Hartley Court House - 1837 to 1937

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HARTLEY AND ITS COURT-HOUSE. 29
Roman Catholics formed a very large proportion of the local
community and soon set about building up a fund for the
erection of a church. The Eev. Michael Cavanagh was the
priest at the time. B y October, 1841, private contributions for
this purpose amounted to £300. In February, 1842, the
Government approved of an allowance of aid equal to the
amount of private contributions not exceeding one thousand
pounds. The site for the Roman Catholic Church opposite the
Court-House was surveyed in 1842. In 1845 one acre was
granted for a Rom an Catholic burial ground. A granite tor
is conspicuous east across the gully from the church. According
to Surveyor Liddell [1877] its name is Kew-y-ahn.
G o v e r n o r a n d L a d y M a r y F i t z R o y V is i t H a r t l e y .
Governor and Lady Mary FitzR oy visited the country
districts in order to acquire a personal knowledge of the wants
and capabilities of the part of the country visited. On November
12, 1846, they paused with their suite at Hartley on their way
to Bathurst. Lieutenant-Colonel Mundy, a member of the
party, describing the landscape from the Pass of Victoria
wrote : “ The valley on the left looked dark, desolate, and
wholly uninhabited ; on the right lay the smiling Vale of
Clywd and the little township of Hartley, upon which the road
drops as gently as could possibly be contrived by human art.
“ Ere we reached this highland hamlet we came upon a
considerable body of horsemen, who, saluting his Excellency
with loud and hearty cheers, so astonished our horses, if not
ourselves, as nearly to drive the whole cavalcade over the
precipice. In a cloud of dust, and with wild huzzas, they
closed round us, and bore us away to the Court-house, where
the usual duel of address and reply was instantly and warmly
engaged in by the authorities of the place and the Governor.
As we drove down the hill, with our loyal and uproarious escort
galloping alongside, an individual spurring at my elbow suddenly
disappeared, horse and man, over the edge of a rude bridge into
a watercourse below. N ot one of his townsmen pulled up—
no one even looked behind ; my servant however dropped from
the carriage and ran to his assistance. The indifference of his
companions was at once explained. He was only a negro !
“ The Court-house and Catholic chapel of Hartley are
prettily situated. My sketch was taken from a spot just
beyond these objects.”