Just a few kilometres from Maitland (only 30 minutes north of Newcastle), along the banks of the Hunter River is the historic village of Morpeth. Founded in the 1820's, the town developed as a river port in the following decade and became an important inland trading post for the Hunter River Steam Navigation Co. Crops flourished on the plains alongside the river, and for many years this region was an important food supplier for the young colony. However late in the 1800's the silting of the river and the completion of the rail link between Newcastle and Sydney saw its importance as a trading port decline. Morpeth's day as a river port were effectively over by about 1890, but the comparative isolation meant that its historic shopfronts, wharves and hitching posts along the main street have survived intact. Today, Morpeth is National Trust classified and no longer a backwater but a wide awake town crammed with cafes, craft shops and an annual events calendar.