The district was surveyed between 1822 and 1827 as land grants were extended to the area. The first was issued in 1823 to John Wild a former Lieutenant and Adjutant of the 48th Regiment, who had been the superintendent of Government Stock on the cattle station at Cawdor and T.C. Harrington. Wild established a farm on the "Vanderville"' estate and built a homestead in the late 1820s with the help of Aboriginal and convict labour. Wild primarily raised cattle but he also ran sheep and pigs, grew wheat and tobacco, and established a dairy.