Captain William Thomas Lyttleton was granted over near Carrick in late 1825 when he lived at nearby Hagley in Hagley House. What was then just a locality became known as Lyttleton after the Captain. The river that passed from the Great Western Tiers to nearby Meander River was then known as The Pennyroyal Creek, after a plant that grew profusely on its banks. William Bryan arrived at Hobart, from Ireland, in May 1824. He received land grants of in the Meander Valley and later purchased at Carrick, including on the creek. Bryan began building a mill on his Carrick grant in 1826, on the same site as the later Monds Roller Mills. His business interests prospered and he purchased large amounts of land, including more at Carrick. By 1828 the first bridge over the river had been built, a simple log structure. Bryan's mill was the impetus for foundation of the town. Van Diemen's Land's Land Commissioners recommended in early 1828: "Mr W Bryan is building a mill a short way up the stream and we beg to recommend reserving 100 acres each side for the various purposes of a village which we called Lyttleton."