I have an ancestor who was married in Sydney c 1856 then went to Maitland/Bishop's Bridge areas to live and have their family. What might have been happening around those areas tin the 1850's to warrent moving such a distance? Was gold discovered there? He and family them moved on to Melbourne by 1859. He was a painter/carpenter by trade, so was something big being built then? Any clues appreciated. Cheers, Robyn of Geelong.

Hello Robyn. Here are some thoughts in response to your questions. Many, many years ago, when I first started researching, I was using the Sands Directories. In one of them, either in the 1840s or 1850s (I don't know why 1852 comes to mind); somewhere near the front, there were some words about Maitland, and it said that it was THE LARGEST TOWN outside of Sydney -- at that time. Accordingly, it may be that your fellow moved there for that reason. But of course, one could then ask, "then why was it the second largest town in NSW at that time?"; which from a quick paraphrase of reading various historical items on Maitland over the year, MIGHT be answered: "Because it was the main departure point for the lower and upper Hunter areas, and became a thriving and almost a boom-town." Of course, a different reason for his going from Sydney to Maitland MIGHT have been either because he originally came from there, or had lived there; OR because possibly his wife came from there. Re Gold Mining: From memory, I don't recall reading of any sizeable gold-mining in the Maitland area; but better-informed listers could write on that. However, I don't think that gold-mining would have been a great determinant of the booming growth of Maitland (as I expect that travel to and from the NSW gold-mining areas -- around Bathurst --- would more likely be directly over the Blue Mountains, via Katoomba, etc.); nevertheless, I expect that a sizeable proportion of the wealth in NSW from gold-mining, might have found its way to the burgeoning Maitland district. And of course, gold-mining might be why he later made his way to what was then known as "Marvellous Melbourne" from the riches on your own gold-mining fields. Hopefully other listers will have other thoughts to share with you on this topic. Good luck with your researches. Ray in Sydney ----- Original Message ----- From: "francescoacciarito" <fracc@optusnet.com.au> To: <AUS-NSW-Hunter-Valley-L@rootsweb.com> >I have an ancestor who was married in Sydney c 1856 then went to >Maitland/Bishop's Bridge areas to live and have their family. What might >have been happening around those areas tin the 1850's to warrent moving >such a distance? Was gold discovered there? He and family them moved on to >Melbourne by 1859. He was a painter/carpenter by trade, so was something >big being built then? > Any clues appreciated. > > Cheers, Robyn of Geelong.