TOWNS ESTATE
The map is the sub-division of the Towns Estate at Shellharbour, showing the Campbell family living at Lot 11. Although it is not very clear, marked on the top left is the name Killalea which had been penciled in on the property adjacent to the boundary of the Towns Estate which was known as the Darley Estate.
The original map is held at the Tongarra Bi-Centennial Museum at Albion Park and unfortunately there is no date on this map.
The village of Peterborough was laid out in 1851 although people referred to the village as Shellharbour. The first structure in the harbour was a jetty at Boat Store in 1859. A larger jetty and harbour were built in 1864. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that in the absence of any harbour structures the map was drawn up between 1851 - 1859 and most likely represents the actual township as it was laid out in 1851.
They believe that the names penciled on the various allotments could be the tenant farmers that were settled by Caroline Chisholm to take up clearing leases in December, 1843.
Although Caroline Chisholm’s initial work was in finding employment and lodgings for single male and females, her first venture at relocating families was her expedition to Shellharbour.
There was wide spread unemployment in Sydney at this time and she was able to relocate 23 families with the help of Captain Robert Towns who gave 4,000 acres of the estate. He also gave the settlers rations for 5 months and provided a school teacher for the children.
The length of a clearing lease was 6 years - rent free in exchange for clearing the land.
Although there is no conclusive proof that the names on the map are Caroline Chisholm’s tenant farmers, there is a strong probability that they are and this view is supported by many others.
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The 'Towns Estate', Shellharbour
Were the Campbell family from Lot 11 part of this venture? It is a known fact that James Campbell was a leaseholder under Captain Robert Towns for many years as stated in his death notice and it is also a known fact that James Campbell was originally from Scotland.
I have not attempted a proper search for their arrival, as to tell you the truth I am not sure where to start. It is clear that they came to Australia as free settlers, but whether assisted or unassisted is not known. Many unassisted passengers are not listed individually making it very difficult to obtain a positive year of arrival.
But the real question is - who really was their "daughter" Maria - a question that has bewildered many people for a number of years, and I often wonder whether I will ever know.
Leanne Kellalea