Morisset

Morisset is a suburb of the city of Lake Macquarie, Australia. As noted in the Lake Macquarie article, Lake Macquarie city more closely resembles a collection of towns. Morisset is one of those towns, and loosely speaking it is composed of a group of suburbs which are collectively separated from other nearby "towns" by kilometres of bushland. The 1996 census gives a population for the Morisset region of 17,249.

The town is named for Captain James Morisset, who camped there in 1823 while making the first overland journey from Sydney to Newcastle. Historically there has been considerable confusion over the spelling of the town: Morissett, Morriset, Morrissett and Morrisset have been used. According to the Newcastle Morning Herald:

Over the years there has been a great deal of argument about how the name of Morisset should be spelt and it is generally assumed that the early authorities had blundered. The blame lies at the door of the man after whom the township is called, an early Commandant of the convict settlement of Newcastle. He was fond of thinking up new ways of spelling his name.

The suburbs in the Morisset region are:

• Morisset
• Western suburbs:
  • Avondale
  • Cooranbong
  • Mandalong
  • Martinsville
• Eastern (peninsula) suburbs:
  • Bonnells Bay
  • Balcolyn
  • Brightwaters
  • Mirrabooka
  • Morisset Park
  • Silverwater
  • Sunshine
  • Windermere Park
  • Yarrawonga Park

The earliest settlement in the area was at Cooranbong in 1826, to the west of the current town and near the foot of the Wattagan Mountains. Initially various kinds of agriculture were conducted, and before long forestry became an important industry. The town itself was essentially non-existent until 1887, when the railroad came through. Morisset sprang up as a sawmill town clustered around the train station. Cooranbong (and nearby Martinsville and Avondale) maintain a separate identity to this day, and no doubt many residents would object to be lumped together with Morisset in this article.

In 1900, a psychiatric hospital opened on a large estate along the lake shore. At its height in the 1960s, Morisset Mental Hospital had 1,600 inmates. The Hospital continues to dominate Morisset's reputation, although it now holds less than 100 patients, and is threatened with closure.

Avondale is interesting in that it has a remarkably high Seventh-day Adventist population. Avondale University, a Seventh-day Adventist institution, was opened there in 1896, originally with the name Avondale College. The Church established the Sanitarium Health Food Company in 1898, to cater for their mainly vegetarian needs. A factory was built in the grounds of Avondale College. Sanitarium is now one of Australia's (and New Zealand's) leading breakfast food companies. The Avondale factory is still present, although very much expanded. Sanitarium is still wholly owned by the Church.

In more recent times, the Morisset Peninsula has become the main residential area. It has experienced a high rate of growth since the construction of Eraring Power Station in 1986. Most of Bonnells Bay is now what long-time residents quaintly refer to as "high-density housing", although by city standards it is decidedly low-density. Several retirement villages have been built, most of them only in the last decade. Subdivision of larger blocks has come close to saturation in many suburbs, with only a few hobby-farms still remaining, and precious little natural bushland left.

Further reading

• Iron Horse and Iron Bark: A history of Morisset and district, Beryl Mullard, ISBN 0-9579322-0-0