Pound-keepers 1826 to 1841
Background
In 1822 the Hunter Valley was opened up for settlement via land grants (more information). By 1825 much of the prime grazing and farming land along the Paterson River had been taken up and was being worked by convicts assigned to settlers. In the 1820s and 1830s there were few boundary fences between farms and the straying of stock was a huge problem, so a public pound was essential.
Sydney Herald, 15 September 1841
The public pound for the Paterson district was established about the end of 1825 at Old Banks which is a few kilometres downstream (south) of the current township of Paterson. The 'Old Banks Pound', as it came to be known, was transferred to the village of Paterson in 1841.
Pound-keepers at Patersons Plains or Paterson
The first pound-keeper was Kerry Lyne. Notification of his appointment appeared in the Sydney press in January 1826 so he was probably appointed in late 1825. He was also District Constable, which was the senior police position in the district at that time.
- Lyne, Kerry
- 1825: appointed Poundkeeper at 'Patterson's Plains' [SG 12 January 1826 p6]
- Clarke, Ralph Mills
- 1826 to 1832): appointed District Constable and Poundkeeper at 'Patterson's Plains' from 3 November 1826 [SG 22 January 1827 p1]. He resigned at some stage and was reappointed Pound-keeper in November 1831 [SG 29 November 1831 p1], holding the position until early 1832 more information
- Swan, John (snr)
- 1832 to 1833: Poundkeeper at Patersons Plains from early in 1832 [GG 1832 p22] until his death in 1833 more information
- Swan, John (jnr)
- 1833: succeeded his father as Poundkeeper in 1833 for a short period [GG 1833 p182]
- Furber, George
- 1833: Poundkeeper at Patersons Plains [GG 1833 p221]
- Hancock, Thomas
- 1833 to 1834: Poundkeeper [GG 1833 p487] until his appointment as a Police Constable in December 1834 [GG 1834 p850]
- Mulcahey, Michael
- 1834: Poundkeeper at Paterson in place of Hancock [GG 1834 p850]. Mulcahey was transferred to Sydney a short time later [GG 1834 p872]
- Lawson, Thomas
- 1834 to 1835: Poundkeeper at Paterson in place of Mulcahey [GG 1834 p850]. Lawson resigned in 1835 [GG 1835 p485]
- Spence, William
- 1835 to 1839: Poundkeeper at Paterson in place of Lawson who resigned [GG 1835 p485]. Spence was dismissed in 1839 [GG 1839 p547]
- King, Christopher
- 1839 to 1841: Poundkeeper at Paterson in place of Spence who was dismissed [GG 1839 p547]. King died in 1841 [SH 15 September 1841]
- Kippie (Keppie), James
- 1841: Poundkeeper at Paterson in place of Christopher King who was deceased [SH 15 September 1841]
Further information
The 'Free Settler or Felon?' website oftens provides further information on the individuals listed above. Just put the name of the individual of interest into the site's search box