Grovetown (sometimes spelled Grovestown, Grove Town or Groves Town) was originally the name of an 1869 subdivision of 13 acres in North Lambton, bounded by Hill St, Morehead St, Dent St, and Newcastle Rd. Later subdivisions of adjacent land in the North Lambton area also took on the Grovetown name.
The usage of the name appears to subside in the 1890s, with one of the last references in the newspaper being in a report on a Lambton council meeting in 1912.
The original 1869 subdivision
Although there is no contemporaneous confirmation, it is reasonable to assume that the subdivision was named after Thomas Grove, one of the founding directors of the Waratah Coal Company in 1863.
To show the rising value of land in our mining townships, a land sale was held on Monday last, by Mr. D. T. Bishop, auctioneer of this town, at a spot called Grovetown, the property of the Waratah Coal Mining Company, and adjoining tho township of Lambton. Thirty-three lots were sold, and they averaged £15 each, which is double that which was realised a few months back for the adjoining allotments.
Empire, 20 May 1869.
Building of residential homes on the subdivision proceeded almost immediately.
At Grovetown, the land lately sold by Mr. D. T. Bishop, preparations are being made for building, trees are being felled, and the ground cleared.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 June 1869.
Deposited Plan Lodgement book entry for DP4:
54 | Waratah Coal Co. | County of Northumberland | “Grovetown
Lambton, Parish of Newcastle, Subdivision of Waratah Coal Company’s 195 (acres) 1 (rood) 0 (perch)
1885 subdivision
In 1885 an adjacent subdivision of 231 allotments also used the name “Grove Town”
GROVE TOWN LAND SALE. This important and large estate is to be sold by auction, this day, on the ground by Messrs. Edward and Tighe, at 2 o’clock. Grove Town is a further sub-division of the Waratah Coal Company’s property, comprising about 70 acres, divided into 231 allotments, mostly all containing a quarter of an acre, situated between Lambton and Waratah. The sub-division is large, embracing the whole of the locality around Jesmond and Lambton ; the streets are all 66 feet wide, and from the top of the hill, adjoining Lambton, is one of the grandest sites that can be obtained in the whole of the districts, having a splendid view of the ocean, the harbour, Hunter-River, and mining townships.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 24 October 1885.
[Both the newspaper article above, and an advertisement at the time mention 231 allotments, however the real estate poster only shows 221 allotments. The reason for this discrepancy is unknown.]
Entry in Deposited Plan lodgement book for DP1580 in 1885:
1580 | Waratah Coal Company | County of Northumberland | Grove Town, Lambton & Waratah, Parish of Newcastle, continuation of Deposited Plan 54.
Entry in Deposited Plan lodgement book for DP1700:
1886 Subdivision (Hubbard & Others)
A small subdivision of 44 allotments in 1886, bounded by Hill/George/Young/Dent streets was also given the name “Grove Town”
1700 | Hubbard G. H. & others | County of Northumberland | Lambton Heights, Grove Town, Lambton, Parish of Newcastle, subdivision of part of 195 acres grant to the Waratah Coal Company
1886 Re-subdivision (Scholey)
In the DP1580 subdivision, property investor John Scholey purchased a number of adjacent allotments, and then immediately re-subdivided the land into a larger number of smaller allotments.
1780 | Scholey, J. | County of Northumberland | Lambton Heights & Rose Hill, Grove Town, Parish of Newcastle, re-subdivision of part of Section D, J, L & M of DP1580
As an example, in Section D of DP1580 Scholey purchased 10 allotments and then subdivided them into 21 smaller allotments to form Section G of DP1780.
This page is part of the collection of Newcastle’s Obsolete Place Names.