Tahlee
Encyclopedia
Tahlee is a historic Australia
n property of 68.8 hectares (170 acre) situated on the north side of Port Stephens
near Karuah
in New South Wales
in the suburb of Tahlee
. It is the current location for Tahlee Bible College
and the original site of the Australian Agricultural Company
.
tribe. Tahlee comes from the local Aboriginal word, Tarlee, meaning "sheltered from the wind and above water". Early relationships between the original inhabitants and white settlers were relatively harmonious. In fact, the Australian Agricultural Company would not have succeeded without their help.
James Cook
first sighted Port Stephens on 11 May 1777. He named it after Philip Stephens, then Secretary to the Admiralty. Charles Grimes
, Surveyor General of the Colony, explored the area in 1795. It was concluded from his unfavourable report that it would never “be necessary to send a second time to it”. This report was later criticised when Newcastle
Harbour was established.
The company's Sydney
committee consisted of Messrs James and Hannibal Macarthur and James Bowman. These representatives were later criticised for their lack of enthusiasm in finding a suitable location to use as the company's base. John Oxley
, the Surveyor General of New South Wales
, urged the committee to consider the Liverpool Plains, the Lachlan and the head of the Macquarie River. These suggestions were rejected in favour of the coast, where shipping facilities were available. Oxley suggested Port Stephens, which the committee finally accepted when Robert Dawson, the company's first commissioner, arrived in Sydney on 23 December 1825 with stock, plant and equipment for the new settlement. On 1 January 1826 he set out to explore Port Stephens, eventually deciding on the present site of Tahlee and Carrington as a suitable place for his headquarters.
The Sydney committee regularly criticised Mr Dawson's leadership, stating there were too many prisoners onsite with little to do, officers were undisciplined and the public perception of the company was unpopular. Despite this Mr Dawson accomplished a great deal. The boundaries for the 1 million acres (4,046.9 km²) site were surveyed and defined and a site for cultivation was chosen near the Karuah River
. That site is now the township of Stroud
.
Dawson also began work on Tahlee House, the home of the AA Co's first four commissioners. At Port Stephens, a site was chosen for a township, which Mr Dawson re-named Carrington. The Newcastle suburb of the same name is named after his grandson, Lord Carrington, who became Governor of New South Wales. Robert Dawson led the AA Co until 1828 when the committee replaced him with his assistant, Mr. James Ebsworth, in an interim capacity.
Sir William Edward Parry
, the Arctic explorer and hydrographer, became the next commissioner of the AA Co in 1829 and arrived at Tahlee in March 1830. His five-year tenure was marked by progress and social reformation. Under his direction, Booral House, Stroud House and Telegherry House were constructed, along with a flour mill at Stroud and a dam on the Karuah River, now known as Washpool. He also personally oversaw the construction of a steamship named "The Karuah."
Parry was a devout Christian. When he discovered that the settlement lacked a church, he conducted his own Sunday service in the carpenter's shop at Carrington. In 1833 he constructed St John's church in Stroud and laid the cornerstone himself. Lady Parry opened a school and provided for the education of nearly 50 children. An adult school was also commissioned for the prisoners who wished to learn how to read and write.
Lt-Colonel Henry Dumaresq, who had been Governor Darling's assistant, became the next commissioner in 1834. He served until his death in 1838, when Mr James Ebsworth took over again as interim commissioner. Mr Ebsworth opposed a proposal by the company's English directors to subdivide the land into small parcels. Port Stephens would be a different place today if the plan had succeeded.
Captain Phillip Parker King was the final AA Co commissioner to live in Tahlee House. By then, the Company's directors had realised the land was unsuitable for grazing and chose to the relocate its headquarters to Stroud. The Australian Agricultural Company’s chapter of Tahlee’s history closed with the end of his appointment in 1849.
Considerable development took place during this period. Improvements and extensions were added to Tahlee House. A billiard room and ballroom were constructed with marble for some of the fireplaces in these buildings imported from Italy. Twelve full-time gardeners were employed to maintain a number of terraced gardens. Mr White was well known for bringing guests from Sydney on his steam yacht, "Kingfisher." A horse-drawn tram would then transport them to their rooms from the harbour below the house.
On his death, the estate was held in trust for his widow and then passed to their son, Alfrey Beecher Stewart White, who lived primarily in Sydney. He used Tahlee House as a country retreat.
In 1948, the staff of Gospel Fishermen visited Tahlee for a picnic. Over the next year, applications were forwarded to Mr White to rent the property to the mission. In June 1949, the Theobold family moved into the Waterfront Cottage and began using the ballroom and billiard room at Tahlee. In 1951, the ministry established a missionary training camp under the supervision of Mr Frank Biggs.
Mr White continued to visit Tahlee House. In 1959, he offered the property to the Mission, who accepted after a large donation made it possible for the purchase to take place.
In 2008 the College failed to attract any full time students. A number of classes are held in Newcastle. TESOL courses are run under the College banner. Extensive renovations have been carried out on the property. Management has concentrated on running camps and events for children, young people and families. Tours of the historic buildings are regularly held.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n property of 68.8 hectares (170 acre) situated on the north side of Port Stephens
Port Stephens
Port Stephens is a large natural harbour located about north-east of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It lies wholly within the Port Stephens Local Government Area although its northern shoreline forms the boundary between the Port Stephens and Great Lakes LGAs...
near Karuah
Karuah, New South Wales
Karuah is a predominantly rural locality of both the Port Stephens and Great Lakes Councils in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is thought that the name means 'native plum tree' in the local Aboriginal dialect.-Geography:...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in the suburb of Tahlee
Tahlee, New South Wales
Tahlee is a suburb of the Great Lakes Council Local Government Area in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia, located on the northern shores of Port Stephens. The suburb is sparsely populated with the only significant population centre being the property of Tahlee,...
. It is the current location for Tahlee Bible College
Tahlee Bible College
For nearly 60 years functioned as an interdenominational training centre situated at Tahlee, a property on the shores of Port Stephens, less than one hour north of Newcastle and less than three hours north of Sydney....
and the original site of the Australian Agricultural Company
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company is a company which serves to improve beef cattle production through responsible natural resource and land use...
.
Earliest inhabitants
The earliest inhabitants of this area were the WorimiWorimi people
Worimi people are Indigenous Australians from the eastern Port Stephens and Great Lakes regions of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Before contact with settlers, their people extended from Port Stephens in the south to Forster/Tuncurry in the north and as far west as Gloucester...
tribe. Tahlee comes from the local Aboriginal word, Tarlee, meaning "sheltered from the wind and above water". Early relationships between the original inhabitants and white settlers were relatively harmonious. In fact, the Australian Agricultural Company would not have succeeded without their help.
European discovery
CaptainCaptain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
first sighted Port Stephens on 11 May 1777. He named it after Philip Stephens, then Secretary to the Admiralty. Charles Grimes
Charles Grimes
Charles Grimes was an English-born surveyor who did some valuable work in colonial Australia. He served as surveyor-general of New South Wales and discovered the Yarra River in what is now the state of Victoria. He is perhaps best known for being the surveyor who mapped the route of the Hobart...
, Surveyor General of the Colony, explored the area in 1795. It was concluded from his unfavourable report that it would never “be necessary to send a second time to it”. This report was later criticised when Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
Harbour was established.
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company (AA Co) was established in 1824 with a capital of ₤1 million. It was formed with the purpose of producing articles of export not raised in any other English settlement, and other objects of a colonisation character. The British Parliament granted the company 1000000 acres (4,047 km²) of land in the colony of New South Wales, under certain conditions.The company's Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
committee consisted of Messrs James and Hannibal Macarthur and James Bowman. These representatives were later criticised for their lack of enthusiasm in finding a suitable location to use as the company's base. John Oxley
John Oxley
John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of English colonisation.October 1802 he was engaged in coastal survey work including an expedition to Western Port in 1804-05...
, the Surveyor General of New South Wales
Surveyor General of New South Wales
The Surveyor General of New South Wales is the person nominally responsible for government surveying in New South Wales. The original duties for the Surveyor General was to measure and determine land grants for settlers in New South Wales...
, urged the committee to consider the Liverpool Plains, the Lachlan and the head of the Macquarie River. These suggestions were rejected in favour of the coast, where shipping facilities were available. Oxley suggested Port Stephens, which the committee finally accepted when Robert Dawson, the company's first commissioner, arrived in Sydney on 23 December 1825 with stock, plant and equipment for the new settlement. On 1 January 1826 he set out to explore Port Stephens, eventually deciding on the present site of Tahlee and Carrington as a suitable place for his headquarters.
The Sydney committee regularly criticised Mr Dawson's leadership, stating there were too many prisoners onsite with little to do, officers were undisciplined and the public perception of the company was unpopular. Despite this Mr Dawson accomplished a great deal. The boundaries for the 1 million acres (4,046.9 km²) site were surveyed and defined and a site for cultivation was chosen near the Karuah River
Karuah River
The Karuah River is a major river in the Great Lakes Area of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is fed by numerous creeks and streams on the south side of the Gloucester Tops Ranges which makes up part of the Great Dividing Range....
. That site is now the township of Stroud
Stroud, New South Wales
Stroud is a small country town one hour north of Newcastle, New South Wales. It is part of the Great Lakes Council area. The major road through Stroud is the Bucketts Way...
.
Dawson also began work on Tahlee House, the home of the AA Co's first four commissioners. At Port Stephens, a site was chosen for a township, which Mr Dawson re-named Carrington. The Newcastle suburb of the same name is named after his grandson, Lord Carrington, who became Governor of New South Wales. Robert Dawson led the AA Co until 1828 when the committee replaced him with his assistant, Mr. James Ebsworth, in an interim capacity.
Sir William Edward Parry
William Edward Parry
Sir William Edward Parry was an English rear-admiral and Arctic explorer, who in 1827 attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole...
, the Arctic explorer and hydrographer, became the next commissioner of the AA Co in 1829 and arrived at Tahlee in March 1830. His five-year tenure was marked by progress and social reformation. Under his direction, Booral House, Stroud House and Telegherry House were constructed, along with a flour mill at Stroud and a dam on the Karuah River, now known as Washpool. He also personally oversaw the construction of a steamship named "The Karuah."
Parry was a devout Christian. When he discovered that the settlement lacked a church, he conducted his own Sunday service in the carpenter's shop at Carrington. In 1833 he constructed St John's church in Stroud and laid the cornerstone himself. Lady Parry opened a school and provided for the education of nearly 50 children. An adult school was also commissioned for the prisoners who wished to learn how to read and write.
Lt-Colonel Henry Dumaresq, who had been Governor Darling's assistant, became the next commissioner in 1834. He served until his death in 1838, when Mr James Ebsworth took over again as interim commissioner. Mr Ebsworth opposed a proposal by the company's English directors to subdivide the land into small parcels. Port Stephens would be a different place today if the plan had succeeded.
After the Australian Agricultural Company
Mr Frederick Manton, from Sydney, purchased the Tahlee property from the AA Co in 1854 for ₤2,500. However, the house burned down in 1860, leaving only the walls.The White era
In 1880 Robert Hoddle Driberg White discovered he had come into a fortune when his grandmother left him considerable property in Melbourne, however, the matter had been kept a secret from him for 13 years. The subsequent court case brought him enormous wealth and notoriety. On returning to Port Stephens, Mr White was invited to stand for Parliament and was elected for the seat of Gloucester. It was during this time that he purchased Tahlee for ₤850.Considerable development took place during this period. Improvements and extensions were added to Tahlee House. A billiard room and ballroom were constructed with marble for some of the fireplaces in these buildings imported from Italy. Twelve full-time gardeners were employed to maintain a number of terraced gardens. Mr White was well known for bringing guests from Sydney on his steam yacht, "Kingfisher." A horse-drawn tram would then transport them to their rooms from the harbour below the house.
On his death, the estate was held in trust for his widow and then passed to their son, Alfrey Beecher Stewart White, who lived primarily in Sydney. He used Tahlee House as a country retreat.
The Gospel Fishermen
In 1943 the Gospel Fishermen Mission leased Tanilba House, which is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) across Port Stephens from Tahlee. The Director, Godrey Theobald, had developed a three pronged approach to mission.- Evangelists travelling in 'Gospel Vans' visited isolated districts.
- Large meetings were held in churches in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley.
- Children's camps were held at TanilbaTanilba Bay, New South WalesTanilba Bay is a suburb of the Port Stephens Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Tilligerry Peninsula adjacent to the bay from which it got its name...
for the purpose of evangelism.
In 1948, the staff of Gospel Fishermen visited Tahlee for a picnic. Over the next year, applications were forwarded to Mr White to rent the property to the mission. In June 1949, the Theobold family moved into the Waterfront Cottage and began using the ballroom and billiard room at Tahlee. In 1951, the ministry established a missionary training camp under the supervision of Mr Frank Biggs.
Mr White continued to visit Tahlee House. In 1959, he offered the property to the Mission, who accepted after a large donation made it possible for the purchase to take place.
Tahlee Bible College
Rev Eric Potter, a Methodist minister, was the first Principal of Tahlee Bible College and Godfrey Theobald held the position of the first College President. Lectures commenced on 10 June 1959, while the public opening held on 31 October 1959 attracted 400 people. More than 1,000 students have trained at the college and many of these are now in Christian service in Australia and in countries all over the world.In 2008 the College failed to attract any full time students. A number of classes are held in Newcastle. TESOL courses are run under the College banner. Extensive renovations have been carried out on the property. Management has concentrated on running camps and events for children, young people and families. Tours of the historic buildings are regularly held.