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There is an Aboriginal tradition that states that this whole region was created by Daramulen, the sky god who, it is believed is the source of all power, and now lives above their sky. In the same tradition many of the natural features of the area like the rivers and the lakes, were shaped by the Rainbow Serpent, who rests in the swamp at Freemans Waterhole.
Nobody is now sure where the exact borders of the different aboriginal tribes of the region lay, most of the Central Coast is thought to have been the country of the Darkinjung tribe. Wollombi is said to have been a meeting place of this tribe with two of its neighbours; the Guringai people and the Awabakal tribe. Cessnock is thought to have been the hunting area of the Darkinjung, who lived by fishing, gathering bush foods and hunting. Unfortunately, European settlement brought with it Smallpox, measles and other exotic diseases which rapidly took their toll in the Darkinjung country. There was believed to have been around 1500 aboriginies in 12 family groups living between the Hawkesbury River and Lake Maquarie before settlement, but by the census of 1827, only an estimated 65 persons in five family groups remained. It has been reported that the last Darkinjung person died in 1874. The building of the Great Northern Road in 1830 contributed greatly to the development of Cessnock from its beginnings as a private estate, to what it has become today. The junction of this road to Singleton and Maitland was a convenient overnight stop for Wollombi teamsters and it became a crossroads for produce travelling to and from destinations like Morpeth and points north-west. With fresh water provided by Black Creek and, in 1856, the establishment of the Cessnock Inn at this crossroads, the growth of a settlement here was inevitable. In due course, in 1874, the area became known as just Cessnock, rather than Cessnock Estate or Cessnock Inn.
This walk starts from the main street of the town. Cessnock abounds in the remnants of an earlier time, and much can be seen that will fascinate anyone interested in the growth of Australia.
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