Earliest Colonial Settler in Burwood recognised by Council

Published on 23 February 2021

Burwood Council has voted to officially recognise Sarah Nelson – Burwood’s Earliest Colonial Settler.

Mayor John Faker said from all available records it can be gleaned that Sarah Nelson was a wife, a mother, a farmer, our earliest colonial settler and that her journey was one of enormous courage, resourcefulness, hard work and determination.

“When Council was first formed in 1874 new streets and parks were built and named almost entirely after our early men: district pioneers, public servants, governors, mayors, aldermen, explorers, soldiers, statesmen, authors and royalty,” Mayor Faker said.

“Placed in context of these earlier times it is hardly surprising that Sarah Nelson’s story has largely been lost and forgotten, albeit for a few surviving records.

“But with so little recognition of our leading women, it is especially important this immense story of our earliest colonial settler is captured, treasured and forever honoured with Burwood Council its entrusted custodian.

“Council will now consult with the community about installing a plaque in honour of Sarah Nelson as part of our commitment to promote and celebrate the heritage of our local area.

“I would like to thank the Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney, Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Genealogy Society for their assistance in sourcing the death and burial record and final resting place of Sarah Nelson.

 “And many thanks to Clr Heather Crichton for her research and bringing this to the Council.”

Sarah Nelson, 1768-1817

Sarah Nelson was the ‘one free woman’ convict-wife amongst 141 convict women and six children who arrived in Sydney Cove aboard the female convict ship the Mary Ann in 1791.

Convict-wives made up such a small proportion of arrivals that they became known as ‘the forgotten women of Botany Bay’. The 11 transports of the Third Fleet in 1791 saw over 2,000 convicts, military personnel and public servants, who were mostly men, shipped to the colony with Sarah Nelson being one of just six convict-wives who arrived that year.

Eighty years before the proclamation of Burwood Council, Lieutenant Governor Major Francis Grose granted free settler Sarah Nelson (nee Goodwin), wife of convict Isaac Nelson, 15 acres of land known as ‘Nelson Farm’.

This land grant of 19 November 1794 confirmed Sarah Nelson as the earliest colonial settler to Burwood. Nelson Farm sat on what we know today as Malvern Hill Estate with the farm’s eastern boundary being Dickinson Avenue Croydon.

Sarah Nelson, died in December 18, 1817 aged 49 Years. Her death and burial is recorded and held in the Sydney Diocesan Archives of the Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney.

Her resting place is grave 42 within the site of Liverpool’s first burial ground, known today as Apex Park.  Governor Macquarie set aside the land as a public burial ground, with the first burial held in 1811.

Between 1811 and 1821 at least 122 people, including Sarah Nelson, were buried at the site before it was abandoned as a cemetery due to the land being excessively damp.

The Liverpool Cemetery Act 1950 allowed Liverpool Council to maintain the area as a ‘rest park and garden’ with Liverpool Apex Club improving the space in 1956, No headstones remain today.

     
Above: Location of Sarah Nelson’s Farm