First Land Grants in the IllawarraPrint Page

The monument commemorates the meeting of the first land grantees of the Illawarra with John Oxley in 1816. The memorial was originally erected in Parkes Street, Port Kembla, in 1927. After further research by the Illawarra Historical Society, it was determined that the present site was near the stockmen's hut where Surveyor General John Oxley met the grantees and monument was re-erected on the 4th December 1954. 

In 1815, Doctor Charles Throsby of Glenfield establishes the first cattle station at Wollongong, arriving in the district from the west via Appin and Bulli, with the assistance of Joe Wild, 2 local Aborigines and others. Shortly afterwards he is followed by George Cribb who settles at Charcoal Creek. On November 16, 1816 Surveyor John Oxley is instructed to visit Illawarra coast and conduct a survey. A notice is issued calling on Illawarra land grantees to meet John Oxley at Throsby's stockman's hut at Wollongong on 2 December 1816.

Wollongong, Saturday. At Port Kembla today, at a spot overlooking the shores of Lake Illawarra, a tablet was unveiled by Captain J. H. Watson (president of the Royal Historical Society) to commemorate the first land grant in the Illawarra district. A number of representative men from Sydney, including members of the Royal Historical Society, arrived by train at Port Kembla, and were conveyed by motor cars to the spot where the ceremony took place. Amongst those present were Miss Hume Barbour (a descendant of the explorer Hume), Miss Elisabeth Botts (granddaughter of the Rev. Samuel Marsden), Messrs. Henry Molesworth Oxley, of Bowral (grandson of Surveyor-General Oxley), H. D. Hull (Government Savings Bank), Aubrey Halloran (vice president of the Royal Historical Society), W. J. Roper (Under-Secretary for Lands), H. U. Matthews (Surveyor-General), J. B. White (Lands Department), P. H. Morton, and H. B. Lee.

Mr. P. H. Morton proposed the toast of the Royal Historical Society. He said that in November, 1816, a notice appeared in the "Government Gazette," inviting persons holding land grants in the Illawarra district to meet Surveyor-General Oxley at the hut of Mr. Throsby's stockman, at Five Islands, at the hour of noon on Monday, December 2, 1816, at which time he was to commence locating the lands. On that day Charles Throsby, Charles O'Brien, David Allan, Robert Jenkins, George Johnston, Richard Brooks, George Molle, and Andrew Allan, or their representatives, were present, and had land allotted to them. Mr. Allan got the first choice, and selected the land on which they were standing, and Mr. Jenkins had second choice. The tablet was covered with the Union Jack, and the unveiling ceremony was performed by Captain Watson. Mr. P. H. Morton announced that the site of the memorial would be dedicated by the owners to the Lands Department for use by the public for all time. Mr. Roper (of the Lands Department) and Mr. Matthews (Surveyor-General) publicly accepted the dedication on behalf of the Government.
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), 26 September 1927. 

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Dedication