Benjamin Singleton (1788–1853) was a

free settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

, and explorer of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He was born in England on 7 August 1788 and arrived in the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

on 14 February 1792 in the ''Pitt'', a convict ship. His father, William, had been sentenced to transportation for seven years, and had brought his wife and two sons with him. An older son, James, arrived as a free settler in 1808.

Career as a miller

James and Benjamin built and operated several steam-powered and water-driven flour mills in the following years. They had mills at various times both in the Hunter Valley, near

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

, and on the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

. One of the mills was a

tidal mill A tide mill is a water mill driven by tidal rise and fall. A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir. As the tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one-way gat ...

on the right bank of Hawkesbury River estuary, situated about halfway between

Wisemans Ferry Wisemans Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry operates from the eponymous community of Wisemans Ferry on the south bank, to a point on the north bank downstream of the Hawkesbury River's ...

and Peats Ferry. It was near the confluence with tidal Laybury's Creek, which was impounded to provide the necessary tidal flows of water to power the

undershot water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous blade ...

. It was used to mill wheat and maize, until the great flood of 1867, which caused extensive damage and it was derelict by the 1880s. The ruin survived in substantially complete form into the early 20th Century. Only some foundation stones remain now. The mill has given its name to the suburb, Singletons Mill, New South Wales, which includes its former site.

Exploration

In October 1817, Benjamin Singleton set out with a party of men including William Parr and Aboriginal guides to find a route, suitable for wagons, to the

Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...

. They almost reached the Hunter Valley before turning back. In April 1818 he led a private expedition to the Hunter which was also unsuccessful. When, in 1819, John Howe managed to reach the Hunter, he followed in part the route discovered by Singleton and Parr. He had discovered some fine grazing land, but Howe was dissatisfied with the route. In February, 1820, John Howe left Windsor with a party of fifteen, including Benjamin Singleton and two Aboriginal guides. By following the advice of the guides they were able to find a route which became known as the Bulga Road. On 15 March they reached the Hunter, and followed its course upstream as far as Maitland. For his part in this expedition Singleton was granted , part of which became the site of the town of

Later occupations

Singleton used his land for grazing cattle while pursuing other activities. He was appointed to be a district constable, and continued his mill building business. He also built a horse-drawn boat, which was not a commercial success.

Death

He died on 2 May 1853, leaving a wife and ten children, and was buried in the Whittingham cemetery, near Singleton.

Singleton Council

The

Singleton Council Singleton Council is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Main North railway line, New South Wales, Main North railw ...

publishes a brochure about Benjamin Singleton, and displays a copy on its website. It contains the story of his life and includes a photograph of the plaque on his grave. The plaque describes him as "Pioneer of the Hunter District and Founder of the Town of Singleton". It recounts that, in 1837, he donated land for a market square, which is now known as Burdekin Park. It also mentions him as making the first gifts of land to the Anglican and Presbyterian churches in the town.

References

External links

Benjamin Singleton - Map 4

Colonial Secretary's papers 1822-1877

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

- includes digitised letters written by Singleton to the

Colonial Secretary of New South Wales Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French colonial architecture * Spanish colonial architecture Automobiles * Col ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singleton, Benjamin 1788 births 1853 deaths Explorers of Australia Settlers of New South Wales