Colonial

A naval officer, Lt William Bradley of the Sirius, was the first European to provide a written account of Homebush Bay and its environs. He describes large expanses of mudflats with dense scrub and open forest further away from the water. From 1793 land in the Bay area was granted to early colonists mainly for agricultural purposes.

Notable grantees included Thomas Laycock, Henry Waterhouse, Samuel Haslam and the Blaxland and Wentworth families. Early uses of the area included salt panning, a horse track, attempts at large scale subdivisions and a range of industrial uses.

Consider