Thomas Clarkson - MORTGAGES

Links to Images

Sydney Map 1831
    Shows the location of Clarkson's mill in relation to other holdings.
    Shows site of Woodman in Hunter Street; properties on 4 corners of Phillip and Hunter Streets; St James Parsonage building; 3 houses in Pitt Street; 5 acres on which Clarkson and Palmer had the stone mill and the location of Cleveland Gardens, sold by Clarkson in 1819. This map also gives the location of Old Burial ground [now Town Hall] and that of the next burial place, which is now Central Station.
Sydney View 1829
Windmills at Darlinghurst
Panorama of Sydney circa 1836.
Old Mills at Darlighurst (Sketch)
    This sketch shows Clarkson's Mill as it appeared on the Darlinghurst skyline in the early 1830's. No less than 6 windmills could be seen on the hills there. The two shown in the sketch were not far from St. James Church, which can be seen faintly in the background. The mill known as Clarkson's was built by him and Richard Palmer. It was constructed of stone and turned mechanically into the wind.
This mill was referred to in a letter sent to the Sydney Morning Herald in the 1880's by "Patria". He located the mill "at or near the corner of Upper Dowling and Liverpool Streets while two others of wood were situated at the rear of a house known as Rosebank... " This corresponds to an allotment above Liverpool St, and immediately behind Rosebank as shown on Woolcott and Clarke's Map of 1854 and also to that on the survey map,1828. [5 acres]
The Stone Mill
Clarkson's stone mill was built on 5 acres not far from the site of the gaol at Darlinghurst. Between the gaol and the mill was an allotment owned by Riley [it's southern boundary being Burton St.] Clarkson's acreage was bounded on the North by Laidley's portion; on the East by Brougham St. [now Darlinghurst Road]; the properties of Walker [Rose Hall] and Daniel Thompson [Harkham Hall] on the West and Riley on the South. This appears to place Clarkson's property just North of Liverpool Street.
Clarkson's Mill Way
Map Clarkson's Property
  
    Thomas Clarkson's business affairs were worked on a system of credit and payments. By 1817 he had effected his first mortgage with a Mr George Hall of Pitt Town, an old friend of Clarkson's of whom we've spoken earlier. This was to give us our first listing of the properties and land that Thomas had been able to acquire in just over seven short years (bearing in mind that he wasn't part of the commercial scene until at least 1809)
"Indenture dated the seventeenth day of Hay 1817 between Thomas Clarkson of Sydney and George Hall of Pitt Town
Free settler…"(14)
His possessions included;
All the household furniture, cart and horse and implements of husbandry, four stacks of wheat and a variety of swine and poultry at his HOUSE and FARM at BUNBURY CURRAN.
A windmill situate Surrey Hills
A house and premises in the Brickfields -- let to James Smith dealer
A house and premises Kent St -- let to Samuel Tooley Smith (actually Bent St)
A house and premises 34 Clarence St
No 71 Pitt St -- let to Elizabeth Williams
No 72 Pitt St -- let to William Roberts
No 73 Pitt St -- let to John Wood
No 53 Phillip St -- let to Isaac Wood
No 13 Phillip St -- let to Thomas Capon
No 54 Phillip St -- let to Thomas Day
No 12 Phillip St -- let to Charles Teairelebough
A house in Macquarie St -- let to Edward Roche
Premises in Hunter St and furniture, owned and occupied by Clarkson
Two Portland Head farms -- Lamb's Farm
-- tenants     Jas Fitzpatrick
John Everett
A house and premises situate in
Macquarie St belonging to and building by Clarkson, to be finished in a masterly and workmanlike manner.
A farm at Windsor -- let to George Lawder (actually Louther.)
17 farms owned by Clarkson at Bunburry Curran (near Campbelltown)
84 head of cattle and livestock, 4 stacks of    wheat, the household furniture, a cart, horse    and implements of husbandry at Woodland Grove at Airds.
    (We wonder if this is the same cart and horse put up for sale by auction in July 1817 as a result of the action brought against Clarkson by Terry.)
    The first and last abovementioned possessions would appear to be the same properties and were perhaps mentioned twice to ensure all inclusions were covered.
    All this amounted to a VERY IMPRESSIVE ESTATE and the entire list of properties, premises and goods were mortgaged for the IMPRESSIVE SUM of £12,000, signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of William Fleming and John Cureton.
    The windmill referred to in the indenture was built by Clarkson himself and was run in partnership with Richard Palmer.(15) It was built for the purpose of co-ordinating the business of farming and retailing. Here Thomas had facilities to mill his grain for his duel trades of baking and brewing and he was able to offer the services of his mill to the inhabitants.
    The house in Macquarie St let to Edward Roche was probably the property purchased from Andrew Kaine by Catherine Clarkson Jnr. Edward Roche had arrived in the colony on the "Minstral" in 1811(16) so possibly would have known Thomas Clarkson for some years. Edward's wife, Margaret was to have dealings with Catherine Clarkson Snr, at a later date.
    Lamb's Farm at Portland Head was still tenanted by John Everett when Commissioner Bigge tabled his statistics on Emancipist farmers in the Hawkesbury district in 1820. John Watson was the other tenant mentioned, so presumably he was occupying the other portion of the same farm.(17) (formerly tenanted by Fitzpatrick),
    The farm at Windsor in the possession of George Lawder was known as Whitton's Farm (formerly Barnes') and was in his tenancy from 1815, immediately after it became Clarkson's property.(18)
    The name Woodland Grove that appears here may well have been the name of Thomas' home at Bunburry Curran but no further mention of that name has been noted on any other document or source of information sighted during our research.

 Page last updated -  7 July 2006