The first white settlers arrived in the district in the 1820-1840 period. There was a relatively low level of violence between the Aborigines and the early white settlers, and in some cases there was friendly co-operation. Diseases brought by the Europeans took a terrible toll.
Aborigines were not allowed to give evidence in court unless they had adopted Christianity.
Some Aborigines worked on the farms of the district until the early part of the twentieth century. However, around 1900 the Aboriginal Protection Board rounded up most of the surviving Aborigines and put them on reserves. Many of those from the Hunter ended up at Purfleet near Taree.