Editing Wyong Shire (section)

===Early history===
The traditional Aboriginal inhabitants of the lands now known as the [[Brisbane Water]] were the [[Guringai]] people of the [[Eora]] nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guringai.com.au/ |title=Guringai history |work=Services |publisher=Guringai Tribal Link Aboriginal Corporation |year=2010 |access-date=1 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421193944/http://guringai.com.au/ |archive-date=21 April 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Darkingung people occupied large areas inland west towards [[Rylstone]], and north to [[Cessnock, New South Wales|Cessnock]] and [[Wollombi]].<ref name="GosfordHistory">{{cite web |title=Some Significant events in Gosford History |url=http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/Suburbs/documents/history.html/ |publisher=Gosford City Council |access-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624025651/http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/Suburbs/documents/history.html/ |archive-date=24 June 2014}}</ref> The area now known as Wyong Shire developed alongside [[Putty Road]], connecting Sydney and the [[Hunter Valley]], with agriculture and timber forming the early industries. On the opening of the railway in 1889 to [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] the focus of commercial activity shifted eastward to the Town of Wyong. By 1903 the Norah Head Lighthouse was built and the first few houses and tourist accommodations began to appear along the coast.

In 1811, the [[Governor of New South Wales]], [[Lachlan Macquarie]], gave the first [[land grant]] in the region to William Nash, a former marine of the [[First Fleet]]. No further grants were made in the area until 1821.<ref>Bennett, F. C., ''The Story of the Aboriginal People of the Central Coast of New South Wales'', Brisbane Water Historical Society, 1968, p. 9.</ref> In 1840, the Brisbane Water Police District was proclaimed covering the area from the Hawkesbury River to Lake Macquarie and which administered local government under the control of magistrates.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230138392 |title=POLICE DISTRICTS. |newspaper=[[New South Wales Government Gazette]] |issue=52 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=26 August 1840 |access-date=1 December 2020 |page=821 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gosford District Historical Research Association (GDHRA) |title=City of Gosford: History of Local Government |date=1981 |publisher=Gosford District Historical Research Association and Gosford Printing Pty. Ltd. |location=Gosford |page=10}}</ref> In 1843, the Brisbane Water District Council was proclaimed on the same boundaries as the Police District, and replaced the appointed magistrates with an elected council as part of an early attempt to establish local government administration throughout the colony.<ref>GDHRA, p. 12.</ref> This experiment in local government was not very successful, with much public opposition focused on the issue of increased taxation, and a lack of oversight and faulty administration led to the collapse of many of these District Councils. The Brisbane Water District Council had ceased to exist by 1855, and the NSW Parliament passed the ''Municipalities Act'' in 1858, which allowed for the creation of Municipalities and Boroughs if a petition of as few as 50 signatures was presented to the government.<ref name="WDC">{{cite web |title=Agency 3085: Windsor District Council |url=https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/agency/3085 |publisher=NSW State Archives and Records |access-date=8 March 2019}}</ref> However, no petition was ever sent from the residents of Brisbane Water to the government under this act, and local matters reverted to the police magistrates for determination.<ref name="GDHRA, p. 14">GDHRA, p. 14.</ref>