In 1874 George Markham Dean accepted he land of Port Edgar in settlement of a debt from C H Williams (£5000). In1892 Dean leased Port Stephens and Albemarle from the Government. At the time there was a dairy at Albemarle and sheep were also being farmed. The first farm manager was J F Huntziker, a Swiss who had previously been a missionary in South America. A manager’s house was built for him (the old store building). In 1945 Dean sold Port Stephens to the Falkland Islands Company.
1888. Port Stephens; Has four houses at the Settlement, and eight detached houses (meaning outside shepherd's houses). Population 39; no births or deaths, and no disease.
Port Stephens was nine and a half hours ride for the doctor from his base at Fox Bay East. Colonial Annual Report 1889. A man would have to ride to Fox Bay East to get the doctor sometimes only to find he was away on another call.
At the time of its sale from Dean to the Falkland Islands Company in 1945 the settlement at Port Stephens had six houses counting the Manager’s house, a cookhouse, store, woodshed, killing shed, tryworks, carpenter’s workshop, blacksmiths shop, salt house/ skins shed, a dip shanty and yards. In 1964 the FIC bought Albemarle (but not the sealing station) for £21,000 (28,300 acres). This was added to Port Stephens farm to make it one of the FIC’s biggest holdings.
Taken from the old records at Fox Bay East Post Office. Men at Port Stephens 1897-1900 --HH HENNAH ESQ, J SMITH, E HOLT, M MCASKILL, R MORRISON, G BELLS, W EMMOLL, J DIXON, J HARVEY, G BIGGS, F BUTLER, F ALLEN, ? WILLIAMS, W CRAWLEY, J DIXON SEN, W BULB
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The Manager's house originally built for the first manager J F Huntziker, later to become a store, Photograph credit unknown, hope you don't mind!
