Early European explorers through the region were James Blackman in 1821, followed later the same year by William Lawson, seeking a practicable pass through the ranges to the pastoral lands to the north-west.

[3][4] By the early 1830s Sir John Jamison, a wealthy colonial landholder, had established a pastoral run of about 18,000 acres in the Capertee Valley.

After Jamison's death in 1844 the ‘Capertee’ run was briefly leased to Benjamin Boyd (another landholder with extensive colonial holdings).

[13] Shervey erected a building called the Capertee Camp Inn to provide accommodation, food and beverages to travellers along the Sydney to Mudgee road.

The first specific mention of the Capertee Camp locality was in newspaper reports of the pursuit and capture of one of the two bushrangers who had robbed the Sydney mail coach in April 1863 at Cherrytree Hill between Bowenfels and Cudgegong.

The robbers were pursued by constables Wright and Cleary who finally captured one of the men at “a place called Eli Flat, between Capertee Camp and Freestone’s house”.

[14] In common with many roadside shanties in isolated locations Shervey's Capertee Camp Inn was not licensed but provided alcoholic drinks to travellers.

In October 1869 it was reported that Mary Shervey “of Capertee Camp, Mudgee Road” was summoned “for selling spirits without a license”.