As a reward for their excellent work, Macquarie allowed four convict timber cutters to settle on small areas of land at Paterson River. And so began the story of the first Europeans to settle outside the Sydney basin.

“This was actually the earliest settlement outside the Sydney basin, which is quite incredible,” author of European Settlement at Paterson River 1812 to 1822 Brian Walsh said.

In his book, the local historian focuses on those who settled in the area on both sides of the Paterson River from 1812.

The book coincides with the 200th anniversary of Woodville – also the birthplace of the Maitland Wonder Les Darcy.

“The area mainly has a convict history and many of them reoffended and were sent to Newcastle and actually Newcastle is the key to understanding how they came to be here,” Mr Walsh said.

One of the first to settle – at what was known as Paterson Plains – was a young man by the name of John Tucker jnr.

In 1811 at age 16, Tucker was employed as a government sawyer at Newcastle. Later that year he absconded from the settlement without permission and was listed as a runaway.

He eventually became the owner of the remaining Albion Farm. Tucker died in 1838 and is buried on the farm.

“It’s a trite and worn out phrase but these people really were pioneers,” Mr Walsh said. “This once was a rainforest and they had to carve a bit out of it, run livestock through it and there were lots of runaway convicts and, at times,  violent episodes. It was a real frontier.”

n Woodville will celebrate its bicentenary on October 20 and 21.