Iron gangs (or ironed/iron'd gangs, chain gangs in America) played a major part in the early development of the lower Hunter, especially in the construction of roads and bridges.

The gangs were made up of convicts who had committed 'secondary' offences like running away, thievery, or selling government property after arriving in NSW, and on being found guilty they were frequently sentenced to hard labour on the roads.

The gangs were at their most prominent in the Maitland area from the late 1820s to the 1840s, working on the Great North Road from Wisemans Ferry to the Hunter Valley and on the roads from Newcastle to West Maitland, Morpeth to East Maitland and West Maitland to the Upper Hunter.

To be sentenced to months or years of labour in an iron gang guaranteed a miserable life. The

See Full Page