Arthur's Vale now known as Watermill Valley, is inland from the settlement of Kingston. Its name expresses its early use and association with Arthur Phillip and the First Penal Settlement.
The first settlers started to clear the valley in early 1788 and the area still contains evidence of the earliest agricultural activity in Australia. During the Second Penal Settlement the Valley was known as the Vale Farm. Crops grown included wheat, corn, barley, cabbages, oranges, lemons, coffee, tobacco, melons and banana’s. Raised earth mounds were formed across the valley and are only just visible today.
The major archaeological structure in Arthur’s Vale is the Watermill Dam that was built in the late 1820’s. The watermill was built below the east wall of the dam, with an underground headrace. It was originally intended as an overshot wheel, but actually operated as an undershot one. The dam was described as irreparable in 1833, and incapable of containing sufficient water to keep the mill at work. The dam wall was lined with stone but still leaked. The mill was used to ground corn meal, the staple diet of the convicts. The watermill was operated for a short time during the Pitcairn period but was in ruins by the 1890s.