Norah Head
On the 1st June 1829 the Colonial Secretary’s Office issued a Notice from the Governor that a list of towns with distances of miles from Sydney be published and Bungary Norah, a point near the Tuggerah Beach Lakes, between Broken Bay and Reid’s Mistake in the County of Northumberland was listed and estimated to be 90 miles away.
In the 1830s George Bloodsworth, a cattle farmer at Dooralong, built a jetty and wharf at Cabbage Tree Harbour (Norah Head) to transport cedar to Sydney in his boat the “Alice”. Other settlers also used the wharf, including Edward Hammond Hargraves. As early as 1831 Bungary Norah Head was being mentioned in the coastal shipping news of various newspapers with goods being shipped inwards and outwards to and from the wharf there. In 1836 it was also reported that the wreck of the steamer “Ceres”, lying on the beach at Bungary Norah, would be sold at Auction. Early shipwrecks in the hazardous waters off Bird Island, Bungary Norah Point and Point Tuggerah, contributed to the decision to build a lighthouse at Norah Head in the early 1900s. Norah Head Lighthouse was completed in 1903. The Norah Head Lighthouse was the last significant lighthouse built in New South Wales, a 27 metre tower – it was built with monetary assistance from Edward Hargraves of ‘Noraville’. Added to the frequent trading ships up and down the coast were Italian fisherman and their families, who settled at Norah Head. The Rossetti and Russo families were among them. |
'Noraville' c1925
Noraville
In 1844 Robert Henderson, who became one of the largest landholders in the Brisbane Water district, sought to purchase 25 acres of land at Bungary Norah and a map of the survey dated 24th August 1844, shows the block to be the one on which Edward Hammond Hargraves subsequently built his Noraville homestead. Hargraves bought the land from Henderson in 1856.
In June 1847, it was reported by The Australian newspaper that 25 acres of land were to be offered for sale by public auction at the Colonial Treasury in Sydney at the village reserve of Bungary Norah and this may be the same 25 acres mentioned above.
Built in the area known today as Noraville, Edward Hammond Hargraves’ house is one of the oldest properties on the Central Coast. It was built 160 years ago.
In 1844 Robert Henderson, who became one of the largest landholders in the Brisbane Water district, sought to purchase 25 acres of land at Bungary Norah and a map of the survey dated 24th August 1844, shows the block to be the one on which Edward Hammond Hargraves subsequently built his Noraville homestead. Hargraves bought the land from Henderson in 1856.
In June 1847, it was reported by The Australian newspaper that 25 acres of land were to be offered for sale by public auction at the Colonial Treasury in Sydney at the village reserve of Bungary Norah and this may be the same 25 acres mentioned above.
Built in the area known today as Noraville, Edward Hammond Hargraves’ house is one of the oldest properties on the Central Coast. It was built 160 years ago.
