Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site

Item details


Name of item:	Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site
Other name/s:	Palestine Park, Oakes Reserve, Settlers Walk, Toongabbie Government Farm Convict Site, Toongab-be, Toongabbee, Tongabby, Tongabbie
Type of item:	Archaeological-Terrestrial
Group/Collection:	Farming and Grazing
Category:	Farm
Location:	Lat: -33.7809128670 Long: 150.9713782010
Primary address:	Goliath Avenue, Winston Hills, NSW 2153
Local govt. area:	City of Parramatta
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Deerubbin

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
CROWN LAND
LOT	7016	DP	1031216
LOT	7018	DP	1031217
LOT	18	DP	230547
LOT	222	DP	234686
LOT	223	DP	234686
LOT	225	DP	234686
LOT	2	DP	551352
LOT	3	DP	551352
PART LOT	1	DP	780050

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Goliath Avenue	Winston Hills	City of Parramatta			Primary Address
Oakes Road	Toongabbie	City of Parramatta			Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
Blacktown City Council	Local Government	18 Jun 15
City of Parramatta Council	Local Government	18 Jun 15
Department of Trade & Investment --Crown Lands	State Government

Statement of significance:


	The Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site is of State heritage significance for its capacity to demonstrate strategies developed during the foundation years of the colonial settlement by Governor Phillip to best utilise convict workers outside an urban area. Governor Phillip's policies towards ordinary transportees and, later, the small minority who reoffended, are highly significant for the development of the colony under his immediate successors. The Toongabbie site has an essential role in understanding and interpreting the physical dimensions of these solutions. Toongabbie was a vitally important stage in the evolution of new settlements such as Newcastle and Port Macquarie exclusively designed as places of secondary punishment. Because of its critical role in feeding the struggling early colony by its production of wheat, maize and barley, the historical significance of Toongabbie Government Farm in the years 1791 to 1794 is especially high. The site is closely associated with the major early colonial Governors Phillip, Hunter, King and Macquarie and Lieutenant Governor Grose and with the superintendent of convict agriculture, Thomas Daveney. The history of Toongabbie Government Farm reflects the shifts and accommodations in early colonial government policy between support for government farms and support for private enterprise agriculture in the first two decades of colonial settlement. As the second successful government farm in the colony Toongabbie is one of only two such sites in Australia. The other is the first (successful) government farm at Rose Hill (Parramatta Park). Both sites demonstrate Governor Phillip's town planning that was informed by English village settlement. Phillip housed the convicts of both establishments communally in huts on designated allotments laid out on a street grid pattern. This concept was not continued at the Castle Hill (third) Government Farm where convicts were housed in stone barracks, which later came to be the pattern of convict accommodation. Toongabbie Government Farm site is also closely associated with convict administrators John Macarthur, Richard Atkins, Andrew Hume and Richard Fitzgerald, and with George Oakes, politician, pastoralist and Commissioner of international exhibitions, who owned the site as part of his private estate from 1861 to 1881. Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site has very special significance at the state level because of its exceptionally early date in the convict system, its capacity to demonstrate developing policy towards convicts, and its unusually high archaeological potential. The use of an Aboriginal name for the settlement is highly significant at a state level. Parramatta and Toongabbie are the earliest recorded places to be deliberately given an indigenous name by the European administration. Both names were selected by Governor Phillip personally.
	Date significance updated: 26 Jun 12
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	Governor Phillip
Builder/Maker:	Convicts
Construction years:	1791-1813
Physical description:	TOONGABBIE GOVERNMENT FARM, 1791- 1803 The 1792 plan of 'The Town of Toongabby' shows an ordered village settlement located on a bend of the Toongabbie Creek where its course turns from west-east to north-south. The main street of the convict settlement runs west-east, parallel to the creek, with two cross streets running north-south. The eastern cross street leads to a bridge which crosses the creek to its northern bank. The superintendent's and overseers huts, the military and the stores were located across the creek on the northern bank (Collins, 1, 346, 525; Sargent 1975, 18; Karskens, 86; McClymont, 4-6, Dictionary of Sydney). The main street is lined on both sides with 35 convict huts on allotments measuring 330ft by 100ft (100m by 30 m). The allotments are of a similar size to those at Rose Hill (Plan, PRO, 700, 5). The huts measure 30 ft by 15 ft (9.5m by 4.5m) and would have accommodated 20 convicts (twice the number at Rose Hill). An early drawing (c. 1798), A western view of Toongabbee, depicts about 20 of these huts with a communal kitchen. The huts were of wattle and daub construction with gabled roofs of thatch and a brick chimney (although there is no mention of brick kilns or brickmaking at the settlement). A stockyard was established in 1792 and a new stockyard constructed in 1796. In 1797 a large shed was built for cattle and a large weatherboard and shingle roofed threshing barn, 90 ft (27.4m) long, was completed. The site included an oven for the public baker and a hand operated mill for preparing flour. There was also a dairy and church at the settlement. It is not known, however, where these buildings were sited so the location of their potential archaeology in unknown. It has been conjectured that the larger building in the north-east corner of the site was overseers' quarters. This view is supported by ceramic shard finds dating from the 1790s to the 1800s. It has also been conjectured that a lumberyard (referenced in 1799 land surveys) was established at the western end of the main street (Varman, 20). The 1792 plan of Toongabbie shows, at the north-east end of the laid-out section, a square, open-sided structure with a high thatched roof supported by four vertical round posts, containing what appears to be a large boiler or copper, with a high brick chimney from which smoke is curling. Sited close to the creek for water, it may be a communal laundry. The 1798 view of the settlement terracing of the slope descending to the west bank of Toongabbie Creek below the huts. On the south side on the extension of the 'street' there was a high two-rail wooden fence, running down to the Creek bank. The terracing and the fence may possibly have been constructed for the grape-vines which had been planted late in 1792 but which seem not to have endured (HRNSW, II 807). There was no granary at the time. The painting shows, on the northern side of the creek, the brick barn and grain-store built by convicts in February 1793 and destroyed by storms in August 1795 (Collins, I 229, 358; HRNSW, II 31; HRA, series 1, II 560). (It was replaced in 1797). The Old Windsor Road, from Parramatta to the Hawkesbury, bisected the Government Farm lands to the south of the settlement (Dictionary of Sydney). PRESENT DAY SITE There are no above-ground remains of the structures of the Toongabbie Convict Government Farm. There are seven sandstone steps cut into the bedrock of the creek at the north end of its north-south reach, on the eastern side of the creek. The four lowest steps are shallow with pecked surfaces that are consistent with convict work. Above the four steps are three very different and higher rock cut steps. The steps do not appear on the 1792 plan of 'Toongabby', nor on the 1860 and 1861survey plans. There is no conclusive evidence that any of the steps date from the Government Farm period. It is likely that the three upper steps were constructed by George Oakes in the 1860s, in connection with his construction of a stone weir across the creek to create a private swimming pool for his nearby residence (located outside the SHR curtilage). Oakes' stone weir is now the site of a small concrete dam across the mid section of the creek's north-south reach. Adjacent to the concrete structure there is a substantial amount of broken-up rock, which is likely to be the remnants of Oakes' stone weir. The dam continues to have the effect of deepening the water in the creek upstream (Dictionary of Sydney; McClymont, 10; Kass & Liston, 5, 25). Today the remnant site of the Government Farm is largely the parkland of Palestine Park and Oakes Reserve which spans a bend in the Toongabbie Creek between Goliath Avenue and Oakes Road. A small section of the site immediately south of the creek and opposite Palestine Park is land owned by the electricity transmission substation. The land slopes fairly sharply down to the creek on both sides and the lower parts have always been subject to flooding. The water in the creek is quite deep adjacent to the site. Most of the north bank within Palestine Park is steep and rocky, especially at the east end. Most of the curtilage south and west of Toongabbie Creek has remained cleared for two centuries and comprises Oakes Reserve (also known as Settlers Walk) which is covered with regularly mown grass. On the northern side of the creek, in Palestine Park, there is a highly modified remnant of Cumberland Plain Woodland (a Critically Endangered Ecological Community) interrupted by several clearings including one for a children's playground opposite the intersection of Goliath Avenue and Gideon Street. The vegetation along the south bank of the creek has been less disturbed and consists of River Flat Eucalypt Forest, an Endangered Ecological Community. The only signage relating directly to the convict farm is on the east bank of the creek close to the rock steps, erected by Parramatta City Council. It is located at the place where Thomas Watling (or some other artist) painted the 'Western View of Toongabbie' published as an engraving in 1798 (Collins I, 413) which is reproduced on the sign.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	There are no visible remains of the convict buildings above ground. To the south of Toongabbie Creek, the general location of the buildings, the simple layout of the six blocks of huts and the cultivation terraces on the eastern slope down to the Creek shown in a plan of c.1792 and in an engraving published in 1798 can, however, be overlaid on a current cadastral map and on the 1943 aerial photograph. These overlays show where there are areas which may have high archaeological potential. The site within the proposed SHR curtilage has been only minimally disturbed by grazing and market gardening since the convict settlement closed in 1813. On the north side of Toongabbie Creek, the southern sections of the convict granary complex (built in 1793, blown down in 1795 and replaced in 1797) and the superintendent's quarters lay within the present Palestine Park between the intersection of Goliath Avenue with Reuben and Esther Streets. This area has some archaeological potential. The stone steps on the east bank of Toongabbie Creek at the extreme east of the site are in good condition. This area may have archaeological potential..
	Date condition updated:24 Jun 11
Modifications and dates:	After the Government Farm closed for crop cultivation in 1803, and again after the government stockyard closed in 1813, buildings became redundant and gradually deteriorated. The area of the government farmland around Toongabbie became largely dedicated to sheep and cattle grazing and the small farms created were taken by ex-convicts and other settlers. At some period prior to 1860 quarrying, presumably for stone, took place on the north bank of Toongabbie Creek within the SHR curtilage and also on the south side of the Creek near the present electricity substation (LPMA, Crown Plans, C764.690, C750A.690) which would involve further clearing of vegetation close to the creek as well as removal of rock. After comprehensive subdivision in 1860-1861, the newly created allotments of between 8.4 and 16 hectares around the relevant part of Toongabbie Creek came into the hands of a single proprietor, George Oakes, and continued to be used for grazing. Oakes constructed a stone weir across the creek in the 1860s, on the site of the present concrete dam, to provide deeper water for use as his family's private swimming pool. Sandstone steps cut into the bedrock on the eastern side of the creek do not appear to be convict built, but dating is inconclusive. The upper stone steps may have been built by George Oakes in the 1860s to provide better access to the stone weir and pool. Subsequent sub-division after 1883 resulted in orcharding, market gardening, close settlement and new streets in the vicinity. Since the land immediately adjacent to the creek was liable to recurrent flood, it was not developed and reverted to public use as a series of reserves from the 1920s onwards. Two electricity transmission lines have been constructed within Parramatta Council's landholding on the site.


Current use:	Parkland; electricy substation transmission lines
Former use:	Convict government farm and stockyard; grazing; market gardening; quarrying

History

Historical notes:

INDIGENOUS OCCUPATION
A number of clans or families, known generally as the Darug people, settled along the Parramatta River and its headwaters. At the head of the river were the Burramattagal (or Barramattagal) of the Parramatta district, while to their west and north lived the Bidjigal who were known in both the Castle Hill and Botany areas. Pemulwuy, the Aboriginal warrior and his son Tedbury were of the Bidjigal clan.

The Darug people lived on a diversity of plant and animal life. Fresh water streams yielded mullet, crayfish, shellfish and turtles. Male food-gathering activities ranged from trapping and hunting native animals to collecting bull ants and their eggs and larvae of the longicorn beetle (the witchetty grub). Lizards, snakes, birds, potoroos, wallabies and possum were hunted.

Toongabbie Creek was situated in an alluvial valley running eastwards from Prospect to the sea that was dominated by stands of tall timber with gullies providing humid and fire-free conditions. These developed the closed canopies that supported patches of local rainforest or 'brush' in the rich soil, some of which still remain along the creek between Oakes Road and Briens Road. The turpentine ( Syncarpia glomulifera) and the coachwood or scented satinwood (Ceropetalum apetulum) were common, as were the lillypilly (Acmena smithii) and the water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina) (Dictionary of Sydney;McClymont, 1-2; Brook & Kohen, 3-5, 60, 356, 369, 371,; Kohen, 28; White, 128-9).

THE SPREAD OF SETTLEMENT AROUND ROSE HILL
Governor Phillip's 1787 instructions to 'proceed to the cultivation of the land' immediately, using convict labour resulted in the early establishment of government farms. His settlement of Rose Hill (later Parramatta) in November 1788 was driven by the need to develop an agricultural community that would make the colony almost self-sufficient. The government farm at Rose Hill thrived and paved the way for emancipist farming on land grants and the expansion of settlement around the township of Rose Hill. With the arrival of the Second Fleet in June 1790, (and an increased convict workforce), Phillip decided to expand settlement to the north-west of Rose Hill, along the Parramatta river valley, where the fertile river and creek lands could be cleared for cultivation.

The first expansion was a new 'public settlement' about 2.4 km to the north of Rose Hill on the south side of Toongabbie Creek, in the corner of land formed by the creek and the head of the Parramatta River. The site is now (2011) occupied by Westmead Children's Hospital and remnants of the Psychiatric Centre Farm. Collins referred to it as 'the new grounds' in August 1791. Under the direction of Thomas Daveney, 500 convicts, housed in 13 large tent huts, cleared 134 acres (54 hectares) that was then sown for maize. Karskens notes Tench's comment that (unusually) their labour was 'unassisted by any liquor but water'. (Dictionary of Sydney; McClymont 2-3; Collins, 1, 146; Tench, 249-50; Campbell, 12, 360; White, 128; Karskens 83-85; Plan of Rose Hill, ML).

TOONGABBIE: THE SECOND SETTLEMENT, PRINCIPAL AGRICULTURAL CENTRE AND GOVERNMENT STOCKYARD, 1791 - 1813.
In 1791 Governor Phillip appointed Thomas Daveney to select, plan and superintend a more extensive 'second settlement' further up the Toongabbie Creek, about 4 km north-west of the New Grounds. Here 500 convicts, most of whom were newly arrived on the Third Fleet, cleared 300 acres of forest in 30 days in late 1791, burning off the timber and planting the first crop of turnips to prepare the ground for maize (Collins, 144-5; Tench, 249-50; Karskens, 85). A year later (October 1792) Phillip could report that: 'One thousand acres of ground are in cultivation on the public account at Parramatta and a new settlement formed about three miles to the westward of Parramatta, and to which I have given the name of Toon-gab-be, a name by which the natives distinguish the spot' (HRNSW, I ii 645). Legend has it that this was the first colonial town to be given an Aboriginal name. However, Phillip named Parramatta in June 1791 (on the King's birthday) and Toongabbie a month later, in July (HRNSW, 539; Dictionary of Sydney; McClymont, 3).

Governor Phillip (perhaps with the assistance of his Surveyor General, Augustus Alt) laid out the town plan for Toongabbie in a similar fashion to his 1790 plan for Rose Hill with convicts housed on huts on allotments along a main street (Johnston, 266, 369; Dictionary of Sydney).

By December 1792, Toongabbie had fulfilled Phillip's intention of becoming the principal farm of the colony with over 696 acres (281.6 hectares) of wheat, barley and maize while Parramatta's cultivation had dwindled to 316 acres (127.8 hectares). Most of the government's stock of cattle, horses and sheep were kept at Toongabbie as well. The settlement came to be self-sufficient with a barber, shoemaker, tailor, thatcher, miller and eight constables as well as convict overseers (Collins, 1, 207, 209; 343, 349; Karskens, 87).

Toongabbie was designed to accommodate a convict workforce of 700. But its convict population swelled to over a thousand, including 260 women, many boys and some 'old and feeble men' who were hutkeepers. Convicts worked from 5 am till 10 am, rested til 2 pm then worked until sunset. Work included felling trees, piling them up for burning, digging out stumps and turning the ground with spades and hoes. (Collins 1, 181, 343, 349; Karskens, 87; McClymont, 3; Tench, 249; Dictionary of Sydney).

Convicts were employed in raising grain, maintaining the township infrastructure and in looking after the government stock of cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens (HRNSW, II 807). Convicts constructed a new stockyard in 1796 and a large shed for government cattle in 1797. When Governor King arrived in the colony in 1800 there were 262 cattle, 30 horses and 137 sheep at Toongabbie. These were useful for manuring the 120 hectares still under wheat and the 40 hectares ready for maize (HRNSW, III 221, 341; HRA, series 1, II 527). By 1801, however, King had all stock except cattle removed from Toongabbie to Parramatta (HRNSW, IV 327, 607).

In 1792, Toongabbie became the first location for the secondary punishment of convicts. Those convicted of stealing maize at Parramatta would not only be flogged but also sent to Toongabbie, where the work under the superintendent, Thomas Daveney, was severe and the location remote (Collins, I 177). The concept was extended in 1794 when 'bad and suspicious characters' were sent to Toongabbie and were put to work in chains (Collins, I 337).

Superintendent Daveney was a hard taskmaster and drove his convicts relentlessly through his overseers, 'a set of merciless wretches' often chosen from the toughest and most brutal convicts. Newly arrived male convicts were sent direct to Toongabbie. Those capable of handling a spade or hoe were set to work despite their emaciated condition after the long voyage. Hard labour combined with meagre rations led to many deaths at Toongabbie. Irish convict numbers increased rapidly after the 1798 Irish rebellion and the defeat of rebel (or patriot) forces at Vinegar Hill, Ireland. Most of the Irish transported between 1797 and 1801 were sent to Toongabbie where they were regarded as a disruptive element, threatening to desert at harvest time. Several planned Irish uprisings were foiled at Toongabbie. Their ringleaders were flogged and dispersed to the remote penal stations of Norfolk Island and the Hunter River coal mines. After 1801, Irish convicts were removed to the new (third) government farm being established at Castle Hill (McClymont, 6-9; Collins, 1, 177-8, 181, 212-3,402; Collins, 2, 42, 52; Clark, 36-7; Karskens, 86-7; Dictionary of Sydney; Yarwood, 79; Silver, 41-3).

Karskens notes the brutality and oppression that later came to be associated with Toongabbie (perhaps undeservedly). Like other government farms it was not established as a place of punishment (as were the later penal stations of Newcastle, Port Macquarie and Cockatoo Island). But it nevertheless came to be associated with tyranny, torture and oppression -- for which, however, there is little evidence. Toongabbie later acquired international notoriety as a place synonymous with slavery and famine and was included in the tracts of the anti-transportation and anti-slavery campaigners. It lived on in Irish folk memory as an original site of Irish oppression in Australia. 80 years after its closure, Ned Kelly, in his Jerilderie letter, 'placed Toongabbie in the larger story of worldwide Irish suffering at the hands of the English' (Karskens, 93-5; Kelly, 131).

Toongabbie is also associated with a severe escalation of hostilities on the Cumberland Plain between the local Aboriginal people and the convicts and civil authorities. Earlier torchings of settler farm buildings and crops in the Prospect and Toongabbie areas escalated in 1792 to Aboriginal 'maize raids' on the Toongabbie Government Farm at harvest time. The frequency of these raids led to armed watchmen and soldiers being posted to guard the farm from 1794. Karskens reads these attacks on property as an Aboriginal response to dispossession and speculates that the 1794 'battle of Toongabbie' that secured the trophy head of an Aboriginal man was a non-military reprisal party raid on a sleeping Aboriginal camp that likely also included child-taking (Karskens, 456-60).

In March 1797 the Aboriginal warrior Pemulwuy, of the Bidjigal clan, led a raid on Toongabbie Government Farm, followed by a series of robberies of the Northern Farms (around present day North Parramatta). Soon after this raid Pemulwuy was injured in the 'Battle of Parramatta' where around 100 hostile Aborigines clashed with vigilante groups of armed settlers and soldiers. In the altercation Pemulwuy was shot but recovered and escaped in irons from Parramatta hospital. From 1797 to 1802 Pemulwuy was a powerful Aboriginal resistance leader against British settlement. He lead raids on farms around Lane Cove, Bankstown, Georges River, Parramatta and Prospect, attacking, burning and plundering huts, crops, and livestock. Following his capture and death as an outlaw in 1802, his head was taken to the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London (from where it subsequently disappeared).

Toongabbie's decline was as rapid as its rise. Following Governor Phillip's departure in December 1792, Lieutenant Governor Grose adopted a different agricultural policy. Grose discontinued centralised government farming, granted land to military and civil officers, officials and settlers, allotted the majority of the convict workforce to them, and encouraged them to raise cereal crops, to be purchased by the Commissariat Store. Toongabbie's lands soon showed signs of exhaustion from repeated cereal cropping which gave Grose the opportunity to alienate land and reassign the convict work force (Karskens, 87-88; Fletcher Small Scale, 3; Fletcher, Landed Enterprise, 7).

In 1793 Grose appointed John Macarthur as Inspector of Public Works at Toongabbie as well as Parramatta. Working under Macarthur (who resigned in 1796 and was succeeded by Richard Atkins) and the Government Farm superintendent Thomas Daveney (discharged in 1795) and Andrew Hume (superintendent of convicts) was Richard Fitzgerald, a very able ex-convict who took responsibility for close supervision of convict performance from 1792 onwards. In 1798 Fitzgerald was superintending agriculture at both Toongabbie and Parramatta (HRNSW, II 14; III 27-28.)

Colonial government policy for agricultural production in the first decades of European settlement see-sawed between favouring government farms and private enterprise. In September 1795 Governor Hunter arrived in the colony with orders to re-establish public farming. As this involved withdrawing convict labour from settlers, it was a highly unpopular policy with both settlers and convicts. In December 1797 a large 90 feet (27.4 metres) long threshing barn was completed at Toongabbie which enabled eight or nine threshers to work concurrently. A large number of cattle were also placed at the farm to manure the soil for cropping ( McClymont, 8; Dictionary of Sydney; Karskens, 87-8; Collins, 1, 386; Collins, 2, 5, 52; HRA, 2, 18; HRA,2, 475; Fletcher, Small Scale, 6-7; Fletcher Landed Enterprise, 7).

In August 1801, however, Governor King advised the government that he had 50 men clearing land for a new Government Farm at Castle Hill to replace Toongabbie whose lands had been worked out by repeated cereal cropping. And in 1803 official policy under Governor King saw public farming once again wound back in favour of private enterprise. While Toongabbie Government Farm closed for crop cultivation in 1803, government stock remained on the site until 1807. When Governor Bligh rebuilt the dairy and barn in 1807 there were still 873 cattle at Toongabbie (and no other stock). Numbers were soon reduced but there were still 128 cattle, 3 horses and 189 sheep at Toongabbie in August 1808 (out of a mainland-wide total of 3351 cattle, 44 horses and 858 sheep). Governor Macquarie, arriving in 1810, reappraised the whole system of government farms in the colony. (HRA, 1, VI, 409, 612-13, 640; HRNSW,4, 462, 714; Karskens, 88; McClymont, 8; Fletcher, Landed Enterprise, 8).

Macquarie closed down most convict-run public agriculture but retained a government interest in owning substantial numbers of cattle and sheep in new stock-yards to be built at locations removed from towns and settlers. Stock was removed from Toongabbie in 1813 and in 1817 Macquarie confirmed that Toongabbie was permanently closed (HRA,1, VII: 251-252, 380-381, 742, 745-747; IX: 728).

POST GOVERNMENT FARM AND STOCKYARD SITE HISTORY
Macquarie retained his interest in Toongabbie, however, requesting the now disused site (but no convict labour or livestock) as a land grant on his resignation 'on account of the beauty of the Situation and the contiguity to the seat of Government, it being only 17 miles west of Sydney' (HRA, series 1, IX 728). The grant was not approved and the 700 hectares at Toongabbie, including the old village site, remained officially unoccupied either by government or lessees in 1825 (HRA,1, XII, 392-393).

It remained part of the Parramatta Domain until an act of the New South Wales Parliament in 1857 made sub-division and sale possible (20 Victoria, no.35; Trimmer, 43). Survey and subdivision in 1860-61 created allotments of 8.4 to 16 hectares around Toongabbie Creek. 240 hectares, comprising the entire site of the former Government Farm and much of its adjacent farm lands, were purchased by a single proprietor, George Oakes, in 1861 and used for grazing (LPMA, Crown Plans C750A.690; C750.690; C764.690).

At some point prior to 1860 quarrying, presumably for stone, took place on the north bank of Toongabbie Creek and on the south side of the creek near the present substation (LPMA, Crown Plans, C764.690, C750A.690).

George Oakes was a significant figure in local and state affairs who sat in the New South Wales Parliament from 1848 off and on until his death in 1881, mostly in the Legislative Council. Oakes' principal home was 'Rose Cottage' (now Perth House, built 1840s) in George Street, Parramatta (McClymont, 82-83). The site of 'Casuarina' (Oakes' substantial 1861 stone house, now demolished) is outside the SHR curtilage for Toongabbie Government Farm, at the north-west corner of the present Oakes Road and Barnetts Road. Oakes ran horses and cattle on his Toongabbie lands and grew fruit and vegetables. He constructed a stone weir across Toongabbie Creek (at the site of the present concrete dam) to create a private swimming pool for his family. Oakes is probably also responsible for the upper stone steps that lead to the four shallow steps cut in the bedrock beside the creek.

Oakes estate was subdivided after his death in 1881. The site of the former convict settlement was leased by a number of Chinese market gardeners from at least 1887. Harold Barnett, who grew up nearby, assisted in old age in drawing a map showing land use as he remembered it in 1890. Barnett claimed that as many as 50 Chinese men worked co-operatively on the gardens. Several Chinese market gardeners have been identified, mainly belonging to three families who worshipped together at St John's Anglican Church in Parramatta (Brook, 149-151; Toongabbie & District Historical Society 2011, 77).

Subsequent subdivision from the 1880s resulted in orcharding, closer settlement and new streets in the vicinity of the site. Since the land immediately adjacent to Toongabbie Creek was liable to recurrent flood, it was not developed and reverted to public use from the 1920s onwards as a series of reserves. In the 1960s and 1970s the former Government Farm lands adjacent to Toongabbie Creek came under local council control, initially Blacktown Council and later Parramatta City Council after 1972. Land north of Toongabbie Creek became Palestine Park which was named in conjunction with the streets of the adjacent subdivision (Goliath, Gideon, Rebecca, Reuben, Ruth, Esther and Enoch). The former market gardens on the south side of the Creek became Oakes Reserve. Both parks are used for passive public recreation.

Twentieth century development of the site saw the major portion of the settlement of the former Government Farm (covering most of the convict huts and allotments) acquired in 1973 by Baxter Australia (later Baxter Healthcare) and substantially developed for works of a pharmaceutical company. The western end of the convict farm site was acquired for construction of a substantial electricity transmission substation, now owned by Endeavour Energy. With the exception of a portion of Endeavour Energy's landholding at Lot 1 DP780050 (being the riparian corridor adjacent to the creek) none of these developed landholdings are included in the proposed SHR curtilage.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Parks-
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Other open space-
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Changing the environment-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Convict-Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities	Demonstrating convicts' experiences and activities-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Convict-Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities	Housing convicts in communal or shared accommodation-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Convict-Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities	Working for the Crown-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Convict-Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities	Experiencing secondary punishment-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Convict-Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities	Administering the convict system-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Convict-Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities	Demonstrating the Irish convict experience-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Convict-Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities	Working on government farms and stockyards-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	cropping river flats-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	Farming by detainees and prisoners-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	Market gardening-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	Farming with convict labour-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	Clearing land for farming-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	Ancillary structures - wells, cisterns-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Developing local, regional and national economies-National Theme 3
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes of institutions - productive and ornamental-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes and parklands of distinctive styles-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes of military activities-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes of food production-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Pastoralism-Activities associated with the breeding, raising, processing and distribution of livestock for human use	Agisting and fattening stock for slaughter-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Pastoralism-Activities associated with the breeding, raising, processing and distribution of livestock for human use	Livestock structures-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Building settlements, towns and cities-National Theme 4
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Crude huts-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	State government-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Local government-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Colonial government-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - administration of land-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - managing the convict system-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - facilitating pastoralism-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - building and operating public infrastructure-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - conserving cultural and natural heritage-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - facilitating horticulture-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - parks and open spaces-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - facilitating agriculture-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Creative endeavour-Activities associated with the production and performance of literary, artistic, architectural and other imaginative, interpretive or inventive works; and/or associated with the production and expression of cultural phenomena; and/or environments that have inspired such creative activities.	Landscaping - colonial period-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Creative endeavour-Activities associated with the production and performance of literary, artistic, architectural and other imaginative, interpretive or inventive works; and/or associated with the production and expression of cultural phenomena; and/or environments that have inspired such creative activities.	Adaptation of overseas design for local use-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with Governor (Rebel government, 1809) Lt-Col. William Paterson, soldier and naturalist-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with Aaron Muron Bolot, architect-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with Governor (later Adm.) Arthur Phillip, 1788-1792,-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with Governor (Captn.) Phillip Gidley King RN, 1800-1806-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site has state historical significance as the earliest government farming enterprise outside the first two colonial administrative centres of Sydney and Parramatta. Toongabbie Government Farm represents an important phase in the early deployment of convict labour and the hierarchy of administration outside the two urban centres. Toongabbie Government Farm was established in 1791 using convict labour because of severe problems in provisioning the new colony. Government farms were an essential part of British Government strategy implemented by Governor Phillip and his immediate successors to provide sustenance for the colony. Toongabbie was a reasonably successful enterprise during the critical earliest years before the Upper Hawkesbury Valley was opened up in 1794. It survived for a decade, initially producing a significant proportion of the maize, wheat and barley which was essential for the entire colony. Toongabbie Government Farm played a significant role in educating unskilled convicts in farming techniques to ensure they could obtain employment, or work their own farms, when they completed their sentences. It therefore contributed to both the economic and social development of the colony. Two of the most successful ex-convicts from Toongabbie were Andrew Thompson, who became a constable, and Richard Fitzgerald who became a superintendent. Toongabbie Farm is also state significant as the first attempt in the colony of NSW at creating a system for secondary punishment, to deal with those transportees who re-offended in the colony. It fulfilled this additional objective in the early 1790s and was the template on which the penal stations of Newcastle, Port Macquarie and Brisbane were later developed as mainland places of convict secondary punishment (in addition to the penal stations in Tasmania and on Norfolk Island).
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	The Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site has strong associations with persons of state significance, being all five of the earliest colonial Governors, and the Lieutenant-Governor, from 1791 to 1821, and with the legendary Aboriginal warrior Pemulwuy of the Bidjigal clan. Toongabbie Government Farm is strongly associated with the earliest colonial governors. Governor Phillip, who had been charged with the foundation of the colony and providing the material means for its survival in the critical early years after 1788, planned and created the new convict farm in 1791. Lieutenant-Governor Grose wound back public farming at Toongabbie and first alienated its lands. Governor Hunter restored public farming at Toongabbie, had the large threshing barn erected, and introduced stock to the farm to manure the soil and restore something of its fertility. Governor King closed the farm to crop cultivation but kept it going as a stock farm. Governor Bligh rebuilt farm buildings and continued the stock farm. Governor Macquarie formally closed down Toongabbie Government Farm, but also retained his interest in the site as a potential (though unsuccessful) land grant on his retirement as Governor. Toongabbie Government Farm is associated with Pemulwuy of the Bidjigal clan, the legendary Aboriginal warrior and resistance leader, who raided the farm in 1797 in one of his early attacks on convict and settler farms of the Parramatta and Georges River districts. It is strongly associated with the first convict superintendent at Toongabbie, Thomas Daveney, who ran a harsh convict establishment at Toongabbie from 1791-95. The administration of the farm in the later 1790s was entrusted to men of wide importance in the development of the colony, such as Richard Fitzgerald and John Macarthur. The first private owner of the site, George Oakes from 1861-81, is a person of considerable local significance as a parliamentarian, pastoralist, businessman and Commissioner at three international exhibitions.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site is not significant under this criterion.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	The Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site has has some social value for past nineteenth century communities: for the Irish in Australia as a site of oppression by British rule and for anti-transportartation and anti-slavery activitists as a site of tyranny and oppression. The social values of Toongabbie Government Farm have not been tested for current communities.
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	The Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site has state research significance as the earliest convict station which offers substantial archaeological opportunities to give physical documentation to the lives of those convicts who came on the Third Fleet and other early transports, and were still working out their sentences in the mid-1790s. The parkland section of the site has been subject only to a brief surface archaeological survey (Varman, 1998) which indicates that there is high potential for an archaeological resource in the existing parkland area as much of the site was infilled and levelled before landscaping. While the extent of disturbance of the archaeological resource has not yet been assessed, identified areas of archaeological sensitivity were backfilled in the 1960s before landscaping, street layout and house building to create more level sites. This is considered likely to have preserved the archaeological resource. The northern section of the site, across from the north bank of the Toongabbie Creek, has not been archaeologically surveyed but the preliminary archaeology assessment concluded there is archaeological potential for the remains of the Government Farm buildings and structures that occupied this area. The 1998 assessment identified ceramic surface finds located in the north-east section of the site that have been dated from the 1790s to the early 1800s. These finds represent a minimum of 17 whole items (platters, plates and bowls) that are likely to have belonged to a convict overseer. The site is likely to provide evidence of the survival of post holes, privy pits, rubbish pits and wells. The site has state significance for its research potential for pre-contact and post-contact Aboriginal occupation and shared history.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	The Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site has rarity value at state level because, other than Rose Hill at Parramatta, there is no other comparable era site which expresses the early policy towards convicts implemented by Government and which retains potential for archaeological investigation.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site has state significance at a representative level because the site is capable of demonstrating the earliest phases of colonial strategies for establishing an effective convict work-place and punishment centre outside an urban area. It also meets this criterion by providing the skills and practical experience for ex-convicts to become productive citizens of New South Wales.
Integrity/Intactness:	Without archaeological investigation, it is impossible to say whether those parts of the site which are in all probability relatively undisturbed retain sub-surface integrity, but the physical context of the farm in relation to Toongabbie Creek and to the eighteenth-century Old Windsor Road is still recognisable and meaningful.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Heritage Act - Site Specific Exemptions	HERITAGE ACT 1977 ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT SITE SPECIFIC EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site SHR No. 1903 I, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales, in pursuance of section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977, do, by this my order, grant an exemption from section 57(1) of that Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out of any activities described in Schedule C by the owner of the land described in Schedule B on the item described in Schedule A. The Hon Robyn Parker, MP. Minister for Heritage Sydney, 23 Day of October 2012 SCHEDULE A The item known as the Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site situated on the land described in Schedule B. SCHEDULE B All those pieces or parcels of land known as Lots 222, 223 & 225 of Deposited Plan 234686; Lots 2 & 3 of Deposited Plan 551352; Lot 18 of DP 230547; Lot 7016 of Deposited Plan 1031216; Lot 7018 of Deposited Plan 1031217; Part Lot 1 of Deposited Plan 780050, and Crown Waterway-Non-Tidal, Toongabbie Creek in Parish of St John, County of Cumberland, shown on the plan catalogued HC 2515 in the office of the Heritage Council of New South Wales. SCHEDULE C Note that the site has potential to contain intact subsurface deposits relating to its establishment as a Convict Government Farm and stockyard between 1792 and 1813, therefore the recommended management must include completion of an Archaeological Management Plan or Archaeological Assessment when new works would involve major ground disturbance and/or new excavations. The following activities described in 1 to 7 below are exempted from Heritage Council approval under Section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977: Where such activities are in accordance with the current Standard Exemptions for Works Requiring Heritage Council Approval Where works do not involve disturbance of a relic and/or Where a relic is disturbed, all works shall cease and the Heritage Council be contacted within a reasonable time and furnish the Heritage Council with such information concerning the relic as the Heritage Council may reasonably require. Works and activities undertaken in accordance with the adopted Cumberland Plain Recovery Plan (2011) as endorsed by the Minister for Environment and any amendments to this or future Recovery Plans endorsed by the Minister and in accordance with Recovering bushland on the Cumberland Plain: Best practice guidelines for the management and restoration of bushland (2005). Such activities may include bush regeneration, native vegetation planting, fauna management, controlled burning, weed and feral animal eradication, spraying and research. General maintenance and repair: Tree surgery where considered necessary for the health of a tree; Removal or pruning of trees considered a danger to the public or staff; Minor works to reduce risks to public safety; Repair of damage caused by erosion and implementation of erosion control measures; Routine horticultural maintenance, including lawn mowing, cultivation and pruning. Erection and dismantling of temporary structures, signs, crowd control barriers, banners, stages, lighting, sound and public address equipment and signage associated with special events, recreation activities and functions held in the Palestine Park. Repair, maintenance and upgrading of existing underground and standing service and utilities infrastructure where these works utilise or apply to existing service trenches and/or pre-existing structures. Within the boundaries of Lot 225 DP234686 only, installation, maintenance and upgrading of playground equipment, park furniture, interpretive signage and pathways. Works by Sydney Water Corporation on Sydney Water Corporation assets, including sewerage systems, stormwater management systems and water supply systems for operational requirements, maintenance and repair that do not involve any excavation or impacts on archaeological resources and relics. Emergency works to restore existing infrastructure assets to protect public health, protect property and/or protect the environment where these emergency works involve no greater soil or vegetation disturbance than necessary. Works by Endeavour Energy on Endeavour Energy assets to operate, repair and maintain existing electricity works-being electricity power lines or associated equipment or electricity structures that form part of a transmission and distribution system-for operational requirements, maintenance and repair that do not involve any excavation or impacts on archaeological resources and relics. Emergency works to restore existing infrastructure assets to protect public health, protect property and/or protect the environment where these emergency works involve no greater soil or vegetation disturbance than necessary.	Dec 11 2012
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	HERITAGE ACT 1977 ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT STANDARD EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL I, Penny Sharpe, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales and under section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977: revoke the order made on 2 June 2022 and published in the Government Gazette Number 262 of 17 June 2022; and grant an exemption from section 57(1) of the Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out the class of activities described in clause 2 Schedule A in such circumstances specified by the relevant standards in clause 2 Schedule A and General Conditions in clause 3 Schedule A. This Order takes effect on the date it is published in the NSW Government Gazette. Dated this 29th day of October 2025 The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC Minister for Heritage For more information on standard exemptions click on the link below.	Nov 7 2025

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register		01903	11 Dec 12	127	5041
Local Environmental Plan

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written			Historical Records of NSW - 1892 - 1898
Written			Historical Records of Australia, series 1 - 1914-23
Written	Barkley-Jack, Jan	2013	Toongabbie's Government Farm: an elusive vision for five governors, 1791-1824.
Written	D.Collins & BH Fletcher (ed)	1975	An Account of the Engish Colony in NSW
Written	DA Sargeant	1991	The Toongabbie Story (3 editions)
Written	J.Brook	2010	From Canton with Courage: Parramatta and Beyond, Chinese Arrivals 1800-1900
Electronic	John McClymont & Terry Kass	2010	Old Toongabbie and Toongabbie	View detail
Written	Karskens, Grace	2009	The Colony: a History of Early Sydney
Written	Kass, Terry & Liston, Carol	2011	An Assessment of Historical Data Regarding Six Heritage Properties in the City of Parramatta
Written	Kass, Terry, Liston, Carol & McClymont, John	2001	Parramatta: A Past Revealed
Electronic	Keith Vincent Smith	2010	Pemulwuy	View detail
Written	McClymont, John	2010	James Houison 1800-1876: Parramatta's Forgotten Architect
Written	McClymont, John	2001	Pictorial History: Parramatta & District
Written	P Trimmer	2005	What Became of Parramatta Domain?
Written	Robert VJP Varman	1998	Toongabbie Government Farm and Town Site: Preliminary Archaeological Assessment and Statement of Significance
Written	Sydney Living Museums	2017	Convict Sydney	View detail
Written	Toongabbie & District Historical Society	2011	Toongabbie - a Social History, 1860-1941

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5061406
File number:	11/13622-1

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