Hawkesbury People & Places
Spencer
Locality
Mural on the bank of Mangrove Creek at Spencer, NSW depicting aspects of the life and history of the village.
Cathy McHardy 24 August 2020.
The small village of Spencer, NSW is located at the junction of the Hawkesbury River and Mangrove Creek. A new public wharf was opened by Central Coast Council (formed by the amalgamation of Gosford and Wyong local government areas) on 7 December 2019. The public school closed in 2014. There is a general store and cafe, restaurant and caravan park. Picnic tables line the foreshore of Mangrove Creek providing a lovely vantage point from which to observe the abundant bird life and watch the boats go by.
Looking through the mangrove trees to the boats moored on the tranquil waters of Mangrove Creek.
Cathy McHardy 24 August 2020
Spencer General Store and cafe
Cathy McHardy 24 August 2020
Reference: Hornsby Shire Historical Society 1979, Pioneers of Hornsby Shire, 1788-1906, Library of Australian History, p.259.
Spencer is the current name of a place called “Fernleigh”, where James Crosland took up land on the Hawkesbury. Crosland was born in Yorkshire, England, emigrating to Australia in the 1850s, a free settler. Matthew Charlton had acquired land in 1856 on the eastern bank of Berowra Creek, and engaged Crosland’s son, Burton, as caretaker. He built the first homes for some of the settlers along Berowra Creek, and erected the stone chimney of the church on Bar Island.
Source: Gosford City Council
Spencer is a township presumed to be named for the Parish in which it is situated. Originally this area was known as Fernleigh. The true name origin of Spencer is unclear, but it is believed to be named after George John Spencer, second Earl Spencer (1758-1834), who was first Lord of the admiralty in 1794, and who held this position until 1810. He was a mentor of Lord Nelson, and oversaw many of the Royal Navy’s victories over the French.
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