Blaxland expedition

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Blaxland expedition route

The Blaxland Expedition, led by Gregory Blaxland, crossed the Blue Mountains in Australia from May 11 to June 6, 1813 . Blaxland and his companions William Lawson and William Wentworth have long been considered to be the first settlers to overcome the mountain range. Although John Wilson had already succeeded in this at the end of the 18th century, it was Blaxland's expedition that opened the way for the colony to expand inland. Today the Great Western Highway largely follows the expedition route.

History and preparations

At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century , more and more settlers settled in the colony on the Australian east coast and new pastureland was needed, but the Great Dividing Range prevented the colony from expanding inland. As early as the end of the 18th century, numerous explorers tried to overcome the mountain range, including Francis Barrallier and George Caley , but all of them failed, albeit narrowly. The first successful attempt was made by John Wilson and John Price with a few companions in 1798. They followed up the rumor about a previously unknown settlement southwest of Sydney . So they got to what is now Goulburn , with which they rather bypassed the Blue Mountains than crossed directly, but they had found a way to the west. For political reasons, however, this success was not recognized: Sydney was a prisoner colony and the surrounding mountains were considered insurmountable; Refugees who tried to cross would disappear or be killed. Therefore, Governor John Hunter officially left this view.

Gregory Blaxland had lived in Australia since 1805 or 1806, where he owned land and a flock of sheep. In search of new pastureland for his growing herd, he went on a journey with five companions as early as 1811 with the aim of finding a way over the mountains. In doing so, he found that he made better headway on the ridges along the watershed line of the tributaries of the Nepean River and the rivers that he believed flowed inland. Blaxland was convinced that building on this he could conquer the Blue Mountains. He talked a lot with settlers who hunted or frequented the foot of the mountains before choosing the Nepean and Grose River watershed for his next attempt .

The pressure to open up new pastures for the herds, which were now too large, was exacerbated by a drought in 1813 . In this situation, Blaxland asked Governor Lachlan Macquarie to set up an expeditionary group. In addition to William Charles Wentworth and William Lawson, this included a local guide, three helpers, four pack horses with provisions and five dogs.

Expedition course

The European settlers did not yet know that the Coxs River is actually the easiest route through the Blue Mountains and was used by the Aborigines to traverse the mountains. However, it strikes a wide southern arc.

Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson left Blaxland's farm on South Creek with their four helpers, horses, dogs and provisions on May 11, 1813. On the first day it was still easy to get west, but on the second day the group found thick vegetation who handicapped the horses. From the third day on, the bushes were so thick that the men initially ran around 10 to 13 kilometers ahead each day, marking trees, returning to their horses, and the next day cutting a path through the undergrowth to then set up a new camp. This slowed the progress considerably, and the ascent was steep, so that the group sometimes only covered two miles (around 3.2 kilometers) a day. On the eighth day the ridge on which they moved from west to north-west became noticeably narrower and fell steeply on both sides. At this narrow point there were several rocks, which presented an apparently insurmountable obstacle, but it was possible to clear some of the stones aside and thus create a gap in the barrier through which the pack horses could also fit. The next day they passed a stone pyramid, which they took to mark the turning point of an earlier European expedition. Near what is now Blackheath , they encountered a steep rock face , which they followed north until they found a place to descend on May 28th. They were now in a wooded area that was also heavily overgrown with grass and gave the horses the opportunity to eat fresh grass for the first time in a long time. They crossed the Coxs River and finally stood on May 31st on what would later be called Mount Blaxland. From there they overlooked a landscape of grass and forest that, in Blaxland's eyes, would provide enough pasture for all of the colony's cattle for the next 30 years.

By this point Blaxland had covered 93 kilometers and it was clear that the destination of the expedition had been reached and the Blue Mountains had been overcome, which is why the group turned back there. The way back was much easier and only took a third of the time, as the group moved on their already beaten paths. Only from June 4th, when the men were back in the grasslands on the east coast, they had slight difficulties finding their way back. They arrived at Blaxland's Farm on June 6th.

aftermath

Like the closest town, this waterfall is called Wentworth Falls .

The discoveries of the Blaxland expedition showed that the Blue Mountains were not an insurmountable barrier intended to permanently limit the expansion of the colony to the west. This result, together with the news of pastureland beyond the mountains, made Sydney very happy. Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson were rewarded with 445 hectares of land for this .

The Blaxland expedition was the direct cause of another expedition by George William Evans from November 1813 to January 1814, which advanced further and discovered the Macquarie River . In 1814, Governor Lachlan Macquarie commissioned William Cox to build a road along the expedition route. This was completed in 1815. Later a railway line was built in parallel.

A few places along the route were named after the discoverers, for example Blaxland , Lawson or Wentworth Falls .

literature

  • Ernest Favenc : The Explorers of Australia and Their Life-work. The Echo Library, Teddington 2006, ISBN 1-4068-2066-0 .
  • Ernest Favenc: The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888. The Echo Library, Teddington 2006, ISBN 1-4068-2067-9 .
  • Denis Gregory: Australia's Great Explorers. Tales, Tragedy and Triumph. Exisle Publishing, Wollombi 2007, ISBN 978-0-908988-43-3 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Denis Gregory: Australia's Great Explorers. 2007, p. 16.
  2. ^ Crossing the Blue Mountains Were Blaxland, Lawson & Wentworth really the first? John Wilson goes bush, 1795 , accessed May 2, 2011.
  3. ^ Jill Conway: Blaxland, Gregory (1778-1853). In: Australian Dictionary of Biography Online Edition. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  4. ↑ a b Ernest Favenc: The Explorers of Australia and Their Life-Work . 2006, p. 5.
  5. ↑ Ernest Favenc: The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888. 2006 S. 31st
  6. ↑ a b Denis Gregory: Australia's Great Explorers. 2007, pp. 19, 20.
  7. ↑ a b Ernest Favenc: The Explorers of Australia and Their Life-work. 2006, pp. 6-8.
  8. ↑ Denis Gregory: Australia's Great Explorers. 2007, p. 21.
  9. ↑ a b Denis Gregory: Australia's Great Explorers. 2007, p. 22.
  10. ↑ Ernest Favenc: The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888. 2006, p 32., 33