In reference to the Commonage, you may find this book helpful and very informative..........the following was taken from a review on the internet. The Newcastle Pasturage Reserve ("The Commonage") - A List of Applicants to Purchase, by Monica Gibbs. This book should prove invaluable to those whose ancestors settled in Newcastle, NSW, in its very early days. For nearly half the nineteenth century, "The Commonage" was home to thousands of Newcastle residents, mostly miners in the local collieries and their families who occupied modest dwellings, without paying rent or owning their land. In 1889, an Act of the NSW Parliament set up local hearings of the Land Board to examine over 1,000 applicants to purchase. The book outlines the history of "The Commonage" and includes maps of the suburbs now covering the area, a sample of the original plot map, a copy of a purchase document, besides a full list of applicants, their addresses, site improvements, value of the land and decisions of the Board. The book is of 72 A4 pages, soft-bound, Published: December 1999 Publisher: Newcastle Family History Society Inc. ISBN: 1875916164 The cost is $15 per copy, plus $2 postage, and is available from the Newcastle Family History Soc. Inc., PO Box 189, Adamstown, NSW 2289. Regards Jenny Myers Lake Macquarie FHG -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.0/248 - Release Date: 01/02/2006