Paterson - Tocal

Paterson is a picturesque riverside town with fascinating heritage, grand colonial buildings and vintage trains. Soak up the ambience of old country pubs and explore the historic charming town. Settled in the early 1800s, it has a stunning collection of historical buildings and a railway museum. Nestled on the banks of the Paterson River it is a place to spend quality time, such as having a picnic at Tucker Park. Paterson is the home of the New Year's Eve Festival and various car and bike shows. The present township of Paterson, was the third to be surveyed in the Hunter Valley after Newcastle and East Maitland, but was not proclaimed until 1833. With the continuing settlement of the district, Paterson soon became an important tidal river port and service centre to the surrounding community. The river trade ceased after the railway arrived in 1911, however prior to this it was the life line of the village as a transport hub for the valley and beyond. Tocal Homestead has one of Australia's finest collections of colonial farm buildings dating from the 1830's. The heritage site is set among magnificent fig trees and overlooks the Tocal lagoon, with the Paterson River beyond.