Hinton

Postcode: 2321

Hinton is a tiny historic township north of Morpeth located just 3 km north-east of Morpeth on the banks of the Hunter River and 171 km north of Sydney, 40 km north-west of Newcastle and just 8 km north-east of Maitland, is the tiny village of Hinton which has some genuinely historic buildings though none of any great beauty.

Hinton was a land grant made out to the merchant R.C. Dillin in 1823. The rich alluvial soil made the area ideal for crop farming with the produce shipped down to Newcastle and beyond to Sydney as early as 1824. A post office was established in 1835 and the village came into existence through the subdivision of Dillin's property in 1840. A wharf was built in 1844. However the town had declined by the end of the 19th century.

To get to Hinton cross the bridge over the Hunter at Morpeth and take the immediate right along the Hinton Rd across the river flats of Phoenix Park. This area was originally known as Paterson's Plains, which stretched along the northern bank of the Hunter from the nearby junction of the Hunter and Paterson Rivers south-west to the area now known as Bolwarra. Although a few farmers had been allowed to undertake some farming in the area the first permanent settlers were 12 ex-convicts authorized in 1818. Another 11 were allowed on the other side of the river at Wallis Plains, those being the first European settlers of Maitland.

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