Newington MAXI CAB TAXI SERVICES SYDNEY

John Blaxland purchased 520 hectares of land in 1807 and retained the original grants of Waterhouse, Shortland, Archer, and Haslam. He named the estate Newington after his Kent, England family estate. In 1827, Blaxland was producing 8 tonnes of salt per week for the Sydney market from a series of salt pans he erected on the banks of the Parramatta River. Additionally, Blaxland developed a tweed mill, a lime kiln, and a flourmill. Newington House was finished in 1832, while St Augustine’s Chapel was erected in 1838.

In 1843, Blaxland granted the Australian Trust Company a mortgage on the property. After his death in 1851, the Trust Company recouped the mortgage by selling the property to John Dobie. In 1854, the Blaxland family repurchased the estate from Dobie but provided it as collateral for a substantial loan. In 1860, the property was conveyed to the Official Assignee of the Insolvent Estate of Edward James Blaxland, who then leased the property to the Methodist Church, who created Newington College on the site. In 1877, John Wetherill acquired the land, which spanned the area between the present-day Holker Street and Carnarvon Street.

Explorations of coal mines were conducted by Blaxland in 1841. He dug a number of six-meter trenches, attracting the attention of the Australian Mining Company. After reaching an agreement, the two parties conducted many failed explorations. The City of Sydney Coal Company obtained the right to mine coal at the site in 1878. Without success, the company drilled to a depth of 457 metres. Australian Timber Company was founded in 1855 to utilise the timber stands in Newington and the surrounding area. During the late 1870s and 1880s, Sydney’s suburbs expanded fast, and it was thought that establishing a residential town between Sydney and Parramatta would be a profitable endeavour. This proved not to be the case.