The history of Paterson’s underground water wells is set to be unearthed in a new history book detailing days of a life gone by.
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Researched and written by Paterson residents Virginia Daniels and Judy Styman, and Marlene Atcheson of Hilldale, the book chronicles the underground storage water wells of early Paterson including a six-metre deep water hole in the grounds of historic Duninald.
“The house was built in two sections so the well would have been built in 1876 and back then so much of the early settlement was on the river,” Duninald owner Julia Wokes said.
Through her own research Mrs Wokes discovered that the Paterson River dried up in the 1840s forcing the then-owners of Duninald to rely on the well.
“In think people will be interested in what people did with the wells and how they were used,” Mrs Wokes said.
The Duninald property was granted to Captain William Dun in 1821, making it one of the first land grants in the area.
Captain Dun had arrived in Australia with his wife and two children.
The book - Cataloguing Underground Storage Water Wells of Early Paterson - features 19 wells.