Dark Tours!
Interactive History and Ghost Tour!
Join us for a night at the Hinton School of Arts which was first opened in 1869 and hear stories about the Hinton Pioneer Cemetery dating back to the early 1800's. Get hands on with a wide range of devices and see what responses you discover!
In 1821, Robert Callum Dillin, aged 30, arrived in Australia on the ship "Jessie". He received a grant of 600 acres of land where the Hinton township now stands today. Soon after with the help of an overseer and convict labour, he cleared the land for cultivation and cattle. By 1849, Dillin decided to subdivide his estate to create a private town. Robert Dillin died in October 1841 and was buried at the Morpeth Cemetery.
On December 12th, 1868, tenders were called for the erection of the Hinton School of Arts building. Builder J. Coulter of Morpeth won the contract. Architects Bell and Franklin of West Maitland designed the building. The foundation stone was laid in February 1969. The building was finished and opened on the 25th September 1869. The two front rooms were added in the next two years. The Hinton School of Arts had been used for many years by the local schools for arts and performances.
During the 1893 flood the dreaded disease of Typhoid fever had taken possession of the small town of Hinton and the School of Arts building was used as a hospital. The building was filled with patients and many deaths occured. The Typhoid fever came again in January 1895 with many people stricken. The Baptist Minister, The Rev. W. Chaseling died of the disease. The cause of the Typhoid was thought to be from seepage from backyard toilet pits into wells nearby as well as seepage from the cemetery into Dillin's Lagoon where the town drew most of its water supply.
William. L. Smith aged 39, died from Typhoid Fever and is buried in the Hinton Pioneer Cemetery.
