Bathurst’s first settlers will be remembered on Sunday when a plaque is unveiled in their honour.
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The first 10 residents of Bathurst each received land grants of 50 acres.
The conditions were set out in a letter from Governor Lachlan Macquarie dated May 9, 1818.
This letter has been reproduced in bronze and will be attached to the Bicentennial Park heritage wall at the bottom of William Street. It will be unveiled by Mayor of Bathurst Gary Rush at 11am on Sunday as part of Bathurst’s bicentenary celebrations.
Those first 10 settlers were James Blackman, John Blackman, George Cheshire, William Lee, Richard Mills, John Abbott, John Neville, Thomas Kite, Thomas Swanbrooke and John Godden.
Members of the Cheshire family will be present at the unveiling. They are in Bathurst for a family reunion over the weekend.
The Bathurst District Historical Society manages the application process for wall plaques to commemorate the pioneers and early settlers in the Bathurst district.
Co-ordinator Andrew Fletcher said these plaques are attached to the Heritage Wall in Bicentennial Park.
Many families with proven connections to the Bathurst district have had a plaque placed on the Heritage Wall to recognise their family’s contribution to the development of Bathurst.
“Bathurst was proclaimed a town by Governor Lachlan Macquarie on 7th May 1815,” Mr Fletcher said.
“Since this time the success of Bathurst has been built on the contributions made by the many pioneers and early settlers, and those arriving later in the Bathurst district are represented through our society and community members.”
He said it was fitting that these first settlers were acknowledged as part of the city’s bicentenary celebrations, particularly since the letter is dated May 9, 2015.
