Building Bathurst against water

The later colonial chronology dates Bathurst's foundation on Banjol Island to 1816. Writing within a decade, Sarah Bowdich Lee described dikes, cleared vegetation, sandy ground and high tides that pressed against the new town's shore. Her health explanation used contemporary miasma theory, but the observed water and drainage problems remain valuable as an early urban account. ^{[books-colonial-1938] [books-bowdich-1825-41]}

Bowdich described unusually wide streets and plots granted with requirements to build and keep street space open. She also noted a proposed market place and sea wall, while another passage describes stone brought from Dog Island and lime made from oyster shells. These are choices and proposals in an 1820s colonial town, not proof that all planned works were completed. ^{[books-bowdich-1825-41] [books-bowdich-1825-42]}