David Dunlop
The man that built Mulla Villa
David Dunlop, lawyer, was born in County Antrim, Ireland in 1794. He married Eliza Hamilton Law in 1823 in Scotland, and they had five children. In February 1838 they arrived in Port Jackson and on the 10th June that year, he was appointed as the Police Magistrate at Penrith. On the 10th November 1839 he was transferred to Wollombi as its' first Magistrate on a salary of £250 per annum., He held this position until the 1st January 1847, when he was succeeded by Major Benjamin Sullivan. He remained in Wollombi until his death on the 24th March 1863.
David Dunlop was a forceful man with strong convictions, and he was far ahead of his time in the treatment of aboriginals;
"he advocated the wisdom of contracting with any willing aborigine for the completion of a limited and specific task, and then letting him return, dignity unimpaired, to his own tribal business."
He was also a difficult and quarrelsome man by nature, having been removed from office in Penrith after many disagreements with the unpaid magistrates.
He was initially popular with the free settlers by improving convict behaviour through his stern disciplinary measures, and he was an efficient administrator who involved himself heavily in the affairs of the district. But being autocratic and abrupt, he soon made enemies in the district, with people who were influential enough to have him removed through representation to Governor Gipps. It is not known at this stage what he did in the last 16 years of his life, but it is assumed that he looked after some of the official administration of government agencies in Wollombi.
“Super hospitality from like "hostess with the mostest" a memorable few days.”
Barbara Firth, Umina Beach, October 2007
