This week, with Fathers Day upon us, Roy decided it was time to share one of the many wonderful picnic places he has discovered on his travels. Roy loves nature, history and a great picnic and when they all come together in one place, he is very happy indeed. Of course, finding such places can be a little difficult, but in Maitland, we found a wonderful park, which was just perfect.
If you would like to visit Stockade Hill, it is located in Maitland, in the beautiful NSW Hunter Valley. The area of the stockade is now known as Stockade Hill Heritage Park, and it is bounded by Banks Street, Adams Street, Brisbane Street and Park Street. The Stockade Hill Heritage Park is a huge park, with a rotunda and absolutely huge grassed areas for picnics, kite flying or just to run off some energy. Roy thinks it could be a little muddy after rain, so you might want a few blankets to sit on. Of course, if you visit after rain you also might spy a relic of times gone by in the form of broken crockery!
The area where Maitland is today is the traditional lands of the Gringgai clan of the Wanaruah Aboriginal peoples. In 1801 Lieutenant-Colonel Paterson explored the Hunter area, including the area where Maitland was later built. He named the area Schanck’s Forest Plains, and soon after his exploration cedar getters moved in. A more formal settlement began in 1818 when eleven emancipated convicts were given small land grants. Free settlers soon followed and the area began to thrive and grow. By 1829 a substantial government town was planned and soon after several impressive administrative buildings were built. In 1831 a road was opened between the new town and Windsor and in 1833 the settlement was officially proclaimed as Maitland.
Maitland as we see it today is a beautiful historic city, but the settlement is built on the flood plains of the Hunter River. As a result, there have many floods in the history of the European settlement, including one recorded in 1819, just after formal settlement began. Perhaps it is no surprise then that the camp used by British soldiers was on one of the largest hills in the area! Stockade Hill as it is known today was where the military camp and police barracks was established to supervise and control the new settlement. The hill is also where the first school house, which doubled as a Church was built in 1829. The hill had a darker side too though, with Stockade Hill being the place where convicts sentenced to death were hung. In the same year that the new town was proclaimed, 1833, the hill once again changed use, being dedicated as a public park. This makes it the oldest public park outside of Sydney itself!