner of the AA Co in 1829 and arrived at Tahlee in March 1830. [9] His five-year tenure was marked by progress and social reformation. Parry was a devout Christian. When he discovered that the settlement lacked a church, he conducted his own Sunday service in the carpenter's shop at Carrington.
Lt-Colonel Henry Dumaresq, who had been Governor Darling's assistant, became the next commissioner in 1834. He served until his death in 1838, when Mr. James Ebsworth took over again as interim commissioner. Mr. Ebsworth opposed a proposal by the company's English directors to subdivide the land into small parcels. Port Stephens would be a different place today if the plan had succeeded.
Captain Phillip Parker King was the final AA Co commissioner to live in Tahlee House. By then, the Company's directors had realised the land was unsuitable for grazing and chose to the relocate its headquarters to Stroud. The Australian Agricultural Company’s chapter of Tahlee’s history closed with the end of his appointment in 1849.
Mr. Frederick Manton, from Sydney, purchased the Tahlee property from the AA Co in 1854 for £2,500. However, the house burned down in 1860, leaving only the walls.
In 1880 Robert Hoddle Driberg White discovered he had come into a fortune when his grandmother left him considerable property in Melbourne. However, the matter had been kept a secret from him for 13 years. The subsequent court case brought him enormous wealth and notoriety. On returning to Port Stephens, Mr. White was invited to stand for Parliament and was elected for the seat of Gloucester. It was during this time that he purchased Tahlee for £850.
Considerable development took place during this period. Improvements and extensions were added to Tahlee House. Twelve full-time gardeners were employed to maintain a number of terraced gardens. Mr. White was well known for bringing guests from Sydney on his steam yacht, "Kingfisher." A horse-drawn tram would then transport them to their rooms from the harbour below the house.
On his death, the estate was held in trust for his widow and then passed to their son, Alfrey Beecher Stewart White, who lived primarily in Sydney. He used Tahlee House as a country retreat.
In 1948 the staff of the Gospel Fishermen Mission, which was located on the southern shores of Port Stephens in Tanilba Bay, visited Tahlee for a picnic. Over the next year, applications were forwarded to Mr. White to rent the property to the mission. In June 1949, the Theobold family moved into the Waterfront Cottage and began using the ballroom and billiard room at Tahlee. In 1951, the ministry established a missionary training camp under the supervision of Mr. Frank Biggs. Mr White continued to visit Tahlee House but, in 1959, he offered the property to the Mission, which accepted after a large donation made it possible for the purchase to take place.
The first lectures at the new Tahlee Bible College commenced on 10 June 1959 and the public opening held on 31 October 1959 attracted 400 people. More than 1,000 students have trained at the college and many of these are now in Christian service in Australia and in countries all over the world.
Tahlee Bible College officially discontinued operations at Tahlee in 2009 (no students were enrolled in 2008 or 2009). However several other ministries such as camps and events for children, young people, and families continue to be held on site. Present activities also include tours of Tahlee House and other historic buildings.
Tahlee has the following heritage-listed sites:
Newcastle or Greater Newcastle, locally nicknamed Newy, is a regional metropolitan area and the second-most-populated district in New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie; it is the hub of the Lower Hunter region, which includes most parts of the local government areas of City of Newcastle, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Maitland, City of Cessnock, and Port Stephens Council.
Port Stephens, an open youthful tide-dominated drowned-valley estuary, is a large natural harbour of approximately 134 square kilometres (52 sq mi) located in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia.
The Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) is a public-listed Australian company that, as of 2018, owns and operates feedlots and farms covering around seven million hectares of land in Queensland and the Northern Territory, roughly one percent of Australia's land mass. As of July 2008 AACo had a staff of 500 and operated 24 cattle stations and two feedlots, consisting of over 565,000 beef cattle.
Nelson Bay is a significant township of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on a bay of the same name on the southern shore of Port Stephens about 60 kilometres (37 mi) by road north-east of Newcastle, its nearest rail link. At the 2021 census, Nelson Bay had a population of 6,141.
Great Lakes Council was a local government area in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the shores of Port Stephens, Myall Lakes and Wallis Lake and the Pacific Highway and the Lakes Way. On 12 May 2016 the council was dissolved and the area included in the Mid-Coast Council, along with the City of Greater Taree and Gloucester Shire.
Woodville is a rural suburb in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia that is shared between the Port Stephens and Maitland local government areas (LGA). Most of the suburb lies to the east of the Paterson River in the Port Stephens LGA while a small area of approximately 1.3 square kilometres (0.5 sq mi), to the west of the Paterson, is within the boundaries of the Maitland LGA.
Karuah is a locality in both the Port Stephens and Mid-Coast Councils, the Port Stephens lga side is part the Hunter Region while the Mid-Coast lga is in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is thought that the name means 'native plum tree' in the local Aboriginal dialect.
Dungog Shire is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is situated adjacent to the Barrington Tops and consists predominantly of very rugged to hilly country which becomes less rugged from north to south.
The Worimi people are Aboriginal Australians from the eastern Port Stephens and Great Lakes regions of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Before contact with settlers, their people extended from Port Stephens in the south to Forster/Tuncurry in the north and as far west as Gloucester.
North Arm Cove is a suburb of the Mid-Coast Council local government area in the center of the Hunter and the southern extremity of the Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia. It is located adjacent to Port Stephens and extends well north of the Pacific Highway. The suburb is sparsely populated, with most of the residents living in the southern portion of the suburb.
Tanilba Bay is a suburb of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Tilligerry Peninsula adjacent to the bay from which it got its name. "Tanilba" is said to mean "place of white flowers" in a local Indigenous language, presumably a reference to the flannel flowers which formerly thrived in the area. At the 2021 census Tanilba Bay had a population of 3,237. Tanilba Bay Public School is a co-ed government primary school located at 1A King Albert Avenue.
Glen Oak is a small community in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, shared between the Port Stephens and Dungog local government areas (LGA). Approximately two thirds of the suburb's 45.1 square kilometres (17.4 sq mi) is located within the Port Stephens LGA while the remaining third, which is sparsely populated, is located in Dungog Shire.
Tahlee is a heritage-listed former pastoral property of 68.8 hectares in the suburb of Tahlee situated on the north side of Port Stephens near Karuah in New South Wales, Australia. It is the original site of the Australian Agricultural Company and more recently the location of the former Tahlee Bible College. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Tahlee Bible College (TBC) functioned for nearly 70 years as an interdenominational training centre situated at Tahlee, a 170-acre (0.69 km2) property on the shores of Port Stephens, Australia, less than one hour north of Newcastle and less than three hours north of Sydney.
Robert Hoddle Driberg White was an Australian politician. He was the member for the New South Wales electorate of Gloucester from December 1882 to January 1887 and a member of the Legislative Council from December 1887 until his death in 1900. White was known for his extravagant lifestyle and lavish hospitality at his 'Tahlee' estate at Port Stephens.
Carrington is a locality in the Mid-Coast Council local government area of the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia, located on the northern shores of Port Stephens.
Stroud House is a heritage-listed residence at 42 Cowper Street, Stroud, Mid-Coast Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1827 to 1839. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 4 March 2016.
Avery Terrace is a row of heritage-listed terrace houses located at 2–4 Atherden Street in the inner city Sydney suburb of The Rocks in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed in 1881, and it is also known as Former Ebsworth's Terraces and Ebsworth's. The property is owned by Property NSW, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 May 2002.
The Sergeant Major's Row are heritage-listed former terrace houses and now shops and offices. They are located in a row at 33–41 George Street in the inner city Sydney suburb of The Rocks in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The row was built in 1881. It is also known as Sergeant Majors Row (terrace) and Major's. The property is owned by Property NSW, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 May 2002.
Robert Dawson (1782–1866) was a company agent and pastoralist in New South Wales in the early part of the nineteenth century. He was born in Essex, England and was the youngest son of Joseph Dawson. Dawson was working in England as the estate manager for Viscount Barrington's estate, Becket, when he was approached by John Macarthur junior, and old school friend, to apply for the post of chief agent in New South Wales for the newly formed Australian Agricultural Co. in which he was to establish and administer a pastoral grant of 1,000,000 acres (404,686 ha) subject to a committee resident there. The AA co. appointed Robert Dawson as their chief agent and appointed a Colonial Committee to assist him. This committee was entrusted by the directors in England with 'extensive discretionary powers'. Dawson was advised to accept their advice at all times. However the committee effectively included just three people, all members of the same family - James Macarthur, his cousin Hannibal Macarthur and his brother-in-law, Principal Surgeon, James Bowman. Dawson had several disagreements with the colonial committee as soon he arrived in Australia in 1825 and as such was maligned by the committee. Dawson received very little help from the committee and as such did most if the work managing the AA Co. affairs himself. The committee members and their acquaintances sold Dawson questionable sheep with foot rot and other diseases as well as older ewes that could not raise lambs. Dawson eventually refused to buy any more stock from the committee and so they set about to have him dismissed. The committee were successful in having Dawson dismissed but they were also dismissed and their reputations damaged. Dawson returned to NSW in 1839 with his second wife to superintend his estate and was appointed as magistrate for the area.