People

Dunster Family

The Dunsters’ have been farming in Shellharbour since the 1860s. Joseph and Mary Dunster were the first of the family to settle in Australia. They sailed to Australia in 1838 with their seven children. The family first lived at Avondale Farm, Dapto.

Joseph and Mary’s eldest son, Joseph 2nd, married Jane Stratford in 1856 when he was about 30 years old. Jane was the stepdaughter of Robert Wilson who operated a flourmill at Shellharbour Village. Joseph and Jane settled at Tullimbar where they operated a store, before moving to higher ground in 1865, to improve Joseph’s health. The old cottage at the top of Dunster’s Lane.

In the mid-19th century families in Shellharbour relied on the shipping trade to make their living and survive. From as early as 1856, steamers called in at the harbour. In the years before the telegraph, when communication across Shellharbour was greatly restricted and the population widespread, a means of communicating with the outlying settlements was needed. The Dunster farm, The Hill, is the highest point in Shellharbour and is visible over almost all of the city, even to this day. High atop this hill the Dunster family kept watch for coastal ships calling at the harbour. When ships did arrive, a huge ball was raised into one of the large fig trees on the hill. Settlers in the low-lying areas of the Macquarie Valley would then set off to the harbour with their produce to take to the Sydney markets.

Joseph died in 1877 aged 51 years, and just five years later, Jane died aged 45. They left a family of four sons and four daughters.  Descendants of the Dunster family still farm The Hill today, where dairy cows can be seen grazing on the green hills.

Opening hours

Monday  9.30am–8pm
Tuesday 9:30am–8pm
Wednesday 9:30am–8pm
Thursday 9:30am–8pm

Friday 9.30am–5pm
Saturday 9am–3pm
Sunday 12pm–3pm

Shellharbour City Council acknowledges the traditional custodians of Dharawal Country and recognises their continued connection to the land. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and the contribution they make to the life of this city.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images or names of people who have since passed.