Early settlers in Sutton

Sutton’s first settler, John Brown, was previously a Methodist minister and moved from Devonshire in April 1827. Following the premature death of his wife, in 1831 he occupied land just to the north of the present town site, on a property now known as ‘Jerrabiggery’. He erected fencing, a small weatherboard cottage and dairy, and purchased sheep and cattle. Sadly though, all Brown’s efforts were in vain, for a severe drought at the time caused his crops to fail, and disease brought about the loss of all his sheep and cattle. In December 1833, he was forced to sell his land to William Guise, of ‘Bywong’, who had already acquired large areas of land to the south of this plot. Guise, the son of a sergeant in the NSW Corps, was apparently related to Louis XVI’s wife, Marie Antoinette.

‘Bywong’ is situated some six kilometres north of Sutton. Under Guise’s control, its boundaries were extended, stretching through most of the southern end of Gundaroo. William Guise remained there for many years until his death in 1850. The Guise family, including a brother, Richard, was among the largest in the area, and although their name is rarely seen nowadays, some descendants remain in the district through female lines.

In 1835 surveyor Robert Hoddle selected a site for a village reserve while he was surveying further grants for William Guise. The provision of the site was in accordance with the Surveyor-General’s policy at that time. The area had some attractive features and a reasonable water supply as it was located at the confluence of the Yass River and McLaughlin’s Creek. Guise’s son-in-law, Joseph Sutton, owned a relatively small property adjacent to this site known as ‘Woodlands’.

Source: “Sutton Public School: 125 Years of Education, 1871-1996” by Rob Lord.


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