History
The ferry is named after its founder, Solomon Wiseman, a former convict (1778–1838), who received a land grant in the area from Governor Macquarie in 1817. Wiseman established the ferry service in 1827 for the transport of produce and provisions to the convicts building the Great North Road to link Sydney with the fertile Hunter Valley. Initially located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) downstream of its present location, the crossing was moved to its present location in 1829 when the Great North Road was repositioned and reconstructed. In 1832, the Wisemans ferry service was purchased by the government.
Until the opening of the Peats Ferry Bridge across the Hawkesbury at Brooklyn, Wisemans Ferry was on one of the main road routes north out of Sydney. However when that bridge opened in 1945, vehicular traffic along the Great North Road through Wisemans Ferry was reduced, and the crossing at Wisemans Ferry could no longer be considered to be on the main route north to Newcastle.
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