Towards Bellerive : the development of the Kangaroo Bay/Kangaroo Point area, 1806 to 1830

This study makes a first attempt to document from primary source material Bellerive's earliest settlement in 1806, when it was known as Kangaroo Bay and Kangaroo Point, and its subsequent development through to 1830. The end date was decided by limitation of time but proved to be a mile-stone marking the passing of an epoch of a rampant illegal stock trade and the consolidation of a commercial ferry service provided both by government and private individuals. Government interest in the area is apparent from Macquarie's intervention in 1812, to 1824 when Lieutenant-Governor Arthur attempted to domicile an Aboriginal group there. Reports from the late 1820s and early 1830s present it as most unsavoury, in contrast with Bellerive's later reputation as a fashionable watering-place. The current work makes no effort to investigate the latter phenomenon but suggests that such research would be worthwhile both in terms of land use study and changing human perceptions of their environment. The current study does draw attention to the early extensive settlement of the area and the role played by Calcutta arrivals and relocated Norfolk Islanders, including three who arrived in Australia in 1788 with the first fleet