George William Evans
George William Evans (born January 5, 1780 in Warwick , Great Britain , † October 16, 1852 , Hobart , Tasmania in Australia ) was an explorer in Australia. He was the first European who penetrated beyond the Blue Mountains into the valley of the Lachlan River in the area of today's Boorowa and Cowra .
Life
He was the eldest son of William Evans, secretary to the Earl of Warwick , and his wife Ann, née Southam. He received brief training as an engineer and architect as well as training in survival techniques. In 1798 he married Jennett, the daughter of Captain Thomas Melville, who commanded the ship Britannia , the Third Fleet . After the death of his first wife, he married Lucy Parris. He had twelve children, seven with his first wife and five with his second wife.
Expeditions
When George Evans reached Port Jackson (Sydney) in Australia on October 16, 1802 , he settled in Parramatta and opened a shop for shipping materials there.
In the following year, Philip Gidley King appointed him discovery commissioner for New South Wales and, in 1812, assistant discovery commissioner in Hobart. In March 1812 he discovered the coastline of Jervis Bay and came to Appin, which led to the settlement of the Illawarra district.
Evans successfully crossed the Blue Mountains in 1813 on behalf of Governor Lachlan Macquarie on the path that Gregory Blaxland , William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth had first trod with the Blaxland Expedition . But he advanced further than the early explorers beyond Mount Blaxland into the interior. With four other men he invaded an area that was populated by Wiradjuris , an Aboriginal tribe. This expedition began on November 18, 1813, and they discovered the Macquarie River , which they named in honor of this governor. They turned west from there and found fertile land. When they reported this to Macquarie, he commissioned William Cox in 1814 to build a road on the Macquarie River to what is now Bathurst . One of his further expeditions led in May and June 1815 to the discovery of the Lachlan River, which he named after the first name of Governor Macquarie.
This expedition was followed by further explorations, which were mainly carried out with the Australian explorer John Oxley . Evans went on expeditions with Oxley in 1817 and 1818. In 1825 he was accused of giving preference to people on government contracts. When Governor George Arthur accused him of this , he abdicated and went to Great Britain. In 1831 he returned to Australia and opened a shop in Sydney and later also taught at the King School .
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Evans, George William |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Evans, George |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British explorer in Australia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 5, 1780 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Warwick , UK |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 16, 1852 |
| Place of death | Hobart , Tasmania , Australia |