John Hawley & William Laing Nicholson : pioneeer confectioners and bakers in regional NSW / by Debbie Hardy

"By the 1840s Australia was receiving an increasing number of free settlers, mainly because convict labour could no longer keep pace with the demand for workers in industry and to clear land for farming west of the Blue Mountains. By 1850 31% of the population of NSW were assisted immigrants. 2 . In the 1850s after gold was discovered, around 230,000 assisted migrants came to Australia, making up about 50 per cent of all migrants. Most came from the United Kingdom (including Ireland). Two of these early pioneers/adventurers were William Laing Nicholson and his older mentor and friend John Hawley, both from Liverpool England. Both were skilled in bread making, biscuit and confectionery."--Summary, page 3.