Ian Broadfoot,
Lake Macquarie City Council
Box 1906 Hunter Region Mail Exchange
NSW 2310

Dear Ian ,

Reverend Threlkeld - London Missionary Society Belmont Mission Station

You remember that we were given some historic notes on Green Point Reserve I was disappointed that the Aboriginal mission house was considered to have possibly been at Green Point itself.

I knew that this was not correct even though the mission station’s land grant extended to include the Warners Bay area across to the ocean and down to the entrance at Reid’s Mistake.

Knowing this I thought I had better get a more accurate location of the Mission Station house.

I am enclosing a copy of a Crown Plan 623 - 1501 for portion 60 on which the annotation "Old Mission House" is shown. The map is from the original made on March 22nd 1865 by Surveyor D.M. Maitland. It shows the traverse points clearly and if the house was near the waterfront at the commencement of the annotation I have estimated that it is at the end of the modern day Victoria Street.

It is extraordinary that the City of Lake Macquarie has not more accurately located such an important part of its history as it is obvious that the exact location could be marked using the old surveyors map and field notes.

There is a small openspace area and an old retaining wall made up principally of a tuffaceous shale blocks with Permian fossil plants and a few old house bricks forming the boundary of the property and embankment for the swimming pool. I think that the mission house must have been at this location with commanding views over the Lake and across the Belmont area that no doubt was cultivated from the stream shown in the plan.

It’s just a concrete drain today.

To verify this location I will try to obtain the surveyor’s field note book which will no doubt mention the mission house.