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Tocal (meaning 'plenty' in the local Aboriginal language) is a locality situated in the lower Hunter Valley, of New South Wales, Australia. Located approximately north of Maitland, and about north of Sydney it is located at the junction of the Paterson River and Webbers Creek. Prior to European exploration, Tocal was home to the Gringai clan of the Wonnarua people.〔 With European settlement, the area became the site of a major homestead and farm. Today the Tocal site has a collection of colonial farm buildings dating from the 1820s, a restored homestead and visitors centre, and the CB Alexander Campus of Tocal College and associated commercial farms. ==History== The Tocal area is the traditional land of the Gringai clan of the Wonnarua people, a group of indigenous people of Australia. Within the area are Aboriginal stone grindings indicating thousands of years of human activity. In 1822 land of the area was granted by the colonial government to James Phillips Webber.〔 Approximately 150 convict men and boys were living and working at Tocal between 1822 and 1840. They cleared the land, planted crops and built fences - transforming the area into a large farm. Some of the crops planted included wheat, barley, tobacco and grapes; there were also beef and dairy cattle, horses and merino sheep.〔 In 1834, Tocal was sold to Caleb and Felix Wilson, father and son. Four years later Caleb died, and in 1841 Felix built a homestead on the property which is still standing today.〔 In 1844 Charles Reynolds began to lease the property from the Wilsons. During the period 1844 to 1926 the Reynolds family ran the property as a stud, breeding Hereford, Devon and thoroughbred studs - some of the best cattle and horses for the time. In 1865 Felix Wilson died and Tocal was willed by entail to his unborn grandson, David Wilson KC, who wasn't born until 1879. It was not until 1907 that Wilson sold Tocal to Charles Reynolds son, Frank.〔(Guide to Tocal – Timeline ) Retrieved 20 August 2012〕 In 1926 Tocal was sold to Jean Alexander, who lived there with her sister Isabella and brothers Robert and Charles Boyd Alexander. Alexander's family had been blacksmiths and farmers at Nhill, owning 5000 acres in the area before moving to Tocal. Charles siblings Margaret and John had married, and hence been estranged from the family. Jean died in 1938 and left the property to Charles, the youngest. The following year Margaret's daughters Myrtle and Marguerita Curtis came to live with Charles at Tocal.〔 CB Alexander updated the property with new technology and mechanisation. He paradoxically indulged in the purchase of three Rolls Royce vehicles, despite his continual frugality in general. Realising his family line was at its end, he looked toward leaving the entire estate toward developing numerous agricultural colleges; As his estate still held land at 5 areas in NSW, he suggested numerous colleges - multiple at each area. He died in 1947, leaving a complex will. The will was mostly disregarded as unworkable, but was implemented in spirit by eventually providing for the establishment of the CB Alexander Agricultural College, Tocal, under the Presbyterian Church. Work began on the College in 1963 and it was opened by the Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies in 1965. In 1970 the College was run by the NSW Department of Agriculture. The Curtis sisters continued to live at the homestead until their deaths in 1985, when management of Tocal Homestead passed to the CB Alexander Foundation. In 1987 Tocal Homestead was first opened to visitors.〔 In 2002 the Tocal Homestead Visitor Centre was opened after extensive renovations to an existing hay shed. It is now a popular spot for wedding receptions. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tocal, New South Wales」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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