The Falls: first river crossing point at Maitland

Crossing the Hunter River from Wallis Plains (the site of today’s Maitland) in the early years of European settlement was no easy matter. In most places the river was deeper than it now is, and its silty, sandy, shifting bed made it difficult for horses, bullocks, wagons and drays to get purchase except at a few locations.

The location and nature of The Falls

The best crossing point was at The Falls, about 400 metres upstream of the present Belmore Bridge, less than a kilometre below the then tidal limit and roughly between the intersection of today’s Sempill St and Hannan St (on the Maitland side) and the location of the present Melrose St, Lorn. There the bed of the river was firm, largely comprised of gravel which may have been trapped on a hard mud bar (of which there were several along the river) or a flat volcanic outcrop beneath the water’s surface. Other fords were located in the Pitnacree area and on sandbars on the lower reach of Wallis Creek.

The location of The Falls

The Hunter River is (1); the site of the ford is (2); The Falls Hotel is (6)

(Brian Walsh and Cameron Archer, Maitland On the Hunter)

At low tide at The Falls, the river was only about three feet (just under a metre) deep. The mud or rock outcrop created a ledge, and thus a slight steepening in the river’s bed on the downstream side. Over the ledge, white water could probably be seen at low flow. This might explain the name of the crossing.

Fording the river at The Falls could be difficult, and it was not without risk. Crossing could not be undertaken during floods or freshes, which occurred frequently, and it was not devoid of danger even when flows were low. Some people wading across the river at The Falls were almost certainly drowned there during the 1820s, wagons and coaches were sometimes overturned and the horses and bullocks pulling them were swept downstream. Cattle being driven to the Lorn side on the way to the newly-created large landholdings along the Paterson River were probably also washed away on occasions.

From The Falls to Punts

In about 1824 a punt was established immediately below The Falls by a brother of Thomas McDougall of the Lorn estate: it was hauled across the river by a rope held by the operator. This punt provided improved access to Bolwarra and the rapidly developing valley of the Paterson River which was being opened up for settlement at the time.

Another punt soon appeared about a mile (1.6 kilometres) downstream of The Falls, also operated by a member of the McDougall family. It crossed the river from the end of Russell St (Horseshoe Bend) to the site of today’s Lorn. These punts were the first of many to be established on the Hunter between Maitland and Newcastle (and on the Paterson River) over following decades.

The historical transition on the rivers was from fords to punts and then bridges. Each change made travel easier, and each was regarded by the community as evidence of progress and was thus welcomed.

Access to the Paterson

From the Lorn side of the river, access was possible to Patersons Plains, where a few mainly convict farmers had settled in 1812 and over the following few years. The track north to and up the valley of the Paterson paralleled the Hunter River opposite today’s Oakhampton, crossing Webbers Creek well west of the site of the present bridge on the Tocal road where the water was too deep to allow passage. This track connected Maitland with Paterson, where a village began to develop during the early 1830s. Paterson was officially gazetted as a village in 1833.

The Falls Lodge

The building which was once The Falls Lodge, Sempill St.

People intending to cross the river at The Falls often stayed here

(Flickr)

The crossing at The Falls was important to Maitland for many years. It ceased to be significant only after 1869, when the first Belmore Bridge opened - to begin with as a toll bridge. Some people could not or would not pay the tolls, which were levied on carts, animals and people. There was much resistance and disputation, people claiming that the tolls were oppressive, and court cases resulted. For a time, largely because of the tolls levied on users of the Belmore Bridge, The Falls continued to be used. The removal of the tolls on the bridge in 1878 probably brought use of The Falls as a crossing point to an end.

References

Keys, Chas ‘Our past: people, livestock, punts: crossing the deep river’, Maitland Mercury, 24 September 2021.

Walsh, Brian and Archer, Cameron, Maitland On the Hunter, second edition, CB Alexander Foundation, Paterson, 2007.