Battle of Richmond HillPrint Page

The garden commemorates the Darug people of the Richmond / Hawkesbury area in New South Wales.  It commemorates the ‘Battle of Richmond Hill’ that occurred in 1795, where Darug people fought to defend their land from invasion.

The Darug people were the native people to the area in 1788. The area was originally explored by British settlers in 1789 and was known by the colonialists as Richmond Hill. This name was given by Governor Phillip, in honour of Charles Lennox, the third Duke of Richmond who was Master General of Ordnance in the Pitt administration. The local area was the third area to have European settlement in Australia after Sydney and Parramatta. The first 22 settlers came to the area was settled in 1794. They came to farm a total of 30 acres (121,000 m²) in modern day Pitt Town Bottoms to help overcome the desperate need for good farming land and food in the new colony.

The Battle of Richmond Hill took place in May or June 1795 between the Darug people and the European settlers. It is perhaps the first time that the colonial authorities sent in the troopers and expressly stated their intent to 'destroy' the whole local Aboriginal population of an area.

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