Bridging the Hawkesbury River: Part 3
In the early days of European settlement in the colony of New South Wales, the only way to travel from Sydney to the "Coal River" - later to be Newcastle - was by sea. And that was fine by the colonial government, since the northern settlement was chiefly valued as a remote prison camp for the worst of the colony's convicts. Escaping overland from the Coal River was at first dangerous and often fatal. Newcastle was a punishment camp for the worst prisoners Over the years some convicts did manage to find their way back to…
