NSWPlanned settlement
Toronto
A land company’s lakeside resort, named for a Canadian sculler.
1887Lakeside estate subdivided
WHAT STARTED IT
The Excelsior Land, Investment and Building Company bought part of the old Threlkeld grant on Lake Macquarie’s western shore and subdivided it in 1887, as the northern railway opened. It built the Toronto Hotel and promoted the estate for fishing, sailing and picnics.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
The site had been Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld’s Ebenezer mission from 1831 to 1841, and he mined coal at nearby Coal Point from 1840. The company’s private branch railway from Fassifern opened in 1891 and was rebuilt by the government in 1910–11, running until 1990.
TURNING POINTS
1887The Excelsior Company subdivides the estate; its Toronto Hotel is nearly finished by September.
1891The company’s private branch railway from Fassifern opens on 7 March.
1911The rebuilt line reopens under government control.
1920The Prince of Wales visits Toronto by launch and leaves on the Royal Train.
1990Passenger services on the Toronto line end.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
The commercial hub for the western side of Lake Macquarie, with The Boulevarde as its main street, a courthouse, hospital and schools. The 1887 brick hotel still stands near the foreshore.
KEEP READING · SOURCESTrove · Sydney Mail, 17 September 1887, ‘Lake Macquarie and Neighbourhood’Trove · Daily Telegraph, 12 July 1887, ‘The Lake Macquarie Frontages’Trove · Evening News, 10 March 1891, ‘Opening of the Toronto–Fassifern Railway’Trove · Sydney Morning Herald, 19 June 1911, ‘Newcastle: Fassifern–Toronto Railway’Trove · Daily Telegraph, 26 June 1920, ‘Lake Macquarie: The Prince’s Visit’NSW State Heritage Inventory · Fassifern to Toronto Branch Railway LineADB · Lancelot Edward ThrelkeldCoalfields Local History Association · TorontoWikipedia · Toronto