WHAT'S IN A NAME: 05 JANUARY 2019

Betts Street, Molong

It's the main street of East Molong, but where does the name of Betts St come from?

The name of Betts St almost certainly comes from Mr John and Mrs Mary Betts, who established East Molong’s Vale Head, on part of what was the Molong Run.

John Betts arrived in the colony of NSW in 1828 and took up land near Bathurst.

In 1830, at St John’s, Parramatta, he married Mary Marsden, a daughter of the Rev Samuel Marsden, an English-born priest who was a prominent figure in early New South Wales history and a pioneer of the Australian wool industry.

The Marsden/Betts syndicate acquired at least 10 grants and leases in County Wellington during the 1830s — properties along the Molong Creek and Bell River.

NEXT WEEK: Dr Ross Memorial Recreation Ground.