Monday, March 1, 2010

A Ghost Train to Toronto
















On the weekend, Mary and I travelled to Toronto for a friend's 60 th Birthday celebration.


Toronto is on the west side of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. It is a beautiful spot and we intend to come back with our group of friends later in the year.


With an eye to its history, we could not resist to see what Toronto had to offer.


Firstly we found the old railway station which is no longer operational. It closed in 1990 after 91 years of serving the local passenger community. Oroginally a tramway was constructed in 1891 from Fassifern Railway station to Toronto. A variety of steam engines was used on this line including a horsedrawn carriage. The line was converted to a branch railway in 1911 terminating at Toronto. Many thousands of passengers travelled here for holidays at Lake Maquarie over the years, including the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) who visited Toronto in June of 1920.


Next we found a plaque commemorating the site of Reverend Lancelot Edward Threlkeld's second Mission for Aborigines which he established in 1830 on his 1280 acre land grant "Derambambah".


History Services NSW
has some 20 records of convicts assigned to the Reverend Threlkeld in the Newcastle area, including one Charles Adams who arrived in the Colony in March 1823. He was assigned to Government House in Parramatta in April 1823. In 1828 at age 22 years, Adams is recorded as being a "servant" and a 'bullock driver' with Rev E Threlkeld, Lake Macquarie.


If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to Reverend Threlkeld , you should go to our website at:
http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm





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