The first flood on record - apparently a small occurrence - was in 1795. Others followed in 1799, March & October 1806</ref> and 1809. In 1810, after a series of major floods on the Hawkesbury, Governor Macquarie proclaimed the ‘Macquarie Towns’ of Windsor, Richmond, Wilberforce, Castlereagh, and Pitt Town in an attempt to ensure that development was restricted to higher ground, free of flooding. The devastation caused by flooding in February, 1817 prompted Governor Macquarie to issue a notice exhorting settlers, in the strongest possible terms, to build their residences above the established flood levels.