Singletons Reserve

Singletons Reserve located at 154 Mill Road, Kurrajong New South Wales was gazetted by the NSW Geographical Names Board in September 2012. The name commemorates the construction and operation of two water-powered grain mills by Benjamin Singleton on Little Wheeny Creek. In 1816, the upper mill known as “speedwell” was advertised for sale in the Sydney Gazette and NSW Advertiser.

a complete Overshot WATER MILL, and 100 Acres of good LAND, known by the name of the Kurrajong Brush, distant from Windsor about 9 miles, where there is a constant supply of water, the Mill being built on the Winney [sic] Creek, by which said Farm is bounded on the eastward, and on the westward by the Mountains, from the situation of which there is an excellent run for cattle.— The Mill will be engaged to be capable of grinding 40 bushels of wheat daily, and from there being no Mill within a considerable distance, it will have constant work.

The mill was not sold but was leased to John Town of Richmond until about 1819. It then became the property of William Leverton until his death in 1824. The reserve contains surviving elements of the mill race and other structures. Two round stones from the mills were found along the creek, one of them reportedly unearthed by workmen constructing piers for a bridge prior to November 1922. The stones are now displayed in the village of Kurrajong.

Early in 1888, George Albert Cleeve decided to purchase the mill property of 305 acres for just over £3,000 on Little Wheeny Creek from Andrew Town, Charles William Lawson, Mary Hale Lawson, William Hillier Holborrow, James Richard Hill, William Charles Hill, The Honourable William Alexander Long, George Hill, who were all trustees of the will of John Town who died in 1846. The parcel included Thomas Howell’s 40 acres (Portion 113), Samuel Leverton’s (junior) 60 acres (Portion 114), Samuel Leverton ’s (senior) 100 acres (Portion 121), and 50 acres ascribed to Benjamin Singleton but now marked Samuel Leverton (Portion 122) and a 10-acre portion of the 25 acre grant promised to James Doyle (Portion 112).

The conveyance document from the trustees to G A Cleeve (Old Systems Book 487 Number 225) stated that the ten acre portion which had been promised to James Doyle included “the remains of an old mill” which was named in the document as the Wellington Mill. Cleeve passed away in August 1888 and his death notice stated that his residence was “The Mill” Kurrajong.

The two millstones on display in Kurrajong village adjacent to Memorial Park. Cathy McHardy October 2016.

Find out more about the site of Singletons Reserve from the Conservation Management Strategy prepared for Hawkesbury City Council in September 2017.

The Singleton Watermills Archaeological Site (and movable heritage) was recently listed on the NSW State Heritage Inventory as a place of state significance.

Singleton Water Mills Archaeological Site (and moveable heritage) is historically important as possibly the earliest example of water mills servicing the needs of colonial Sydney and NSW. The site has potential to reveal even more information regarding local Aboriginal culture, the development of water milling in the Hawkesbury, and the development of associated trade and travel routes of the region.

Read more about Benjamin Singleton and also the establishment of his water mill on the Hawkesbury River downstream from Wisemans Ferry at Singletons Mill

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