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The Australian Agricultural Company was incorporated by Act of the British Parliament in 1824, and shortly afterwards commenced pastoral and coal mining activity in Australia, extending from the Hunter to the Manning River. Amongst the Company's extensive Crown grants were lands close to Newcastle that have since been developed into the present day suburbs of Bar Beach, Cooks Hill, Hamilton, Broadmeadow, parts of the Newcastle Central Business District and the Hill. There was some resentment from the colonists about the privileges afforded to the company. These grievances were expressed by the Sydney Gazette in 1825 that the 'company intends nothing more nor less than the enrichment of themselves at the expence of the colonists.' In 1845, coal baron John Brown was prosecuted for working coal on the company's land. While Brown was found guilty the company, realizing the growing unpopularity of its position, choose not to prosecute. As Newcastle's population grew from the 1850s, demand for land, and rising land prices led to the Company's subdividing its Newcastle lands into housing and commercial allotments, at first in the inner city area, and later (with the establishment of BHP) in Hamilton and Hamilton South. The Company's records documenting the process of subdivision and urban development are held in the Archives.
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