The Macleay shipbuilder behind the site once called Christopherton

Christopher Lawson was born Christian Larsen in Maribo, Denmark in 1808. In 1834, he was in London where he married Mary Ann Richardson. The couple had four children in England although Emma, born in 1840, died as an infant.

By 1842, the family had emigrated to Sydney, where another daughter named Emma was born.

They moved to the Macleay River, where Christopher established a shipbuilding yard near the present town of Frederickton. Captain Gillies had earlier established his shipbuilding yard, which he named Klywooticka, near the junction of the Macleay River and Christmas Creek.

In 1843, Lawson took over Klywooticka, renaming it Christopherton. By that time, most of the other shipbuilders had left the Macleay, having exhausted supplies of suitable timber and also because of the downturn in economic conditions.

Christopher Lawson became the major shipbuilder on the Macleay, building schooners for the busy coastal trade. These included the Rose of Eden for John Verge and the Flower of Yarrow for William Henry Chapman.

Ben Boyd's famous yacht, The Wanderer, was wrecked in 1852 at Port Macquarie and Christopher Lawson was able to utilise the gilt figurehead from her on a new schooner he was building, which he named The Sea Serpent.

A further nine children were born to Christopher and Mary Anne at Christopherton: John (1845); George (1846); Susanna (1849); Thomas (1850); Mary Ann (1852); Margaret (1854); Christopher (1856); Lourage (1858) and William (1860).

In 1856, Frederick William Chapman subdivided a small portion of the nearby Chapman family property, Yarrabandini, into town lots and named the new township Frederickton. Christopherton faded into obscurity.

In 1868, Christopher was returning to his ship Royal Duke after visiting the Baltic Hotel, which lined Darling Harbour in Sydney. The ship's mate noticed he was unsteady on his feet and offered to assist him on board. Christopher declined and missed his footing. He fell into the water and drowned.

He was buried in the old Balmain Cemetery and his headstone is now preserved in Leichhardt Pioneers Memorial Park.

George Lawson continued his father's work building ships, bridges and buildings.

With his brother Thomas, he successfully tendered for building the Frederickton School in 1879.

The architect, John Horbury Hunt, also engaged them to build the Grafton Cathedral.

In 1878, the Lawson brothers built a single-storey cottage at Arakoon for the resident engineer of the proposed Public Works Prison there.

They also successfully tendered for many of the wooden outbuildings associated with the prison. These included the gaol governor's residence, the chief warden's quarters and the single and married wardens' quarters.

Today, Lawson Street, Frederickton is named after this family and runs past the site of Christopher's original shipbuilding yard.

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