History
Bargo's early history is well documented and extremely interesting. My main source is Edward Brodie's "History of Bargo" and "History of the Forbidden Land - Wollondilly Shire Editor, L.R. Fowler, S.B. Knox and S. den Hertog I would like to thank Marlane Fairfax, member of the Picton Historical Society, for providing me with her Bargo information including Edward Brodie's "History of Bargo". Marlane's Website contains family history as well as local historical information.
Aboriginal Inhabitants
The Gundungurra, Thurrawal and Dharug tribes were the first human inhabitants of the Wollondilly Shire. Thanks to surveyor Robert H. Matthews at the turn of the 20th Century we have a record of the dreamtime stories and language of these people. The Gundungurra tribe's territory included the areas of Picton, Burragorang, Katoomba, Hartley, Berrima, Taralga and Goulburn. The Nepean River was possibly used as a border between the Gundungurra and Tharawal peoples. The Gundungurra and Dharug tribes had feasting and elaborate ceremonies to swap girls at Emu Plains. However, when the Dharug tribe were driven from their land by white settlement, the Gundungurra tribe was forced to swap girls with the Thurrawals. Robert H Matthews obtained the dreamtime creation stories of the tortuous river gorges contained within the territory of the Gundungarra tribe before the remnant of the Gundungurra peoples was moved to La Perouse.
1795
An ex-convict, John Wilson is thought to be the first white man to visit the Bargo area. In about 1795 he found the descendants of four cows and 2 bulls that had escaped from the fledgling Sydney settlement in 1788. In late 1795 Governor Hunter and a party of officials visited the district and found a herd amounting to about 60 head. The Governor proclaimed all the district west of the Nepean was a sanctuary for the wild cattle and no person was to visit the area without written authority. The area became known as "Cowpastures".
1797
In 1797 Wilson brought back news of having seen a number of skeletons and old boots and buckles of European origin. He also saw birds like "Birds of Paradise" in the southern district. About this time there were rumors among the Irish convicts that 150-200 miles southwest was a settlement of white men and provisions were in abundance. This belief was the reason many convicts tried to escape and were usually never seen again. To put the rumor to rest Governor Hunter commissioned a party consisting of Wilson, John Price, a man called Roe and four representatives of the convicts, soldiers and provisions.
1798
The party set out from Parramatta on January 14th 1798. By the time they reached the cowpastures the convicts had had enough and were escorted back to Parramatta by the soldiers. This left Wilson, Price and Roe to continue. John Price kept a diary which commenced on the 24th January 1798. After leaving Mt Hunter they traveled through rugged country via the Nepean Gorge for 18 miles. The next day saw them crossing the country in the bend of the Nepean. The soil was described as very good and when on meeting a party of aboriginals hunting kangaroo, they asked them the best route to county in the south-west. (Wilson, having lived among natives in previous years, could make himself understood) According to Wilson the natives said that the land in the south-west was very good with "Plenty of corn and potatoes". The natives also advised a change of direction, which they adopted.. They were able to get down into the Nepean gorge opposite the junction of the Upper Bargo Rivulet. It appears that Wilson had crossed the Nepean in 1797 by the only other crossing which would have been the Pheasant's Nest Pass. They camped for the night in a cave in the Nepean gorge wall in which they found a salt deposit.
The diary entry for the next day is most important as far as Bargo is concerned. "January 26th, Course W.S.W. The ground runs very rocky and bushy, so that we could scarce pass.We crossed one small river, the banks of which were so rocky and steep that we could scarce pass it. We saw no signs of any natives about, but we saw several sorts of dung of different animals, one of which Wilson called a Whom-batt, which is an animal about 20 inches high with short legs and is very fat and has much the appearance of a badger. There is another animal which the natives call Cullawine which much resembles sloths in America. Here I shot a bird about the size of a pheasant, but the tail of it very much resembling a peacock, with two large long feathers which are white, orange and lemon colour and black at the ends. It's body betwixt a brown and a green, brown under it's neck and black upon it's head, black legs and very long claws. Distance 16 miles.
" It seems likely that the party camped for the night of the 26th in the Bargo Brush as the diary reads coarse W.S.W. The ground still runs very rocky and scrubby for about 6 miles, then we came to a fine open country but very mountainous".This would be the area north of Mittagong.
When Governor Hunter heard about the discovery of salt, he ordered Henry Hacking to go and bring back a sample. Wilson, a man named Collins (probably an aboriginal who had taken the name of the Judge Advocate Collins. Also a man who kept a second diary but whose name is unknown. These 4 men took the same course as the first expedition and on March 12th obtained a sample of salt. The party decided to follow the Nepean down as it ran in a northerly direction and they found a number of salt deposits. They noticed the entrance of Myrtle Creek and a couple of smaller creeks before they reached the junction of Stonequarry Creek and the Nepean. They followed stonequarry until it reached level ground, which is now the site of Picton.
Hacking returned to Sydney with the salt samples but the others pushed on and on March 14th discovered the Thirlmere Lakes and continued along what is now the route of the loop-line.
1807
Later Visitors to the Bargo Area.
James Warby, one of the superintendents of the wild cattle was the next known visitor to Bargo.
In a letter to Sir Joseph Banks, dated September 1807, Governor King mentions a report written by the botanist George Caley saying. "I have reason to believe there is an extensive piece of forest land running to the south eastward, and my native told me on the other side of the S.S.W. branch was a tract of forest land called Barago, the extent of which he thought was great and ran up to the conical hill which is mistaken for Mt. Hunter. He further told me Barago was the place Warby had been with the native Burtbury." The native also told him there was only one place where a horse could cross the river. Caley later questioned Warby that the only crossing of the Bargo river is where the Hume Highway crosses it at present.
It would appear that Warby and Burtbury did not explore the district very thoroughly, as Warby agreed with Caley that the Bargo River drained into Thirlmere Lakes.
The name Bargo or Barago applied to a large area. It denoted the district stretching from the Cataract River in the east to the Thirlmere Lakes in the west. The area between the Cataract River and the Nepean was usually called "Little Bargo" or East Bargo or Bargo.
The Thirlmere Lakes were sometimes known as the Bargo Lagoons and sometimes the "Coradgerry Lagoons" the latter name being another form of Couridjah. They were known for a long time as Picton Lakes.
We do not know the exact meaning of the word Bargo. Caley was not interested in derivation of names, so did not ask his guide why "Barago" was used for the district across the Nepean. A prominent feature of the entire region is the presence of rocky cliffs. "Burragorang" is thought to mean a place where the river runs between rocky cliffs. The word Barago or Burraga applies to a number of places where there are rocky cliffs.
after 1814
John Kennedy, brother of Hamilton Hume's mother, settled in Appin in 1814. He made a number of explorations into Bargo Brush. His obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald on April 3rd 1843 stated, "Mr Kennedy was the first European who entered the new country of Argyle by the Bargo Brush in the early part of the present century (if not earlier)." For this to be true Kennedy would have had to have been the diarist of the second Wilson expedition It is impossible to say for certain as the diaries were not the rough field notes of the expeditions, but carefully re-written copied. Probably by a Clerk in the Governor's office.
John Kennedy's nephew, Hamilton Hume, claimed to be the first to explore the Bargo District and beyond. In a brief "Statement of Facts", he states, "In the year 1814 in company with my brother, I discovered that tract of country now called Argyle. I was also there in the year 1815 and 1816 and in the year 1817 I was accompanied by Mr Throsby on his first tour of that part of the country."
The years 1812-16 were very dry and Governor Macquarie had given permission for Surveyor -General Oxley and Mr. Moore to graze their cattle on the country south of the Bargo River in 1815. In October 1815 the Governor, with a party of gentlemen made a visit to Bargo to view the country. They left their camp at Stonequarry creek and crossed the Bargo River, which the Governor described as " a small branch of the Nepean and divides Bargo from the proper Cowpastures. On entering Bargo we found the country barren and very bare of feed for cattle, but advancing a few miles into the country, we found both the land and the grazing improve a little, but far from being good. Here Mr. Oxley and Mr. Moore, (with my permission) have large herds of horned cattle grazing, but so many of them have died that these gentlemen intend removing them immediately from this country."
More to come!
