Not long after the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney in 1788, a small herd of six cattle escaped and weren't seen again by the British settlers for seven years. They were spotted, however, by theTharawal people. In a rock art site called Bull Cave near Campbelltown, they drewa number of cattle with pronounced horns. The Tharawal described the cattle to British explorers and in 1795 the British found a herd of around 60 cattle grazing in the area now known as Camden (true story - it's part of what drew people to the area).
The Tharawal initially worked with the local farmers but a drought in 1814 led to large numbers of neighbouringGandangara people moving into the area in search of food. Tensions developed between the British and theGandangara leading to skirmishes and a number of deaths on each side. Governor Macquarie felt a permanent settlement would lead to order in the area and so ‘Campbell-Town’ was born in 1820.
One-hundred years later these photos were taken. Two-hundred years later and it'll cost you a million dollars to buy a square-inch of land.
