In 1804, the botanist Robert Brown visited the area. Browns River, that runs from Mount Wellington to Kingston Beach is named after him. The area was settled in 1808 by Thomas Lucas and his family, who were evacuated from Norfolk Island, and quickly the land became actively used by many pioneers who spread out to form the beginnings of Kingston’s localities today. In its early years, the area was also named after Brown, but when the population grew and a commercial district was established, Kingston was proclaimed a township in 1851.