Hartley Court House - 1837 to 1937

30 HARTLEY AND ITS COURT-HOUSE.
According to the census taken in March, 1846, the number
of inhabitants in the Police District of Hartley was 1365, of
which 883 were males. In the township itself there were 62
residents, 31 being males. Of the inhabitants of the District,
209 males over 21 years and 159 under 21 years could not read ;
71 males over 21 years and 36 under 21 years could read but
not write, while of those females under 21 years, 169 could
not read and 39 could read but not write. Most of the
inhabitants were engaged in agricultural and pastoral occupations.
There were two doctors in the district and only one
inhabitant under the h ead in g: “ Alms-people, Pensioners,
Paupers, &c.” . The Police District contained 187 houses,
twelve of which were in the township of Hartley.
On January 1,1849, Frederick E obert D ’A rcy was appointed
Clerk of Petty Sessions at Hartley.
Near the beginning of 1851, just prior to the discovery of
gold in the west, Heyward Atkins was appointed Provincial
Inspector of Police for the District of Moreton Bay. The
people of Hartley District, among whom he had now been
living for over ten years, sincerely regretted his departure.
The Court-House was crowded oh January 16, 1851, when a
testimonial was presented to the “ universally beloved and
respected Mr. Atkins ” . A bout two weeks later he was presented
with a gold watch and appendages, a double-barrelled rifle
and a brace of pistols, for the purchase of which £50 had been
collected.
C h u r c h o f S t . J o h n t h e E v a n g e l i s t i s B u i l t .
Although numerically strong the members of the Church
of England were behind other religious denominations in the
district, who had neat churches and their own clergymen. On
July 7, 1850, the Eev. Thomas Sharpe of Bathurst visited
Hartley and was obliged to conduct Divine service in the
Court-House. In the Sydney Morning Herald of August 5,
1852, was published a long list showing the amounts both of
paid and unpaid subscriptions to a church building fund. One
acre for a church was surveyed on June 13, 1856. A t last
on April 21,1858, the corner stone of the Church of St. John the
Evangelist was laid by the Bishop of the Diocese. A collection
was made and amounted to £110. The Anglican minister in
the district was the Rev. William Lisle. In the jBathurst Free