Jerrys Plains
Rural village in the Hunter River valley
Located 247 km north-west of Sydney via Cessnock and Singleton, Jerry's Plains is a pretty rural village situated on fertile green river flats by the Hunter River.

Mineralogist William Parr ventured as far north as the hills above Doyles Creek, to the south-west of the village, during an expedition in 1817. Two years later another expedition, authorised by Governor Macquarie and led by John Howe, followed roughly the same route then traced what is now known as Doyle's Creek to its junction with the Hunter River. They then pursued the Hunter eastwards to approximately the Jerry's Plains townsite but stopped there and returned to Sydney. However, having travelled overland they did not realise that it was the Hunter until they returned the next year and followed its course to Wallis Plains (Maitland). Howe's Aboriginal guide, Myles, told him that this was 'Coomery Roy', the land of the Kamilaroi peoples who apparently called it 'Pullmyheri' or 'Pullumunbra'.

One theory regarding the town's name relates to Jeremiah Butler, an ex-convict and member of Howe's 1820 expedition, who looked after the party's base camp. An article in the Maitland Mercury claimed he died when gangrene set in after his pistol exploded, blowing his thumb off. He was buried opposite the land then occupied by the village post office. Others believe it was named after the chief of the local Aborigines.

Charles Harpur, widely considered Australia's first important poet, acted as postmaster in the town for a period in the 1840s, during which time he was writing verse and columns for the Maitland Mercury. He married Mary Doyle, daughter of Cyrus Doyle, one of the earliest settlers in the area, after whom Doyle's Creek is named. It is to her that some of his love poetry is addressed.

The original village was situated a kilometre or two east of today's township, on the banks of Redmanvale Creek. The present site was surveyed in 1840 although land sales did not proceed until 1857. Even then the village did not really start to drift westwards until the 1870s. The last remnants of the old townsite were washed away in the 1955 floods.

 

 

 

Things to see:  

Post Office Store
To the left, when entering the town from the east, are the old Catholic cemetery on the banks of Redmanvale Creek, and, a little further west, the old Anglican cemetery. The first road you pass on the left coming into town is Wombo St. Just beyond it are the post office and store, designed by James Barnet and built in 1881 of handmade bricks on a foundation of locally-quarried sandstone. Today it serves as the local tourist information centre.

 

School and Police Station
Turn left off the main road (Pagan St) into Piribil St and take the first right into Doyle St which is classified by the National Trust and lined with native trees. On the left is the stone teacher's residence and the Gothic-style public school (1880). Opposite is the police station (1880) with hipped roof, verandah, vented gable and timber extension. The sandstone for all of these buildings came from a quarry located behind the school.

 

Churches
At the end of Doyle St turn right into Popong St where you will find the town's finest architectural monument, St James Anglican Church (1875-79), a lovely country church designed by one of colonial Australia's most talented architects, J. Horbury Hunt. Of particular note is the decorative chancel arch which extends to the exterior of the church as buttresses and a stepped bell tower. There are arched lancet windows and the walls are of rough-faced sandstone. The rose window in the side wall of the chancel was designed to cast a lambent glow over the morning service.

At the end of Popong St turn left back into Pagan St. To the left is St Matthew's Catholic Church (1900), the town's third Catholic Church.

 

Stowan and Arrowfield Wines
At the end of town is a sign indicating the route to Muswellbrook, Denman, Arrowfield and Upper Hunter Wines. About 5 km along this road, to the left-hand side of the road, is Strowan, a property granted to James Robertson in 1825. His son was Sir John Robertson, five times premier of NSW and the author of the highly significant Robertson Land Act of 1861 which opened up the Australian countryside to small selectors.

The white, rendered homestead with a dark green roof was built for a subsequent owner c.1860. It has shuttered French windows and a flagged verandah on three sides with cast-iron pillars and a fine cast-iron valance. There is also a two-storey kitchen wing, weatherboard stables and an outhouse. It is now on land owned by Coolmore Stud. It appears just after the new house which is also white but with a light green roof.

Just beyond Coolmore Stud is Arrowfield, a winery open seven days from 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. with picnic and barbecue facilities and a restaurant open Thursday to Sunday, tel: (02) 6576 4041. The Arrowfield estate was granted in 1824 to George Bowman.

 

Backroad to Denman
If you ignore the main Denman turnoff and continue along Pagan St, you will come to Queen St which heads off to the left. This is an alternative country drive to Denman past Apple Tree Flat (6km) and Doyle's Creek (12 km).

There is an unusual tree stump to the right, 2 km out of town on the roadside. 4.3 km from Jerry's Plains is Apple Tree Rd which heads off to the left through flat farming country to nowhere in particular.

9.5 km from Jerry's Plains is Doyle's Creek Rd on the left which follows the course of the creek (on the right) to the very foot of the mountains, which represent the northern limit of William Parr's exploratory expedition of 1817. Two years later the party of John Howe breached the mountains, following the creek north to its junction with the Hunter River then pursuing the river east to Jerry's Plains and, in 1820, to the Singleton area. Doyle's Creek is named after Cyrus Doyle, who was granted land at the junction of the creek and the Hunter River in 1825. He was the son of Andrew Doyle, exiled for life for his part in the Irish uprisings of 1798 and 1801. Cyrus's daughter Mary married the poet Charles Harpur.

The drive down Doyle's Creek Rd is very pleasant and it is worth taking the time for a short excursion as the mountains of Wollomi National Park loom overhead. At close quarters the spectacle is quite awesome and a little unnerving.

2 km along the road is a very old and decrepit timber church. There is a gate at 5.5 km, after which the road climbs and the scenery slowly improves. To the right is very green, flat country surrounded by towering mountains.

 

Lemington Road
About 4 or 5 km east of Jerry's Plains, on the road to Singleton, Lemington Rd heads off to the left to the Hunter Valley Mine (9 km), the scene of major industrial disputes between Rio Tinto and its employees in 1998. The road passes over the Hunter River at Moses Crossing where the adjacent land is quite lush - a nice spot for a picnic.

 

 

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Jerrys Plains