East Kempsey - Step back in time, Rudder Park, NSW - Australian Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Just west of the old water reservoir, that now houses the local TANK FM radio station, is an informative sign. It reads:

"The first Europeans to settle on the Macleay River were Enoch William Rudder and the brothers John Henry Sullivan and Benjamin Robert Sullivan, sons of Major Benjamin Sullivan, Police Magistrate at Port Macquarie.

"Enoch William Rudder was a Sydney merchant who travelled from Port Macquarie by boat on the Maria River then overland to the Macleay River in 1835. In 1836 he purchased 812 acres on the eastern side of the river from Samuel Onions, a Sydney ironmonger, who had acquired the land as a grant. Rudder paid five shillings an acre.

"By November in 1836 Rudder had subdivided the high western portion of the land to create a private town. He put 35 blocks to auction in Sydney. Rudder named this town Kempsey, because the landscape of the Macleay Valley reminded him of Kempsey on the River Severn in Worcestershire, England. This area is now known as East Kempsey.

"Rudder retained a prime location for his own home, Kempsey Villa. Situated on the crown of a hill, with magnificent views of the Macleay Valley and New England ranges in the west, Kempsey Villa was the grandest residence in the village for many years. It was built in 1836 by a team of Sydney builders assisted by Rudder's assigned convict labourers.

"The grand home is no more. This historic site is now a tourist park and lookout, created in 1956 by the Apex Club of Kempsey.

"The first regular ferry crossed the Macleay in 1841. This brought the settlements on both sides of the river closer together. A thriving river trade became established and in 1889 the East Kempsey Dry Dock was built to service river craft. This area, down from Ferry Street, became known as Dock Flat."

"In 1848 a National School was opened near Dock Flat - one of the first four Board of National Education schools in NSW. A Church of England school opened in 1853 on the site of the St Albans Anglican Church in Innes Street."

The East Kempsey Primary School opened in 1881. The building was completed in 1883 and a school has operated on the site ever since."

"Kempsey Bridge opened 1900"

Age/Event Date: 1835 - Arrival; 1836 - purchase/build home Type of Historic Marker: Plaque only Historic Resources.: Macleay River Historical Society, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Kempsey Shire Council Type of Historic Marker if other: Not listed Related Website: Not listed

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