John Howe (Australian settler)

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John Howe (1774–1852) was an English-born free settler, builder, and explorer who helped shape early New South Wales. He was born near Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England, and planned to become a teacher before emigrating to Australia. After working in London, he sailed to Sydney in June 1802 on the Coromandel with his wife Frances Ward and their daughter Mary, and received 100 acres of land at Mulgrave Place on the Hawkesbury River. Frances died a few months later and was buried at Parramatta.

In 1811 Howe became a licensed auctioneer at Windsor. He and James McGrath then worked to upgrade the road from Sydney to Windsor and built a toll bridge over South Creek at Windsor, later known as Howe’s Bridge. They also enlarged the Windsor wharf in 1815 and built another wharf in 1816. Howe served as Windsor’s chief constable from 1814 to 1821 and as coroner from 1821 to 1828.

Howe played a key role in exploration. In 1819 he led a party seeking a wagon-route from the Hawkesbury to the Hunter River. They reached the Hunter near Doyles Creek and found grazing land, but the route needed improvement. In 1820, with a larger party and two Aboriginal guides, he followed the guides’ advice to find a better route that became the Bulga Road. He reached the Hunter at Maitland on 15 March 1820. For his work, Governor Macquarie granted him land near Singleton: 700 acres at Paticks Plains and a large block near Singleton, which he named Redbourneberry; a further 500 acres were granted in 1824. This work helped establish the town of Singleton.

In 1811 Howe married Jane Raworth Kennedy, and they had nine children. He retired in 1839 to Raworth near Morpeth, New South Wales, and died there on 19 December 1852. He is buried at Morpeth, and Jane died in 1859.

Howe’s legacy lives on in place names such as Howes Park in Singleton, Howes Swamp, Howes Mountain, and Howes Valley along the Bulga Road. The Redbourneberry estate and Raworth farm are also linked to his history.