Wisemans Ferry is a town on the northern outskirts of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and the south-west of the Central Coast region in the state of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia, located 75 kilometres north north-west of

. It is located in the Sydney

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

s of the

Hornsby Shire Hornsby Shire is a local government area situated on the Upper North Shore as well as parts of the Hills District, of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The shire stretches from the M2 Hills Motorway in the south to the Hawkesb ...

The Hills Shire The Hills Shire (known until 2008 as Baulkham Hills Shire) is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Greater Western Sydney, Greater Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The area is north-west of the Sydney ...

City of Hawkesbury The City of Hawkesbury is a Local government in Australia, local government area that is located on the far northwest fringe of the Sydney, Greater Sydney area in New South Wales, Australia. The local government area is located in the Hawkesbury ...

and the . The town is a tourist spot with picnic and barbecue facilities. As well as a rich convict and colonial heritage in the area, the

Dharug National Park The Dharug National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately north of the Sydney and west of . The park contains the ...

and

Yengo National Park The Yengo National Park is a state park, protected national park that is located in the Hunter Region, Lower Hunter region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The park is situated northwest of Sydney, south of , northwest of , and sou ...

are close by.

History

The town was originally called Lower Portland Headland, but the name was eventually changed to Wisemans Ferry, named after

Solomon Wiseman Solomon Wiseman (16 April 1777 - 28 November 1838) was a convict, merchant and ferryman. The town called Wisemans Ferry, New South Wales, Wiseman's Ferry, New South Wales, Australia is named after him. Life Wiseman was born in Southwark, Engl ...

, a former

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

(1777–1838), who received a land grant in the area from

Governor Macquarie Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, and had a leading role ...

in 1817. Wiseman established a ferry service on the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

in 1827 for the transport of produce and provisions to the convicts building the Great North Road and was known to many as King of the Hawkesbury. Wisemans Ferry Post Office opened on 1 January 1857. There is information on the early history of Wisemans Ferry in Ball, John and Pam, 'Early Wisemans Ferry: George Mollison, Solomon Wiseman, Bushrangers and Land Title Confusion', Oughtershaw Press, Riverview, 2014 – .

Heritage listings

Wisemans Ferry & Mount Manning has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: *

Old Great North Road (Devine's Hill to Mount Manning Section) Old Great North Road (Devine's Hill to Mount Manning Section) is a heritage-listed section of former main road, now walking track and service road, between Wisemans Ferry, New South Wales, Wisemans Ferry and Mount Manning, New South Wales, Aus ...

Schools

Wisemans Ferry Public School was established in 1867.

Transport

Today, two ferry services cross the Hawkesbury River from the town of Wisemans Ferry. The eponymous

Wisemans Ferry Wisemans Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry operates from the eponymous community of Wisemans Ferry on the south bank, to a point on the north bank downstream of the Hawkesbury River's ...

crosses the river to a point down-stream of its confluence with the Macdonald River, connecting with the old Great North Road. Webbs Creek Ferry crosses to a point upstream of the confluence, connecting with the St Albans Road that follows the west bank of the Macdonald River. There are approximately ten buses per week departing near Wisemans Ferry.

References

Bibliography

* ''Aussie Towns.'
‘Wiseman’s Ferry’
*
Dictionary of Sydney.
' ‘Wiseman’s Ferry’. * ''Hawkesbury on the Net: Memorials, Monuments and Plaques Register.'' �

’
NSW Department of Customer Service. ‘Wiseman’s Ferry’.
* NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Wisemans Ferry Historic Site Plan of Management
'' 2010. * Swancott, Charles. ''Wiseman’s Ferry.'' Brisbane Water Historical Society, 1979. * Webb, Ian. ''Blood, Sweat & Iron''s'': building the Great North Road from Wisemans Ferry to Mt. Manning 1827 – 1832.'' Dharug & Lower Hawkesbury Historical Society, 1999. * ''Wisemans.'
‘Wiseman’s Ferry’.

External links

*
Great North Road - Convict Trail
Suburbs of Sydney City of Hawkesbury Towns in New South Wales 1827 establishments in Australia The Hills Shire Hornsby Shire {{CentralCoastNSW-geo-stub