Coolangatta Estate

Berry, who married Wollstonecraft's sister in 1827, set up his headquarters at the foot of Mount Coolangatta, north of the river with tools, provisions and the people who were to make up the first community.

The partners used a combination of convict (referred to by Berry as 'Government Men') and free labour to drain the swamps, grow tobacco, potatoes, maize, barley and wheat and rear pigs and cattle, the latter kept for their hides and the production of milk and cheese.

Mills and workshops were established with tradesmen engaged in cask-making, building refabrication, experimental leather treatment, the production of condensed milk and gelatine, and shipbuilding; the first vessel being completed and launched as early as 1824.

After some initial disputes and at least one killing, Berry established a good relationship with the traditional owners of his land and the local Aboriginal population largely remained in place during his tenure.

[2] In 1860 Conrad Martens, who was a good friend of Alexander Berry, visited him at the Coolangatta Estate and made a series of sketches of the property and surrounding area.

David Berry nurtured the development of Broughton Creek village, and the town grew and flourished.

[4] After David's death, the Coolangatta Estate passed to the control of his cousin, Sir John Hay.

[7] John Hay made many improvements to the Coolangatta Estate and developed land which had previously not been usable.

[8] David Berry had left large bequests in his will amounting to almost 250,000 pounds and John had to raise the money to meet these costs.

The Aboriginal people, mainly living at the northern foot of Coolangatta Mountain, were driven off their traditional land in 1901, during Hay's time.

The local people were sent to a reserve called Roseby Park, established by the Aborigines Protection Board, in 1900, at Orient Point.

To his stepmother Jessie and four unmarried half-sisters Mabel, Kate, Nona and Agnes (Daisy) he left a life interest in the building called "The Cottage" and also the furniture contained within it.

[10] It seems that after this the two remaining half-sisters Mabel and Nona moved to Sydney and lived in the prestigious Astor apartments in Macquarie Street.

[11] The two women lead a very outgoing life and were frequently mentioned in the social pages of the newspapers.

This critical document helped to shape future foundational documents like the United Nations' Declaration on Rights of Indigenous People, and the 2014 Youth Statement on Indigenous Education drafted and ratified at the 2014 WIPCE in Honolulu, Hawai'i.