Blues Point
History
Blues Point was named after Billy Blue, a convict who arrived in Sydney on the Minorca on 14 December 1801, transported for stealing a bag of sugar. Physically imposing, he was described as a "strapping Jamaican Negro 'a very Hercules in proportion' with a bright eye and a jocular wit". He claimed to have served with the British Army in the American War of Independence. When he arrived in 1801 he only had two years of his sentence left and he was soon working on the harbour with boats and selling oysters. His friendly manner and humorous conversation made him popular and he became a notable local character. He married English-born convict Elizabeth Williams in 1805, and in 1807, was the only person licensed to ply a ferry across the harbour. Governor Macquarie named him "The Old Commodore" and he ran his ferry dressed in a blue naval officers coat and top hat. His ferry service grew to a fleet of 11 vessels, and in 1817, Governor Macquarie granted Billy Blue 80 acres (320,000 m) at what is now Blues Point. He died in 1834 at his North Sydney home.
Further reading
- Jim Haynes "The Best Australian Yarns and other true stories" Allen & Unwin 2013
References
- ^ Warne, Catherine (1984). Pictorial History, Lower North Shore. Kingsclear Books. ISBN 0-908272-83-9. Retrieved 12 June 2010.