Hello Chris, No doubt you have been swamped with advice - here is my tuppence worth. Jen Willett's web site has many pages referring to the Hunter Valley. This is the home page which has a search facility - http://www.jenwilletts.com/index.htm http://www.jenwilletts.com/searchaction2.php I entered the name Hicks into the search box and found references to James Hicks re the abduction of the Slater lass - Entered "Woodlands" and found 2 refs, from the second, it appears that the property may have been in the Hexham district, near Newcastle and on the Hunter R. near the junction of the Pacific and New England highways. http://www.jenwilletts.com/earlysettler4.htm This page has 5 maps of the Hunter region, this is a map of the Williams R. c 1837 perhaps too early but still of interest. It is a pleasant drive from Maitland to Paterson, a small township on the Williams R. which passes by many of the old properties in the district. There is an active and informative Historical Society and Museum in the old courthouse, open from 1pm on Sundays where information on the places and people mentioned may be found http://www.tocal.com/homestead/museum/ Dungog information at http://www.dungog.nsw.gov.au/about/1003/1010.html Hope this helps, Marje