This Day in History: 1852-02-04

1852 February: Lieut. Edmund Frederick DuCane, of the 20^th Company of Royal Engineers, was put in charge of the Eastern Districts region, in relation to overseeing convict works. He was based at Guildford, and responsible for the construction of the convict hiring depots at Guildford, York and Toodyay. Building began at the Toodyay Depot that month, with the first buildings being the Superintendent’s Store and the first two Sappers’ Quarters cottages.

Source:
Alison Cromb. The history of the Toodyay Convict Depot. A. Cromb, 2010, pp. 29, 31, 128.