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Myths and Mysteries of the 

Crossing of the 

Blue Mountains 

An Australian History Mystery 

Robert Lewis 

Tim Gurry

ISBN 978-0-949380-75-3 

© 2012 National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media Pty Ltd 

Written by Robert Lewis, Tim Gurry 

Cover art: NH Roughley, Blue Mountains Crossed 1813,191-?, National Library of Australia 

National Museum of Australia 

Education Section 

GPO Box 1901 

Canberra ACT 2601 

Phone (02) 6208 5239 

Fax (02) 6208 5198 

Email education@nma.gov.au 

Website www.nma.gov.au/education 

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Victoria 3144 

Phone (03) 9500 2399 

Fax (03) 9500 2388 

Email ryebuck@ryebuck.com.au 

Website www.ryebuck.com.au 

Designed by Polar Design, Melbourne, Victoria 

Printed by Trojan Print, Melbourne, Victoria 

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Any contraventions are accidental and will be redressed. For any copyright matters please 

contact Ryebuck Media Pty Ltd. 

Teachers are permitted to duplicate any pages in this publication for educational purposes in 

their classrooms. 

For any other purposes contact Ryebuck Media Pty Ltd.

Contents 

Teacher’s guide to using this resource 4 

Student activities 8 

Inquiries Activity pages Page 

Prepare to explore! 1–3 8 

A ‘virtual visit’ to the Blue Mountains 4A–4B 13 

Investigations 

1 

What are the Blue Mountains? 5A–5C 15 

2 

How were the Blue Mountains formed? 6A–6C 18 

3 

Why did explorers want to cross the Blue Mountains? 7A–7C 21 

4 

Who actually crossed the Blue Mountains? 8A–8E 24 

5 

How did the explorers achieve their crossing in 1813? 9A–9D 29 

6 

What was their journey like? 10A–10B 33 

Were Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth really the 

7 first to cross the Blue Mountains? 

11A–11E 35 

8 

What impacts did the crossing have? 12A–12C 40 

9 

How is the crossing of the Blue Mountains 

represented in the National Museum of Australia? 

13A–13C 43 

Conclusion and reflection: What does the crossing of 

the Blue Mountains tell us about Australian history? 

14 46

Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains 

Teacher’s guide 

Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains education resource 

Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains is a multimedia education resource to help middle 

secondary students explore an aspect of Australia’s early colonial history: the crossing of the Blue Mountains 

in 1813. 

It is part of the Australian History Mystery series at www.australianhistorymysteries.info/. 

It comprises: 

> A 20-minute ‘virtual visit’ film, taking students to key places associated with the event, outlining the key 

issues associated with the event, and presenting some of the evidence that they need to use to develop 

their own conclusions 

> A 48-page set of practical and evidence-based activity pages, for photocopying, which can be used in 

the classroom 

> A decision-maker interactive activity, Would you be a good explorer?, that presents information and issues 

about the event through an alternative learning approach. 

Background briefing 

In 1813 New South Wales remained a British penal colony, but competing ideas about its future were developing. 

Governor Lachlan Macquarie saw New South Wales as predominantly a place where freed convicts would 

engage in self-sufficient, small-scale agriculture to feed the growing colony. 

Wealthy free immigrants, often enticed by the British Government to settle, saw the colony as a place where 

they could establish large landholdings on which to run cattle or, increasingly, sheep. They saw convicts as 

cheap pastoral labour rather than farmers working small plots of land. 

Macquarie developed expensive public works but he was under pressure to generate the income to pay for 

these developments, rather than relying on British Government expenditure. 

Continued convict and free immigration, as well as internal population growth, and several poor seasons — 

of drought, floods and insect infestations — put increasing pressure on the need to expand the colony beyond 

the encircling ring of the Blue Mountains. At the same time, however, Macquarie did not want to provide a 

means for convicts to escape the boundaries of the colony’s settlement. 

In 1813 he authorised three wealthy immigrants — Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles 

Wentworth (who was born on a convict ship on the way to New South Wales) — to organise an expedition to 

find a way of crossing the Blue Mountains. 

Several other explorers had tried to cross the Blue Mountains previously, and some may even have 

succeeded, though we are not certain about this. 

The mountains were difficult to cross because of the rugged bush, many gorges and cliffs — but there was a 

way, by following a particular ridgeline. Aboriginal people knew at least two ways over the mountains (paths 

that are, today, followed by two major roads) but they were not involved in the 1813 crossing — Blaxland was 

dismissive of their knowledge. 

The party found this particular ridge line, and succeeded in reaching the end of the Blue Mountains and 

observing some open land — although they did not complete a crossing of the Great Dividing Range, and did 

not see the great plains towards Bathurst. 

After the party returned to the colony, Macquarie sent a surveyor, George Evans, to check on their findings. 

Evans followed their route, and then went much further, seeing the Bathurst plains. He returned, and 

Macquarie commissioned a narrow and rough road to be made — but one that was intended to be restricted 

for use by authorised travellers. 

Despite attempts to limit expansion of the colony, it gradually happened, and the plains were opened up to 

settlers who then took up the land, displacing the Aboriginal inhabitants in a series of bloody conflicts. 

As Australians began to look to heroes in their history to obscure the convict ‘stain’ of the nation’s past, 

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth and their crossing of the Blue Mountains was seized upon as one of the 

great nation-forming achievements. 

Today, with our awareness of the harm as well as the good that resulted from the opening up of the area, we 

are more inclined to ‘commemorate’ the crossing, rather than ‘celebrate’ it, and to place greater weight on the 

4 

Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains

dispossession of Aboriginal people and the destruction of their society and culture than previous generations 

did, with their greater emphasis on the advantages of national development. 

These ideas and values are explored in the unit through a Year 9-level, inquiry-based approach to the topic. 

Curriculum connection 

The resource is relevant to these areas of the Australian Curriculum: History at Year 9: 

The Industrial Revolution (1750–1914): 

The technological innovations that led to the Industrial Revolution, and other conditions that influenced 

the industrialisation of Britain (the agricultural revolution, access to raw materials, a wealthy middle class, 

cheap labour, the transport system, and an expanding empire) and of Australia. 

And 

Making a nation: 

The extension of settlement, including the effects of contact (intended and unintended) between European 

settlers in Australia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

The resource enables students to gain knowledge and understanding of aspects of early Australian colonial 

history through a specific case study. 

It is inquiry-based to develop students’ analytical skills, including the development of an empathetic 

appreciation of the people involved in the event. 

It includes multiple perspectives on the event, including those of the local Indigenous people who, while 

not involved in the exploration of the Blue Mountains, had their lives and culture profoundly affected by 

developments that arose as a consequence of the crossing of the mountains. 

An inquiry methodology 

The resource follows an inquiry methodology. The film or ‘virtual visit’ raises a number of questions 

(or mysteries) about the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813. Students then use a variety of evidence 

and learning approaches to develop their own answers to these mysteries. 

The inquiry process involves key elements whereby students: 

Engage 

‘Tune in’ 

Hypothesise 

Structure an inquiry 

Critically examine evidence 

Reach a conclusion 

Reflect and apply 

They reach a point where they are interested and engaged, and want to find out what 

has happened in this case. 

Students see the key concepts involved in the study in a way with which they can 

identify — the study has meaning for them. 

They draw on existing knowledge and ideas, and state what they expect to find, or 

what they anticipate the outcome might be. Their hypotheses then become the things 

that they are testing by evidence. 

To carry out their inquiry, students have to follow a logical and coherent structure. 

They determine what they need to know to answer the questions they are exploring. 

Students now go through the process of gathering, sorting, comprehending, 

classifying, interpreting, testing, accepting, rejecting, qualifying, contextualising and 

synthesising this evidence. 

Students are now ready to reach an informed conclusion that they can defend and 

justify. The conclusion is theirs, and they will be aware of the degree of certainty with 

which they can hold that conclusion. They are able to complete a summative task that 

demonstrates their knowledge and understanding, and that reflects the processes 

they have gone through to arrive at their conclusion. 

Students are able, finally, to go beyond the particular case studied, and think in 

terms of the broader concepts involved. They can apply their new knowledge and 

understanding to other periods, places and peoples. 

Teacher’s guide 

5

This is done in ways that suit Year 9-level students. Some of the tasks set are more challenging than others, 

and teachers will decide for themselves which tasks are most suitable for their own students. 

‘Mythbusting’ 

Included at certain points are challenges for students to consider various ‘myths’, or commonly believed 

aspects of the story of the crossing of the Blue Mountains. In doing so students use evidence to decide if the 

myths are confirmed or ‘busted’! 

Classroom approaches 

The resource is ready to be used in the classroom as is, or teachers can adapt elements of it to suit their 

own needs. 

Using the film 

The 20-minute ‘virtual visit’ film has been specifically made to provide an effective classroom resource by 

taking students to the key sites to be investigated. 

Students can look at the film first, using Activity pages 4A-4B to gain an overall picture of the event, and an 

understanding of the key questions about the 1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains that are being investigated. 

Alternatively, teachers could show sections of the film as they start the different investigations. The activity 

pages clearly show which segments of the film are appropriate for the various investigations. 

Using the activity pages in the classroom 

The activity pages are all cleared for use, without permission, in classrooms by the teacher or school once the 

resource has been purchased. 

All activity pages can be used by individual students, but many are suitable for group work — with groups 

having to analyse an activity page, and report their findings to the whole class. In this way the overall reading 

workload can be shared and reduced. 

Activity pages 1–3 (Prepare to explore!) 

The three simple pieces of evidence provided set up the main inquiry by asking the simple question: What 

does a memorial tell us? The question that then automatically follows is: What is it not telling us? Students are 

provided with a way of pursuing an inquiry, and of collating and summarising the information, evidence and 

ideas that follow. They are also provided with a template on which they can create their own ‘textbook’ version 

of the crossing, either in print or as a comic strip, based on their investigations. 

Activity pages 4A–4B (Virtual visit) 

These provide a way of using the ‘virtual visit’ film component as a whole to introduce students to the range of 

issues explored in the unit. 

Alternatively, teachers might prefer to use segments of the film at different stages, focusing on one issue at 

a time rather than introducing them all at once. Methods for using the film in this way are provided on the 

appropriate activity pages. 

Activity pages 5A–5C & 6A–6C (Features and formation of the Blue Mountains) 

Students are in the present. They may know that it is easy to cross the Blue Mountains — we know what 

the mountains are like, what is there, and what lies beyond them. So it is important to help students develop 

empathy with the people of the past by having them look at the difficulties that the place would create for those 

who did not have the knowledge that we have today. The sequence of images on Activity Page 6B is: 3A, 3B, 

6, 4, 2, 5, 1. 

Activity pages 7A –7C (Why were the mountains explored?) 

These activities are about causation in history. Students will speculate on possible causes, and consider some 

of those that existed at the time. Most will decide that there was multiple causation. 

This activity is suitable for group work. 

Activity pages 8A–8E (Who were the explorers?) 

The initial evidence that students looked at named Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth, but one item showed 

that there were others in the party. The party was larger than three members, but most commemoration does 

not stress this. Students come to understand how this ‘myth’ of the three explorers can be exposed. 

6 


There has also been some assertion that the achievement of the crossing was possible because of an 

Aboriginal guide with local knowledge. Indeed, it was only very recently that the National Museum of Australia 

changed the text of its exhibition on the Blue Mountains to delete reference to an ‘Aboriginal guide’. Students 

will see that there seems to be no credible evidence of direct Aboriginal involvement. 

This activity is suitable for group work. Pairs of students can focus on one paragraph, and report back on 

this for the whole class to copy into their own summary table. 

Activity pages 9A–9D (How did they do it?) 

This evidence will clarify for students that the key factor in the explorers’ success lay in keeping to a particular, 

continuous ridgeline. 


Activity pages 10A–10B (What was the journey like?) 

Students should do the interactive component ‘Would you be a good explorer?’ here. This puts them in the 

position of being decision-makers, and will increase their empathetic understanding of the nature of the 

journey. They will then better appreciate the implications of the Blaxland journal extracts in these pages. 

Examining the diary entries is suitable for group work. 

Activity pages 11A–11D (Were they the first to do it?) 

Historians today are undecided about whether other explorers preceded Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth 

over the Blue Mountains. Of course, Aboriginal people did, and students will decide that. This is where a 

discussion of the other meanings of ‘crossing’ and ‘discover’ may be the main focus. If Aboriginal people knew 

about the crossing, why do we focus on a European crossing of the same range? And, of course, the answer 

is that profound impacts followed from the European crossing — as discussed in the next set of activity pages. 


Activity pages 12A – 12C (Impacts of the crossing) 

Students understand the impacts, but distinguish between beneficial and harmful ones, and short-term and 

long-term ones. 


Activity pages 13A–13C (A museum display) 

Students constantly see representations of history. This activity allows them to bring a knowledgeable and 

informed attitude to the way the National Museum of Australia presents the story of the 1813 crossing to 

visitors. Students can evaluate and appreciate the display. They can also critically examine the way in which 

other writers do this through history textbooks that are created specifically for this student audience. 

This is suitable as an assessment activity. 

Activity page 14 (Conclusion and reflection) 

This provides a way that students can use this relatively brief but detailed case study to reflect on the range 

of knowledge and understandings about early colonial history that are set out in the Australian Curriculum: 

History. Students, having been historians themselves in this unit, will be able to express sophisticated and 

mature reflections on these important aspects of Australian history listed. 

This is suitable as an assessment activity. 

Further information 

The most comprehensive resource is Chris Cunningham, The Blue Mountains Discovered. Beyond the Myths 

of Early Australian Exploration, Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst NSW, 1996. 

Acknowledgements 

Mitchell Preston, Senior Education Officer, National Museum of Australia 

Daniel Oakman, Senior Curator, National Museum of Australia 

Jan Koperberg 

Patsy Moppett 

Graham and Susan Warmbath, Blue Mountains Historical Society 


7

Activity page 1 

Prepare to explore! 

You have been driving through the magnificent Blue 

Mountains, to the west of Sydney, in New South Wales. 

You have gone up Mount York, and you see this memorial 

at the top: 

You read the main plaque. 

You say, ‘Hey, I’ve seen 

something about this before, 

in my history book!’ 

You just happen to have your 

history textbook with you (yeah, 

right, as if …) and you flip it open 

to the two images below. 

So, you have three pieces of 

evidence about the crossing of 

the Blue Mountains. 

But do they all agree? Or are 

there differences between them? 

Source A 

Source B NH Roughley, Blue Mountains Crossed 1813, 

c. 191-?, National Library of Australia 

Source C 

Detail from The 

Blue Mountains 

Pioneers, Sydney Mail, 

Christmas Supplement 

1880, Dixson Library, 

State Library of 

New South Wales 

8 



You be the historian 

1 Look at sources A – C, and using ONLY these images as evidence, decide if the following statements are 

Probably true (T), Probably false (F), or Cannot be known from this evidence (?). In each case decide what 

the best evidence is to support your conclusion, and why. One example has been done to help you. 

Statement T F ? Best supporting evidence 

The crossing was in 1813 

A and B both say this 

The crossing was made by three men 

Blaxland was the leader 

The crossing was difficult 

They crossed the mountains to find new land 

They were the first people to cross the Blue Mountains 

This resulted in the spread of settlement in New South Wales 

The explorers were proud of their achievement 

This is an important moment in Australian history 

The explorers were heroes 

2 You have realised that the three sources agree on some things, but disagree on others. Why do you think 

documents can disagree? 

3 Why do you think these documents can only partially answer some of the questions in the table? 

4 Which of these documents are you most likely to accept as the most accurate? Why? 

5 Some additional questions that you would like to ask about the sources are: 

6 Some additional questions that you would like to ask about the event are: 

Congratulations! You have just become a historian, because you have: 

> looked at a significant event in the past; 

> identified some evidence about it; 

> critically analysed or interrogated the evidence; 

> compared sources; 

> made judgements; 

> come to conclusions; 

> justified those conclusions; 

> identified strengths and weaknesses in your knowledge and understanding; 

> empathised with the people involved in the event; and 

> realised that you need to explore further to reach a final conclusion. 

And that’s what this unit does — it helps you to explore the crossing of the Blue Mountains in more detail, and 

to improve your knowledge, understanding and empathetic awareness of the event. 

In doing so, you will be introduced to some myths and mysteries associated with the event. By considering the 

evidence you will be able to ‘bust’ or confirm these myths, and solve some mysteries. 

Historical inquiry always involves some key questions: 

> What? 

> When? 

> How? 

> Who? 

> Why? 

> Impacts or consequences? 

> Significance? 

> Whose perspective is being presented? 

Your task at the end will be to answer these questions for the 1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains. 

Use the table on the next page to summarise information and ideas as you work through the evidence. 


9

Activity page 

3A 

Exploring the 1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains 

Question 

Your Summary 

What are the Blue Mountains? 

What happened? 

When did it happen, and why did it happen then? 

Who was involved? 

Why were they doing it? 

How did they do it? 

What impacts did this event have? 

What is the significance of the event? 

As you consider the evidence and compose summaries of your ideas, you will also be asked to create your own 

text for a Year 9 history text, using activity pages 3B and 3C. It will be interesting to compare your account with 

others that have been published in the history textbooks that you use in class. 

Your first step should be to ‘visit’ the Blue Mountains yourself — through the DVD-ROM in this unit. This will 

raise many myths and mysteries for you to explore further. 

So, start exploring — and good luck! 

Let’s go! 

10 


Activity page 

3B 

How the Blue Mountains were crossed 

Your textbook account or comic strip 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 


11

Activity page 

3C 

Your textbook account or comic strip 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

12 


Activity page 

4A 

A ‘virtual visit’ to the Blue Mountains 

1 

What are you investigating? 

Watch the film from 00:00 to 02:20. 

1.1 What are the Blue Mountains? 

1.2 Where are they? 

1.3 What are your impressions of them? 

1.4 What are the three things that the memorial says happened? 

1.5 Why does the presenter think the memorial might not be accurate? 

2 

The context and the problem 


2.1 Explain the background of Sydney as a penal colony during the 

period 1788–1830. 

2.2 What was the problem that the colony had to solve? 

2.3 How would crossing the Blue Mountains solve this problem? 

2.4 Why were the Blue Mountains so hard to cross? 

Learn more 

Go to>> 

Prepare to explore 

Investigation 1: 

What are the Blue Mountains? 


How were the Blue Mountains 

formed? 

Learn more 

Go to>> 


Why did explorers want to 

cross the Blue Mountains? 

3 

The explorers 


3.1 What were the main qualities of the three explorers? 

3.2 What was their main interest in crossing the mountains? 

3.3 How do the objects at the National Museum of Australia help you 

to understand the explorers and their motivation? 

Learn more 

Go to>> 


Who actually crossed the 

Blue Mountains? 


Were Blaxland, Lawson and 

Wentworth really the first to 

cross the Blue Mountains? 

4 

The journey 


4.1 What were the difficulties and challenges the explorers faced? 

4.2 How did the explorers progress? 

4.3 What was the explorers’ ‘secret’? 

4.4 What is the significance of Red Hands Cave? 

4.5 Why did the explorers ignore the local Aboriginal people? 

4.6 What was the significance of what the explorers saw at Mount York? 

Learn more 

Go to>> 


How did the explorers achieve 

their crossing in 1813? 


What was their journey like? 


13

Activity page 

4B 

5 

The outcomes 


5.1 What were the main outcomes of the crossing? List them under these 

headings: Social, Economic and Environmental. 

6 

Impacts on the Aboriginal people and society 


6.1 What impacts did the crossing have on the local Aboriginal people? 

6.2 How do the objects in the National Museum of Australia help us 

understand these impacts? 

7 

Reflecting on the meanings of the 

Crossing of the Blue Mountains 

Learn more 

Go to>> 


What impacts did the crossing 

have? 

Learn more 

Go to>> 


What impacts did the crossing 

have? 


How is the crossing of the 

Blue Mountains in 1813 

represented in the National 

Museum of Australia? 

Watch the film from 15:50 – 18:30. 

7.1 What are the good outcomes of the crossing? 

7.2 What are the bad outcomes? 

7.3 The presenter uses the words ‘commemoration’ and ‘celebration’ 

What is the difference between them? 

7.4 Do you think we should ‘celebrate’ or ‘commemorate’ the event today? 

Explain your reasons. 

Learn more 

Go to>> 

Conclusions and reflection 

State Library of New South Wales 

14 


Activity page 5A 

Investigation 1 What are the Blue Mountains? 

Here are some images of the Blue Mountains. 

1 Beside each image, write some words that describe its key features. For 

example, for the first image you might write ‘beautiful’ or ‘rugged’ or ‘thick 

bush’ — or all of these. In this way you are creating an awareness of the key 

features of the Blue Mountains that your explorers will soon try to cross. 

See the film 

‘virtual visit’ 

from 00:00 to 02:20 

A 

Mark Sherborne, Destination NSW 

Google Earth 

B 


15

Activity page 

5B 

C 


D 

E 

Richard Tulloch, www.richardtulloch.wordpress.com 


16 


Activity page 

5C 

F 

Hamilton Lund, Destination NSW 

G 


2 Think like an explorer: Imagine that you have just been told that you have to cross the Blue Mountains, but 

you cannot use any roads. List the problems and difficulties that you will face, based on these images and 

the words that you have used to describe them. 

3 Add any information to your summary table on activity page 3A. 

4 Write a brief paragraph or do a comic strip sketch for your own history textbook 

(in box 1 of activity page 3B) to explain to readers what the Blue Mountains are. 


17

Activity page 

6A 

Investigation 2 How were the Blue Mountains formed? See the film 

The Blue Mountains are a mostly sandstone monocline or plateau, part of 

the Sydney Basin which was laid down in the Permian and Triassic geological 

periods, between 280 and 180 million years ago. The Sydney Basin extends 

from north of the Hunter Valley to the Bateman’s Bay district in the south. 

Erosion by water and wind have created the rugged surface. The range was 

named the Blue Mountains because, viewed from Sydney, they appeared to be 

that colour — the result of a mist of eucalyptus oil refracting light and creating a 

haze that looks blue from a distance. 


from 00:00 to 02:20 

© Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2012. This product is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 

Australia Licence http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/au/legalcode 

JW Pickett and JD Adler, Layers of Time: The Blue Mountains and their Geology, 

NSW Department of Mineral Resources, Sydney, 1997, p. 4 

Environment New South Wales 

18 


Activity page 

6B 

Here is a summary of the geological 

stages of the formation of the Blue 

Mountains, and diagrams to illustrate 

those stages — but the diagrams are not 

organised in order. 

1 Read the information about the various 

stages, then write the appropriate 

number beside each diagram. 

1 

The Devonian Sea 400 million 

years ago (mya) 

2 Carboniferous Swamp 350 mya 

Great Divide 

Great Divide 

3a 

3b 

Triassic Lake, 250–200 mya, 

deposit of Wianamatta Shale, 

formed when the sea rose and 

the resulting dead vegetation 

and marine life compressed to 

form coal. 

Triassic Lake, 250–200 

mya, deposit of Hawkesbury 

Sandstone as huge rivers from 

the west carried sand sediments 

that were layed down on top of 

the shale. 

Great 

Divide 

Blue 

Mountains 

Coastal Plain 

Sea Bed 

4 

5 

6 

Triassic alluvial plain formed 

when the layering of eroded soil 

stopped. 

First Earth Movement 170 mya, 

volcanic activity meant that the 

rocky bed rose to form a plateau 

Second Earth Movement tilted 

the plain, higher in the west than 

the east, and erosion started to 

produce the topography of today. 

Great Divide 

Great Divide 

2 Add any information to 

your summary table 

on activity page 3A. 

3 Write a brief paragraph or do a 

comic strip sketch for your own 

history textbook (in box 2 of activity 

page 3B) to explain to readers how 

the Blue Mountains were formed. 

Great Divide 

KEY 

Basalt caps 

Wianamatta Shales 

Hawkesbury Sandstone 

Narrabeen Sandstone 

Coal measures 

Older base rock 

Vegetation 

Sea 

Great Divide 

Eugene Stockton and John Merriman (eds), Blue Mountains Dreaming: The Aboriginal Heritage (2nd Edition), 

Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson, 2009, p. 14 


19

Activity page 

6C 

So, here you are, it is 1813, and this is the view that you have of the Blue Mountains. 

You know that people have explored some parts of the Blue Mountains, but 

nobody has crossed them and come back to say what is on the other side, or even 

how far they extend. 

You have thought about some of the difficulties in crossing them. 

Why do you think people would want to cross the mountains? And, how would 

they do it? 

This is what we now need to investigate in more detail. 


The Blue Mountains are part of 

the Great Dividing Range. True or False? 

20 


Activity page 

Investigation 3 

7A 

Why did explorers want to cross the Blue Mountains? See the film 

We have seen that in 1813 a group of explorers crossed the Blue Mountains. 

Why did they do it? 

1 Think about possible reasons, and list them. 


from 02:20 to 05:50 

Some possible reasons are: 

Now look at the following evidence to test your ideas. 

2 How does Source 2 support the statement in Source 1? 

Source 2 A raised relief map of part of the Sydney Basin 

Source 1 

New South Wales, as it was 

by 1813 

When [Governor Macquarie] first 

assumed office, in 1810, the colony 

of New South Wales was closely 

defined by the encircling range of 

Blue Mountains. It was a small, 

compact area, no more than 60 by 

80 kilometres in extent. The central 

part was known as the Cumberland 

Plain, and it was bounded on its 

western edge by a powerfully 

eccentric river, the Hawkesbury, 

whose main catchment lay in the 

wide band of mountains beyond and 

which was subject to sudden and 

devastating floods. 

James Broadbent and Joy Hughes (eds), 

The Age of Macquarie, Melbourne University Press, 

1992, p. 66 

Geo Maps Company, Sydney 


21

Activity page 

7B 

Source 3 From a comic book version 

3 What motive is 

being suggested 

here for the 

crossing of the 

Blue Mountains? 

Peter Leyden (ed), Over The Blue 

Mountains, The Australian Children’s 

Pictorial Social Studies, Sydney, 1958 

Source 4 Some facts about the 

colony’s environment 

• The susceptibility of the Nepean–Hawkesbury 

and Georges River farms to flooding made 

the colony vulnerable to food shortfalls. In 

1809 floods resulted in a grain shortage in 

the colony. 

• There was a plague of destructive army 

worms and caterpillars in 1810. 

• There was drought in 1810–11. 

• The 1811–12 crop was good, but caterpillars 

returned in 1812. 

• Drought in 1812–13 reduced crops, and killed 

many animals. 

• In 1812 there were 10,000 people in New 

South Wales, in 1813 there were 13,000 — 

an increase of 30 per cent; cattle increased 

from 9000 to 26,000, and sheep increased 

from 26,000 to 75,000. 

• Grass on the Cumberland Plain (the flat area 

surrounding Sydney) had deteriorated under 

heavy cattle grazing, and was replaced by 

coarser grass. 

Adapted from Harry Dillon and Peter Butler, 

Macquarie from Colony to Country, Random House, North Sydney, 

2010, p.177 

4 What reason/s are being suggested here 

for the need to cross the Blue Mountains? 

Source 5 

Governor Macquarie controlled who would receive land. He 

had a vision of the Sydney settlement being made up mainly 

of small farmers growing food crops, not large landholders 

grazing cattle or sheep. 

He was also conscious that this New South Wales was a gaol 

without walls. If new areas were opened up for settlement, 

there would be more escapes by convicts. 

In addition, Macquarie was under pressure from the British 

Government to limit public works, such as roads, because of 

the costs involved. A growing colony would need more money 

spent on public works and Macquarie wanted to avoid this. 

5 What reason/s are being suggested here that there 

was NOT a need to cross the Blue Mountains? 

Source 6 

The Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century resulted 

in an increased demand for the raw material — wool — to 

allow the factories of England to manufacture into textiles. 

This meant that there was a great incentive for people to grow 

wool. Sheep needed large areas of land on which to graze, and 

shepherds to care for them. New South Wales offered wealthy 

people the opportunity to develop great flocks of sheep, cared 

for by convict shepherds who did not need to be paid wages. 

The area around Sydney was good for cattle, but not for sheep. 

Access to new land was needed for the industry to grow. 

6 What reason/s are being suggested here for the 

need to cross the Blue Mountains? 

22 


Activity page 

7C 

Source 7 

Though agriculture had become established, and the 

colony was no longer prey to desperate shortages, 

the quantity of food produced was still very small, and 

its production erratic. Droughts and floods caused 

fluctuating harvests; grain was still being imported, 

from Van Diemen’s Land one year, from India another. 

Sydney had founded its urban satellites early: the first 

was Norfolk Island, the second Parramatta; then the 

Green Hills on the Hawkesbury grew up as a military 

and service centre for the river farms near the mountain 

frontier. The search at sea continued, though the main 

body of settlers at Norfolk Island was removed to Van 

Diemen’s Land in 1808 and the island abandoned in 

1813. Newcastle, at the mouth of the Hunter River, 

became a convict depot, formed to isolate secondary 

offenders and exploit the coal, timber and shell-lime 

resources rather than to establish farming. Bass and 

Flinders had explored the southern coast; Port Phillip 

was known, briefly settled and then rejected by David 

Collins in favour of Hobart on the Derwent, which was 

strategically placed in the south to catch the vessels 

taking advantage of the ‘Roaring Forties’ spinning 

around the Antarctic seas. 

So the urban pattern remained centred on Sydney, 

but most of the secondary settlements were more like 

strategic satellites than agrarian centres. What is more, 

they were isolated at considerable distances from each 

other, and little or nothing was known of the land in 

between. 

James Broadbent and Joy Hughes (eds), The Age of Macquarie, 

Melbourne University Press, 1992, p. 66 

7 What other settlements existed apart from Sydney 

by 1813? 

8 Why were these not suitable for a large expansion 

of food or grazing? 

Source 8 

Blaxland and his elder brother John were immigrants 

from Kent, to whom liberal grants of land had been 

made on condition that they invested capital in New 

South Wales and engaged in agriculture. But they 

preferred to apply themselves to what Governor 

Macquarie called ‘the lazy object of rearing cattle’. They 

understood cattle-breeding and found it profitable, 

whereas Macquarie desired that settlers who obtained 

land grants should grow corn. The Blaxlands, working 

in partnership, wanted extensive areas for their herds; 

and whenever an area suitable for pasture came under 

their notice, they were prompt to apply for a slice, 

whilst the Governor was equally prompt to refuse them. 

They therefore had a pressing motive for ascertaining 

whether there was good cattle country beyond the 

limits of settlement. Gregory Blaxland had been on two 

exploring expeditions — the first of them in company 

with Macquarie — before he projected the enterprise of 

1813. In that year a severe drought afflicted the colony. 

No rain fell during what was normally the wet season. 

The greater part of the seed sown produced no crops, 

and ‘an alarming mortality’ occurred among the flocks 

and herds, It was therefore especially necessary to 

make an effort to find out whether there was fodder and 

water on the western side of the range. 

Ernest Scott (ed.), Australia, vol. VII, part 1 of the 

Cambridge History of the British Empire, Cambridge, 1988, p. 109 

9 What motives are being suggested here for 

crossing the Blue Mountains? 

10 You have now seen several possible reasons why 

explorers tackled the crossing in 1813. Which do 

you think most important? 

11 In question 1 you might have considered such 

things as curiosity, adventure or greed as 

reasons for the explorers’ desire to cross the 

Blue Mountains. Do you still think these might 

have been significant? Justify your views. 

12 Add any information to your 

summary table on activity page 3A. 



history textbook (in box 3 of activity page 3B) 

to explain to readers why the explorers wanted 

to cross the Blue Mountains in 1813. 

The crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813 was done in response to the 

stimulus for wool created by the Industrial Revolution in Britain. True or False? 


23

Activity page 

8A 

Investigation 4 Who actually crossed the Blue Mountains? See the film 

We know that Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth were involved in the crossing. 

But who were they, and why did they attempt the crossing? 

1 Your task is to look at the biographical information on the three explorers 

(activity pages 14–16) and complete this table about them. 


from 05:50 to 08:45 

Aspect Blaxland Lawson Wentworth 

Age in 1813 

Background 

Position in 

New South 

Wales 

Previous 

exploring 

experience 

Reason for 

involvement 

Personal 

qualities 

(good and 

bad) 

When you have completed looking at the information on the three explorers that follows, 

answer these questions: 

2 Do you think Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth were heroes? 


4 Write a brief paragraph or do a comic strip sketch for your own history textbook (in box 4 

of activity page 3B) to explain to readers who Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth were. 

24 


Activity page 

8B 

Gregory Blaxland (1778–1853) 

Gregory Blaxland (1778–1853), 

settler, was born on 17 June 1778 at 

Fordwich, Kent, England. In July 1799 

he married Elizabeth; they had five 

sons and two daughters. 

The British government promised 

them land, convict servants and free 

passages if they emigrated to NSW, in 

accord with its policy of encouraging 

‘settlers of responsibility and Capital’. 

Gregory sailed on 1 September 1805 

with his wife, three children, two 

servants, an overseer, a few sheep, 

seed, bees, tools, groceries and 

clothing. When he reached Sydney 

he sold many of these goods very 

profitably, bought eighty head of 

cattle so as to enter the meat trade, 

located 1619 hectares of land and was 

promised forty convict servants. Soon 

afterwards he also bought 182 more 

hectares of land. 

The Blaxlands bought a stockyard 

and expanded their cattle grazing. 

When Macquarie arrived he added 

to their land grants; this, he thought, 

satisfied all the claims for government 

assistance to which Gregory was 

entitled. He became very critical of 

the brothers for remaining ‘restless 

and dissatisfied’ and refusing to grow 

grain, despite their large numbers 

of convict servants; but Blaxland 

was concerned with his livestock. 

By 1813 he had come to realise that 

his flocks of sheep and cattle were 

expanding beyond the resources of 

his coastal grant. Macquarie could 

not be persuaded to grant extra lands 

to large flock owners on the coast, 

and Blaxland thus drew the correct 

conclusion that the solution to the 

pastoralists’ land problem lay in 

discovering a route to the interior. 

In 1810 he had explored part of 

the Nepean River. Early in 1813 he 

requested Macquarie’s approval of an 

exploring expedition across the Blue 

Mountains, and on 11 May he set 

out with William Lawson and William 

Charles Wentworth. 

In 1814, like many others almost 

insolvent because of drought and 

depression, he tried to persuade 

Macquarie to sanction a scheme for 

the exploitation of the interior by a 

large agricultural company. Macquarie 

would not agree nor would he allow 

Blaxland land in the interior for his 

own flocks. Since Blaxland then had 

to dispose of his livestock, it is not 

surprising that he joined the colonial 

opposition to Macquarie. 

By 1820 Blaxland had settled down 

on his Brush Farm estate. Here he 

conducted many experiments with 

crops and grasses, unsuccessfully 

with tobacco growing but most 

successfully with buffalo grass and 

viticulture. He had brought vines 

from the Cape of Good Hope, found 

a species resistant to blight, took a 

sample of his wine to London in 1822 

and won a silver medal for it. While 

in England he published his A Journal 

of a Tour of Discovery Across the 

Blue Mountains in New South Wales 

(London, 1823). 

Thereafter Blaxland disappeared 

from public activity and when he 

committed suicide on 1 January 

1853, his death was scarcely noticed 

in the press. Always a man of moody 

and mercurial character, Blaxland 

devoted his colonial activities 

almost entirely to the pursuit of his 

economic interests, and his diaries 

do not suggest great attachment to 

the colonial environment beyond 

what was suggested by the hope of 

personal gain. 


Jill Conway, Online Dictionary of Australian Biography, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/blaxland-gregory-1795 

5 Complete the biographical table in Activity page 8A for Blaxland. 


25

Activity page 

8C 

William Lawson (1774–1850) 

William Lawson (1774-1850), 

explorer and pastoralist, was born on 

2 June 1774 at Finchley, Middlesex, 

England. Educated in London, William 

was trained as a surveyor, but in June 

1799 he bought a commission in the 

New South Wales Corps. He arrived 

at Sydney in November 1800 and was 

soon posted to the garrison at Norfolk 

Island, where he married Sarah 

Leadbeater. He returned to Sydney 

in 1806. 

Like many of his fellow officers 

Lawson quickly began to acquire 

agricultural interests. About 1807 he 

bought a small property, and in 1810 

received a grant of 202 hectares. 

In January 1812 he accepted a 

commission as lieutenant in the New 

South Wales Veterans Company. He 

now built a fine 40-room mansion in 

early colonial style. 

In 1813 Gregory Blaxland invited 

Lawson to accompany him and 

William Charles Wentworth on what 

proved to be the first successful 

attempt to find a route across the 

Blue Mountains. Lawson’s knowledge 

of surveying made him a particularly 

valuable member of the expedition. 

His journal, with its accurate record of 

times and distances, enables the route 

to be precisely retraced. Macquarie 

rewarded each explorer with a grant 

of 405 hectares on the west of the 

ranges. Lawson selected his on the 

Campbell River near Bathurst. In 1819 

he was appointed commandant of the 

new settlement of Bathurst, occupying 

this post until 1824 when he retired. 

During his years at Bathurst 

Lawson undertook three journeys of 

exploration to find a practicable pass 

through the ranges to the Liverpool 

Plains. In this he was unsuccessful 

but his journeys helped to open up 

the rich pastoral district of Mudgee. 

He owned many extensive estates. He 

imported merino rams and ewes from 

England, as well as Shorthorn cattle 

and blood horses. His horses were 

famous throughout the colony in the 

coaching days. 

A generous supporter of the 

Presbyterian Church, Lawson took 

an active part in the establishment 

of both Scots Church, Sydney, in 

1824 and Scots Church, Parramatta, 


in 1838. As a magistrate he 

entered freely into public life and 

on 10 October 1825 signed a letter 

approving trial by jury. He entered 

politics in 1843 as a member for 

Cumberland in the first partly elective 

Legislative Council; he attended 

regularly until 1846, but took little part 

in its debates. On 16 June 1850 ‘Old 

Ironbark’ Lawson died, leaving most 

of his estates to his son William. 

EW Dunlop, Online Dictionary of Australian Biography, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lawson-william-2338 

6 Complete the biographical table in activity page 8A for Lawson. 

26 


Activity page 

8D 

William Charles Wentworth (1790–1872) 

William Charles Wentworth 

(1790–1872) was the son of Catherine 

Crowley, who was convicted in 

July 1788 of feloniously stealing 

‘wearing apparell’, was sentenced to 

transportation for seven years, reached 

Sydney in the transport Neptune 

in June 1790, and in the Surprize 

arrived at Norfolk Island with the 

infant William on 7 August. Dr D’Arcy 

Wentworth, who also sailed in the 

Neptune and Surprize, acknowledged 

William as his son. He accompanied 

his parents to Sydney in 1796 and then 

to Parramatta, where his mother died 

in 1800. In 1803 he was sent with his 

brother D’Arcy to England. 

Wentworth returned to Sydney in 

1810. He was granted 708 hectares on 

the Nepean. 

His adventurous spirit, drought, and 

the desire to discover new pastures 

led him in May 1813, in company with 

William Lawson, and Gregory Blaxland 

to take part in the first great feat of 

inland exploration, the crossing of the 

Blue Mountains. 

Uncertain that they had really crossed 

the mountains, he wrote in his journal: 

‘we have at all events proved that 

they are traversable, and that, too, by 

cattle’. The discovery gave impetus 

to great pastoral expansion in which 

Wentworth amply shared. He was 

rewarded with another 405 hectares. 

On the mountain journey, according 

to his father, he had developed a 

severe cough; to recover his health 

and to help his father secure valuable 

sandalwood from a Pacific island he 

joined a schooner as supercargo in 

1814. He was nearly killed by natives 

at Rarotonga while courageously 

attempting to save a sailor whom they 

clubbed to death. The captain died, and 

Wentworth, with knowledge gained on 

his earlier voyage from England and no 

mean mathematical skill, brought the 

ship safely to Sydney. 

In 1819 he published A Statistical, 

Historical, and Political Description 

of the Colony of New South Wales 

and Its Dependent Settlements in 

Van Diemen’s Land. His book did 

much to stimulate emigration and 

was reissued in revised and enlarged 

editions in 1820 and 1824. 

Other important aspects of his life 

were: 

• publisher of the first independent 

newspaper, the Australian; 

• initiator of political reforms that 

promoted greater democracy; 

• a wealthy landowner who 

protected the productive wealth of 

graziers; 

• member of the New South Wales 

Legislative Council; 

• a supporter of the right of the 

intelligent poor to vote as long as 

they proved their ability by gaining 

some wealth and property; 

Mitchell Library, State Library of 

New South Wales - P4/21 

• assisted in the establishment of 

free primary education in Sydney; 

• helped to create the first Australian 

university, the University of 

Sydney; and 

• helped New South Wales to gain 

increased responsible government. 

He died in 1872 in England, and was 

returned for burial in Sydney. 

With all his apparent contradictions, 

more than any other man he secured 

our fundamental liberties and 

nationhood. His love of Australia was, 

he confessed, the ‘master passion’ 

of his life. He felt a natural kinship 

with the founding fathers of the 

United States. It is his chief claim 

to greatness that, more than any 

other, he secured in Australia, the 

fundamental liberties of the British 

Constitution. 

Michael Persse, Online Dictionary of Australian Biography, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wentworth-william-charles-2782 

7 Complete the biographical table in activity page 8A for Wentworth. 


27

Activity page 

8E 

Were there others involved in the crossing in 1813? 

We now know a lot about the three men named on 

the memorial at the very start of this unit. But were 

they the only ones involved in the crossing in 1813? 

Here is some more evidence about that crossing. 

Read it and decide on your answer to these 

questions. Support your answers from the evidence. 

8 Were Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson the only 

people on the journey? 

9 Did they have an Aboriginal guide? 

10 How big was the exploring party? 

11 Was Blaxland the leader? 

12 Who was the most important person in the group? 

13 How certain can you be that your answers to these 

questions are correct? Explain your reasons. 

Source 1 

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth are invariably 

remembered as a trinity … the ‘dauntless three’. They 

were not, however, a threesome at all, for the party 

included four servants, five dogs, and four horses. This 

was a collaboration between animals and men. Among 

the latter was James Burns, selected by Blaxland, who 

was probably key to their success …. By profession a 

hunter of kangaroos, James Burns was one of those 

people who had lived out on the edge [of settlement]. 

Martin Thomas The Artificial Horizon. Imagining the Blue Mountains, 

MUP, Melbourne, 2003, p. 50-51 

Source 2 

Having made every requisite preparation, I applied to 

the two gentlemen who accompanied me, to join in 

the expedition, and was fortunate in obtaining their 

consent. To these gentlemen I have to express my 

thanks for their company, and to acknowledge that 

without their assistance I should have had but little 

chance of success. 

Blaxland’s journal 

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/blaxland/gregory/b64j/part1.html#part1 

Source 3 Information in the National 

Museum of Australia display Crossing 

the Blue Mountains 

In 1813 William Charles Wentworth, William Lawson 

and Gregory Blaxland, keen to expand their holdings, 

persuaded [Governor] Macquarie to support an attempt 

to cross the mountains. They departed Emu Plains with 

horses, an Aboriginal guide and three convict servants. 

National Museum of Australia, 2012 

Source 4 

It took until 1813 for a way across the mountains to 

be found. Once across, the three successful explorers, 

Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth and 

William Lawson, and their Aboriginal guide looked out 

upon a lightly forested expanse that stretched to the 

horizon. 

David Day, Claiming a Continent, Angus&Robertson, Sydney, 1996, p. 81 

Source 5 

There is no record that local Aboriginal guides were 

used for the 1813 crossing, but it does seem likely 

that the ridge-line followed an Aboriginal track, as a 

logical, fairly even route. The party used a colonial 

bushman, Mr Byrne, as a guide, and the name Byrne 

(or Burns) subsequently appears in Surveyor Evans’s 

list of men who accompanied him on his journey the 

following year, in which he followed up, surveyed and 

extended the previous journey to Mount Victoria to the 

site of Bathurst. Byrne was probably one of a number 

of bushmen who were familiar with the mountain lands, 

hunting there for game and exploring unofficially. 

James Broadbent and Joy Hughes (eds) The Age of Macquarie, 

Melbourne University Press, 1992, p. 67 

14 Add any information to your 

summary table on activity page 3A. 



history textbook (in box 4 of activity page 3B) 

to explain to readers who was involved in the 

crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813. 

[*NOTE: The NMA has now 

changed its information about 

the Aboriginal guide] 

Look back at the 

inscription on the Mount York 

memorial. Would you say it is: 

True or False? 

28 



Investigation 5 How did the explorers achieve their crossing in 1813? 

Australians today have the advantage of knowing all about the Blue Mountains 

— their size and extent, the route of the railway and highway, what is beyond 

them, and what they look like from the air. There is no mystery for us today about 

the crossing. 

But people in 1813 did not have that knowledge. So, let’s try and see the 

crossing from the perspective of their limited knowledge of the Blue Mountains, 

and try to understand the challenges that they faced in making the first crossing. 

Here are five different ways that the Blue Mountains could be crossed. 

1 Look at each method and brainstorm the possible advantages and 

disadvantages of each, remembering the limited knowledge that people had 

at the time about the nature and extent of the Blue Mountains. 

See the film 


from 08:45 to 12:00 

Possible way Image Possible advantages Possible disadvantages 

1 

Follow main 

rivers to their 

source 

2 

Follow the 

gorges 

between 

the cliffs 

3 

Follow the 

ridges at the 

top of the cliffs 

4 & 5 

Head north 

or south to 

attempt to 

travel around 

the mountains 

Now, let’s look at evidence, and use it to decide how the explorers achieved their aim. 


29

Activity page 

9B 

NEWNES PLATEAU 

BILPIN 

BELL 

KURRAJONG 

HEIGHTS 

MT 

VICTORIA 

MEGALONG 

VALLEY 

BLACKHEATH 

MEDLOW 

BATH 

KATOOMBA 

GROSE 

VALLEY 

LEURA 

JAMIESON 

VALLEY 

GROSE RIVER 

WENTWORTH 

FALLS 

BEDFORD CK 

WENTWORTH CK 

LAWSON 

HAZELBROOK 

WOODFORD CK 

LINDEN 

FAULCONBRIDGE 

LINDEN CK 

SPRINGWOOD 

GROSE RIVER 

GLENBROOK CK 

SPRINGWOOD CK 

FITZGERALD CK 

WARRIMOO 

BLAXLAND 

NEPEAN RIVER 

Glenbrook 

KEDUMBA RIVER 

COXS RIVER 

ERSKINE CK 

CUMBERLAND 

PLAIN 

N 

WARRANGAMBA 

0 2.5 5KM 

NEPEAN RIVER 

30 


Activity page 

9C 

Source 1 Blaxland on his unsuccessful 

1810 expedition (1) 

We ascended the River Hawkesbury, or Nepean, from 

above Emu Island [near Glenbrook], to the mouth of 

the Warragomby, or Great Western River, where it 

emerges from the mountains, and joins itself to that 

river, from its mouth. We proceeded as far as it was 

navigable by a small boat, which is only a few miles 

further. It was found to lose itself at different places, 

almost entirely underneath and between immense 

blocks of stones, being confined on each side by 

perpendicular cliffs of the same kind of stone, which 

sometimes rose as high as the tops of the mountains, 

through which it appears to have forced, or worn its 

way, with the assistance, probably, of an earthquake, 

or some other great convulsion of nature. 



2 Show this route on the map opposite. Note that 

the spelling of some names on the map and in the 

documents may be slightly different. 

3 To which of the five possible methods for crossing 

the Blue Mountains does this evidence refer? 

4 Was this method successful? 

Source 3 

The next European attempt at a crossing of the Blue 

Mountains, which succeeded by following the ridges 

and not the valleys, was the famous 1813 expedition 

of Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson. In fact, they 

found the only accessible route, which the highway 

and railway still mainly follow today. The key to the 

crossing was locating the 20-metre wide Linden ridge 

and it appears they did this without assistance from the 

local people. 

Eugene Stockton and John Merriman (eds), Blue Mountains Dreaming: 

The Aboriginal Heritage (Second Edition), Blue Mountain Education 

and Research Trust, Lawson, 2009 p. 169 

8 Show this route on the map. 




Source 4 Map showing the topography of 

the Sydney Basin 

Source 2 Blaxland on his unsuccessful 

1810 expedition (2) 

This journey confirmed me in the opinion, that it was 

practicable to find a passage over the mountains, 

and I resolved at some future period to attempt it, by 

endeavouring to cross the river, and reach the high 

land on its northern bank by the ridge which appeared 

to run westward, between the Warragomby and the 

River Grose. I concluded, that if no more difficulties 

were found in travelling than had been experienced on 

the other side, we must be able to advance westward 

towards the interior of the country, and have a fair 

chance of passing the mountains. On inquiry, I found a 

person who had been accustomed to hunt the kangaroo 

in the mountains, in the direction I wished to go; who 

undertook to take the horses to the top of the first ridge. 

Before we set out, we laid down the plan to be pursued, 

and the course to be attempted, namely, to ascend the 

ridge before-mentioned, taking the streams of water on 

the left, which appeared to empty themselves into the 

Warragomby, as our guide; being careful not to cross 

any of them, but to go round their sources, so as to be 

certain of keeping between them and the streams that 

emptied themselves into the River Grose. 



www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/nature/SydneyBasinMapsTopography.pdf 

5 Show this route on the map. 




11 Which of the five possible methods for crossing 

the Blue Mountains does this evidence help you 

understand? 



31

Activity page 

9D 

Here is an illustration of the path actually taken by the explorers in 1813. 

13 Which method does it show? 

14 Why do you think the explorers followed this path? Refer back to other evidence to help you to decide. 

Peter Leyden (ed), Over The Blue Mountains, The Australian Children’s Pictorial Social Studies, Sydney, 1958 

Here is a Google 

Earth map showing 

the road today 

through the Blue 

Mountains. 

Google Earth 

15 How closely does the road follow the path taken by the 1813 explorers? 


17 Write a brief paragraph or do a comic strip sketch for your own 

history textbook (in box 5 of activity page 3B) to explain to readers how 

the explorers were able to cross the Blue Mountains in 1813. 

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth knew exactly how and where to cross 

the Blue Mountains because of information provided by people. True or False? 

32 


Activity page 

10A 

Investigation 6 What was their journey like? See the film 

We now know how the exploring party was able to cross the Blue Mountains 

in 1813. But was it a hard task? 

1 Think about what qualities or characteristics 

a good explorer would need. Brainstorm, and 

list these. 

2 Read these extracts from entries in Blaxland’s 

journal of the trip (note that he writes in the third 

person, referring to himself as ‘Mr Blaxland’). 

Underline the difficulties or hardships that the 

party faced, as outlined in each entry. 

3 Beside each extract, brainstorm and write in 

words that describe the feelings the explorers 

might have had at each stage (empathy). 

NOTE: An Alternative Approach 


from 08:45 to 12:00 

To understand this you need to ‘take’ the journey. 

Go to www.australianhistorymysteries.info 

to see if you would be a good explorer on this 

journey. The interactive will require you to make 

many decisions — will you make ones that will 

help you succeed? 

Good luck! 

Extracts 

Empathy words 

May 12 The land was covered with scrubby brush-wood, very thick in places, with some trees of 

ordinary timber, which much incommoded the horses. The greater part of the way they had deep 

rocky gullies on each side of their track, and the ridge they followed was very crooked and intricate. 

In the evening they encamped at the head of a deep gully, which they had to descend for water; they 

found but just enough for the night, contained in a hole in the rock. A small patch of grass supplied 

the horses for the night. 

May 13 They had not proceeded above two miles, when they found themselves stopped by a 

brushwood much thicker than they had hitherto met with. This induced them to alter their course, and 

to endeavour to find another passage to the westward; but every ridge which they explored proved to 

terminate in a deep rocky precipice; and they had no alternative but to return to the thick brushwood, 

which appeared to be the main ridge, with the determination to cut a way through for the horses next 

day. This day some of the horses, while standing, fell several times under their loads. The dogs killed 

a large kangaroo. The party encamped in the forest tract, with plenty of good grass and water. 

Blaxland’s journal http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/blaxland/gregory/b64j/part1.html#part1 

May 14–15 On the next morning, leaving two men to take care of the horses and provisions, they 

proceeded to cut a path through the thick brushwood. As they ascended the mountain these gullies 

became much deeper and more rocky on each side. They now began to mark their track by cutting the 

bark of the trees on two sides. Having cut their way for about five miles, they returned in the evening 

to the spot on which they had encamped the night before. The fifth day was spent in prosecuting 

the same tedious operation; but, as much time was necessarily lost in walking twice over the track 

cleared the day before, they were unable to cut away more than two miles further. They found no food 

for the horses the whole way. 

May 16 On Sunday they rested, and arranged their future plan. They had reason, however, to regret 

this suspension of their proceedings, as it gave the men leisure to ruminate on their danger; and it 

was for some time doubtful whether, on the next day, they could be persuaded to venture farther. 

May 17 Having laden the horses with as much grass as could be put on them, in addition to their 

other burdens, they moved forward along the path which they had cleared and marked, about six 

miles and a half. They had to fetch water up the side of the precipice, about six hundred feet high, and 

could get scarcely enough for the party. The horses had none this night. 

May 18 The day was spent in cutting a passage through the brushwood, for a mile and a half further. 

They returned to their camp at five o’clock, very much tired and dispirited. The ridge, which was 

not more than fifteen or twenty yards over, with deep precipices on each side, was rendered almost 

impassable by a perpendicular mass of rock, nearly thirty feet high, extending across the whole 

breadth, with the exception of a small broken rugged track in the centre. By removing a few large 

stones, they were enabled to pass. 


33

Activity page 

10B 

Extracts 

Empathy words 

May 20 They proceeded with the horses nearly five miles, and encamped at noon at the head of a 

swamp about three acres in extent, covered with the same coarse rushy grass as the last station, 

with a stream of water running through it. The horses were obliged to feed on the swamp grass, as 

nothing better could be found for them. The ridge along which their course lay now became wider and 

more rocky, but was still covered with brush and small crooked timber, except at the heads of the 

different streams of water which ran down the side of the mountain, where the land was swampy and 

clear of trees. The track of scarcely any animal was to be seen, and very few birds. One man was here 

taken dangerously ill with a cold. 

May 21 In the beginning of the night the dogs ran off and barked violently. At the same time 

something was distinctly heard to run through the brushwood, which they supposed to be one of the 

horses got loose; but they had reason to believe afterwards that they had been in great danger — that 

the natives had followed their track, and advanced on them in the night, intending to have speared 

them by the light of their fire, but that the dogs drove them off. 

May 28 In the evening they contrived to get their horses down the mountain by cutting a small trench 

with a hoe, which kept them from slipping, where they again tasted fresh grass for the first time since 

they left the forest land on the other side of the mountain. They were getting into miserable condition. 

May 29 Part of the descent was so steep that the horses could but just keep their footing without a 

load, so that, for some way, the party were obliged to carry the packages themselves. The dogs killed 

a kangaroo, which was very acceptable, as the party had lived on salt meat since they caught the last. 

Blaxland’s journalnhttp://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/blaxland/gregory/b64j/part1.html#part1 

May 31 In the afternoon they ascended its summit, from whence they descried all around, forest or 

grass land, sufficient in extent in their opinion, to support the stock of the colony for the next thirty 

years. This was the extreme point of their journey. Mr. Blaxland and one of the men nearly lost the 

party to-day by going too far in the pursuit of a kangaroo. 

They now conceived that they had sufficiently accomplished the design of their undertaking, having 

surmounted all the difficulties which had hitherto prevented the interior of the country from being 

explored, and the colony from being extended. They had partly cleared, or, at least, marked out, a 

road by which the passage of the mountain might easily be effected. Their provisions were nearly 

expended, their clothes and shoes were in very bad condition, and the whole party were ill with bowel 

complaints. These considerations determined them therefore, to return home by the track they came. 

June 4 They arrived at the end of their marked track, and encamped in the forest land where they had 

cut the grass for their horses. One of the horses fell this day with his load, quite exhausted, and was 

with difficulty got on, after having his load put on the other horses. 

June 5 This was the most unpleasant and fatiguing they had experienced. The track not being 

marked, they had great difficulty in finding their way back to the river, which they did not reach till 

four o’clock p.m. They then once more encamped for the night to refresh themselves and the horses. 

They had no provisions now left except a little flour, but procured some from the settlement on the 

other side of the river. 

June 6 They crossed the river after breakfast, and reached their homes, all in good health. 

4 Why do you think the 

explorers succeeded? 

Consider each of the 

following as possible factors: 

> luck 

> skill 

> logic 

> planning and preparation 

> personal qualities of the 

explorers 

> prior knowledge 

> other factors? 

5 Look back at the list of qualities or characteristics that you created in 

response to question 1 on the previous page. Which of these can you identify 

in these three explorers? Are there others you would now add to your list? 

6 Add any information to your summary table on 

activity page 3A. 

7 Write a brief paragraph or do a comic strip sketch for 

your own history textbook (in box 6 of activity page 3C) 

to explain to readers what the journey was like for the explorers. 

The crossing of the Blue Mountains 

was a difficult task: True or False? 

34 



Were Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth really the first 

Investigation 7 to cross the Blue Mountains? 

Everything you have looked at so far in this unit has discussed Blaxland, 

Lawson and Wentworth as the first to cross the Blue Mountains. 

But, were they? 

Some historians have suggested that there might be others who could make 

that claim. So, we need to investigate this possibility. 

First, let’s be clear what we are looking for. What does ‘crossing’ mean? 

1 Here are four possibilities. Discuss each one. 

A It means making it all the way to the other side of the mountains. 

B It means making it far enough across the mountains to know the 

other side is close, but not actually arriving there. 

C It means making it far enough across the mountains to suspect 

the journey has ended, but not to be certain. 

D It means going across the mountains, returning, and creating a 

path that others can follow. 

Keep these in mind as you look at the following claims. As you read 

the information you can follow the different claims on the map on the 

next page. 

2 As you read the claims, make a short summary note beside each; 

for example, This candidate might be considered the first to cross 

the Blue Mountains because … 

Candidate 2: John Wilson 

In 1797, a former convict, John Wilson, recounted tales of his exploits in 

the bush to Governor Hunter and Judge Collins. He claimed to have been 

upwards of 160 km in every direction around Sydney, and described some of 

the landscape and animals he had seen. Whilst his stories were considered 

suspect, some details were recorded by Collins. In retrospect, it appears 

likely that Wilson was telling the truth. 

Wilson appears to have reached the granite country of the upper Cox’s River 

valley near Hartley. The two main Aboriginal ‘highways’ were the Bilpin Ridge 

from Richmond, and Cox’s River valley from the Burragorang Valley. Other 

records offer clues that he followed the Cox’s River route. This is, in fact, the 

easiest route through the Blue Mountains, and completely avoids the need 

to cross over them. A third possibility is via the Colo River gorge, and some 

evidence suggests that Wilson may even have travelled all three! 

In January 1798 Wilson, John Price and others crossed the Nepean River 

and moved south-west towards the present site of Mittagong. There they 

turned west and found a route along the ridge where today the Wombeyan 

Caves Road is located. In the process they found a way to go west of the 

mountains, by going around them instead of across them. In March of 

the same year, Wilson and Price ventured to the Camden area, and then 

continued further south until they discovered Thirlmere Lakes, finally almost 

reaching the present site of Goulburn. 

It is possible that the accomplishments of this expedition were suppressed 

by Hunter, who may not have wanted convicts to know that there was a 

relatively easy way out of Sydney. Wilson’s life came to an abrupt end at 

the age of 30, when he was killed by Aborigines after abducting one of their 

women for his personal use. 

But, he had accomplished much as an explorer. He was never recognised 

as the first person to cross the mountains, possibly because his Cox’s 

River journey could not be verified, while his route west of Mittagong may 

have been the ‘long way around’ for a colony that had its eyes fixed on the 

sandstone fortress west of the Nepean. 

http://infobluemountains.net.au/history/crossing_wil.htm 

Candidate 1: 

Matthew Everingham 

See the film 


from 05:50 to 08:45 

In October/November 1795 Matthew 

Everingham, with two other settlers 

(William Reed and John Ramsay) 

attempted to find a route across the 


Working from Everingham’s 

description of their journey, local 

experts have determined that they 

reached either Mt Wilson, Mt Tomah 

or Mt Irvine. They reached a point 

where they could see good country 

to the west but did not proceed any 

further as food supplies were running 

short. They were not more than one 

day’s trek from crossing the Blue 

Mountains when they turned back. 

This was 18 years before Blaxland, 

Lawson and Wentworth finally made 

their crossing in 1813. 

Their plan to return for a further 

attempt never eventuated. To help 

prevent the escape of convicts, the 

colonial government did not publicise 

the possibility of land to the west and 

discouraged exploration. 

www.firstfleetershunter.com.au/uploads/Family%20 

History/Matthew%20Everingham.pdf 

This candidate might be considered the first 

to cross the Blue Mountains because … 




35

Activity page 

11B 

Based on information in Chris Cunningham, The Blue Mountains Rediscovered, Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, 1996 

Note: George Caley also retraced Barralier path in July, 1806 

The start and end point of some exploration trips is not certain. 

36 


Activity page 

11C 

Candidate 3: Francis Barrallier (1773–1853) 

Francis Barrallier, [assistant] to Governor King, led two 

expeditions into the foothills of the Blue Mountains in 1802. 

He discovered Burragorang Valley but was prevented from 

travelling further by a large waterfall. 

He was a refugee from the French Revolution, with a 

knowledge of engineering, surveying and navigation. 

Barrallier set off as an emissary from Governor King, to 

convey the governor’s compliments to the (Aboriginal) 

‘King of the Mountains’. 

Leaving their depot, they descended to the Nattai River 

and followed it downstream to the Burragorang Valley and 

Wollondilly River. Heading west, they climbed a ridge south 

of the Tonalli River, and climbed towards Southern Peak, 

returning to Nattai to await the arrival of new supplies. 

Re-supplied, they headed back up towards Southern Peak 

on November 22, reaching Mootik Plateau just south of 

Yerranderie, and making camp at Alum Hill on the 24th. 

From here, they followed a route via Bindook towards the 

Great Dividing Range. 

On the 26th, two forward scouts returned to report having 

found: ‘an immense plain; that from the height they were 

on the mountain they had caught sight of only a few hills 

standing here and there in this plain; and that the country in 

front of them had the appearance of a meadow.’ 

What the scouts could not see was the Kowmung River 

gorge slashing through the ‘plain’. 

They hastened through Barrallier’s Pass to set up camp 

near Bent Hook (Bindook) Swamp. In spite of heavy rain, 

they were in high spirits, and after setting up bark huts, 

‘they congratulated themselves with having succeeded in 

accomplishing the crossing of the Blue Mountains without 

accident’. 

They were now on the eastern edge of the Bindook 

Highlands. From here, it is an easy ridge-top journey to the 

Great Divide, along what was to become the Oberon-Colong 

Stock Route. 

Barrallier and his party eventually reached a point 

approximately 2km short of the Great Divide and within 

sight of it. They did not recognise this, however, due to the 

nature of the terrain. Had they explored south, they could 

have reached Mt Werong in an hour, and seen the westward 

flowing Abercrombie River. Having travelled as far as their 

supplies allowed, they returned the way they had come. 

Barrallier and his party had crossed the Blue Mountains, 

and come substantially closer to the Great Divide than 

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth were to. 

www.yerranderie.com/explorer.htm 

Candidate 4: George Caley (1770–1829) 

George Caley, botanist and plant collector to Sir 

Joseph Banks, went on regular collecting excursions 

into the Blue Mountains to gather natural history 

specimens. 

In November 1804, Caley and party set off for the 

Carmarthen Hills (Mt Tomah and Mt Banks), with 

the intention of then continuing west or to ‘the most 

promising part of the country’. His companions were 

‘ticket of leave men’, minimum security convicts. After 

travelling overland from Parramatta, possibly carrying 

their boat, they travelled up-river from Windsor to 

near the junction of the Grose River. From there, they 

climbed 500 metres, in the hot sticky weather, to 

Tabaraga Ridge near Kurrajong Heights. 

Caley would no doubt have noticed the Bilpin Ridge, 

along which Bell’s Line of Road would later be built, 

had he reached Tabaraga Ridge one or two kilometres 

further north. But Caley set a compass course for 

Mt Tomah, and determined to stick to it as far as 

the terrain would allow. The march took them over 

Patersons Ridge, through three ravines, then into a 

particularly steep sided valley which Caley named Dark 

Valley. They were unknowingly travelling parallel to, 

and a few kilometres from, the Bilpin Ridge. 

www.australiaforeveryone.com.au/discovery/caley.htm 



Candidate 5: George Evans 

Six months later, George Evans was sent by Governor 

Macquarie to survey the route found by the three 

explorers in May 1813. He led a team which followed 

their route to Mount Blaxland, and then continued 

on, over the Great Dividing Range, to where Bathurst 

now stands — so over 100 kilometres beyond the 

achievement of the three explorers. He thus became 

the first European known to have reached the rich 

pastureland of the Western Slopes and Plains. 

www.infobluemountains.net.au/history/crossing_3ex.htm 






37

Activity page 

11D 

Candidate 6: Aboriginal people 

MAP OF ABORIGINAL ARTEFACTS 

Note that since this map was created 

in 1991 more than four times as many 

sites have now been recorded. 

Eugene Stockton and John Merriman (eds), Blue Mountains Dreaming: The Aboriginal Heritage 

(Second Edition), Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson, 2009, p. 10 

Red Hands Cave 

Examples of Aboriginal habitation 

can be found in many places. In the 

Red Hands Cave, a rock shelter near 

Glenbrook, the walls contain hand 

stencils from adults and children. On 

the southern side of Queen Elizabeth 

Drive, at Wentworth Falls, a rocky 

knoll has a large number of grinding 

grooves created by rubbing stone 

implements on the rock to shape 

and sharpen them. There are also 

carved images of animal tracks and 

an occupation cave. The site is known 

as Kings Tableland Aboriginal Site and 

dates back 22,000 years. The native 

Aborigines knew [at least] two routes 

across the mountains: Bilpin Ridge, 

which is now the location of Bells Line 

of Road between Richmond and Bell, 

and the Coxs River, a tributary of the 

Nepean River. It could be followed 

upstream to the open plains of the 

Kanimbla Valley, the type of country 

that farmers prize. 



Candidate 7: Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth 



38 


Activity page 

11E 

Coming to a conclusion 

You have now looked at various ‘candidates’ for the first crossing of the Blue Mountains. 

3 Who would you say should be given the credit as the first to cross the Blue Mountains? 

4 Look at this assessment of the place of Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth in this history. 

Do you agree with it? Justify your view. 

The ‘official’ story 

Everyone knows that Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth 

were the first Europeans to succeed in crossing Australia’s 

impenetrable Blue Mountains, and thus opened up the 

way for the colony to expand onto the vast fertile slopes 

and plains of the west. Previous expeditions had tried, of 

course, but all failed. The only way across was via the three 

explorers’ innovative ridge-top route. 

Well, it makes a nice story. 

By the time Gregory Blaxland, Lt William Lawson and 

William Charles Wentworth set out, a considerable amount 

of information had been gathered. Not only did they know 

of numerous routes which didn’t work, but they had George 

Caley’s observations of the main ridge, made from Mt 

Banks. They also knew that the most successful efforts were 

those which followed ridges. 

The view from Mt York is not, as implied by some accounts 

of history, one of expansive pastures. It is of the upper 

Cox’s valley, with the Great Dividing Range blocking the 

view to the west. 

Descending into the valley, they came to the same bank 

of the same river as they had been on 12 days ago — the 

Cox’s flows to the Nepean. They could have got there by 

following the river, as John Wilson apparently had. 

Their turn-around point was Mt Blaxland, some 12km short 

of the Great Divide. They had discovered a way over the 

Blue Mountains, and an area of pasture on the other side. It 

was May 31, they had been travelling for 21 days, and had 

covered about 93km; an average of about 4.5km per day. 

They returned to Emu Plains in 5 days. 

This route was later to become that of the highway and 

railway. However, it was Francis Barrallier’s route which 

became the stock route, as it offered better feed along the 

way. 

Their report to the Governor Macquarie was modest; it was 

later writers who polished up the story and made them into 

heroes. Macquarie took no action to exploit their discovery. 

Wentworth was later to advise that a railway across the Blue 

Mountains was impossible. 

Six months later, George Evans led a team which followed 

the Three Explorers’ route, and continued on, over the Great 

Dividing Range, to where Bathurst now stands. He thus 

became the first European known to have reached the rich 

pasture land of the Western Slopes and Plains. 

Governor Macquarie now became seriously interested. He 

commissioned George Cox to build a road along the route, 

and personally made the trip to Bathurst soon after it was 

completed. Bathurst, which did not yet exist as such, was to 

become Australia’s first inland city. 

Why do [the three explorers] get all the credit? Two reasons 

come to mind: the Three were respectable (unlike Wilson), 

and British (unlike Barrallier). 

Previously, it had been in the governor’s interests to 

promote the belief that the mountains were impenetrable. 

Had Governor Hunter been so inclined, he could have 

followed up on John Wilson’s explorations and had a road 

to Hartley by 1800, and one to Goulburn soon after. 

It is not our intention to denigrate the achievement of 

the Three Explorers. Rather, we seek to put it back into 

proper perspective; in fact, the perspective in which they 

themselves apparently saw it. 

www.infobluemountains.net.au/history/crossing_3ex.htm 


6 Write a brief paragraph or do a comic strip sketch for your own 

history textbook (in box 7 of activity page 3C) to explain to readers 

if Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth can be given the honour of 

being the first to cross the Blue Mountains. 

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth were the first 

to cross the Blue Mountains. True or False? 


39

Activity page 

12A 

Investigation 8 What impacts did the crossing have? See the film 

Did the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813 have significant impacts? 

To decide we need to look at what followed from the event. 

1 Read the comments below, and summarise them, using this table. 

As you add information and ideas, you can also annotate them with your 

judgements about whether the impacts were good (+ve) or bad (–ve), and 

short-term (ST) or long-term (LT). One example has been done to help you. 


from 12:00 to 14:40 

and 14:40 to 15:50 

Impacts of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains 

Economic 

New land for grazing sheep (LT) (+ve) 

Social 

Environmental 

Human 

Identity 

40 


Activity page 

12B 

Source 1 

Since my return to England many of my friends 

have expressed a wish to peruse my Journal 

…. It may not be deemed wholly uninteresting, 

when it is considered what important alterations 

the result of the expedition has produced in 

the immediate interests and prosperity of the 

colony. This appears in nothing more decidedly 

than the unlimited pasturage already afforded 

to the very fine flocks of merino sheep, as well 

as the extensive field opened for the exertions 

of the present, as well as future generations. It 

has changed the aspect of the colony, from a 

confined insulated tract of land, to a rich and 

extensive continent. 

Dedication by Blaxland in his Journal, 1823 


Source 4 

In the first place, Macquarie did not plan a rapid peopling of the 

inland region — his plans for Bathurst ‘rested on the assumption 

that there was no pressing need for people to go there’. His 

proposed regulations for settlement were not approved until 

1817, and even then he took no immediate action to put then 

into effect. Although a few soldiers and labouring men had been 

stationed at Bathurst, there were no settlers until 1818, when 

ten grantees were finally put on small farms. In 1820 Macquarie 

was still rejecting proposals for a large-scale convict settlement 

on the grounds that it posed a security risk, and he had actively 

discouraged settlement by reserving large areas as Crown land. 

The Bathurst area remained for many years a small official 

outpost. 

Grace Karskens, An Historical and Archaeological Study of Cox’s Road and Early Crossings of 

the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Crown lands Office, Bicentennial Project Unit, 

Sydney, 1988 p. 41 

Source 2 

Cox’s Road itself, rough and steep as it was, 

constituted the appropriate first step towards 

the Colony’s perceived future development: it 

marked the line of European ‘civilisation’ through 

the wilderness and made possible Macquarie’s 

official claim over the vast interior for some 

future imperial destiny. 

Grace Karskens, An Historical and Archaeological Study of Cox’s Road 

and Early Crossings of the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Crown 

lands Office, Bicentennial Project Unit, Sydney, 1988 

Source 5 

In 1788 the Aborigines of the Blue Mountains had had no contact 

with Europeans; within 30 years their traditional way of life had 

been irrevocably changed. Of the generations of new Mountains 

dwellers who followed, few appreciated the Aboriginal heritage 

of the region, even though evidence of their presence was known 

from the Nepean River and the adjacent escarpment. 

Eugene Stockton and John Merriman (eds), Blue Mountains Dreaming: The Aboriginal Heritage 

(Second Edition), Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson, 2009, back cover 

Source 6 

Source 3 

What was needed in the meantime was, firstly 

an official claiming of the region in symbolic 

and practical ways, laying suitable foundations 

for later development, and secondly a means by 

which the colony’s starving stock might quickly 

be taken into the new country. Cox’s Road served 

both purposes admirably. While not untruthful 

this description was exaggerated. For the journey 

over Cox’s Road proved to be extremely difficult 

and laborious. Significantly, as the numbers 

of travellers gradually increased, so the long 

process of re-alignment and improvement 

followed. Cox’s original road was simply not 

suitable for the transport and communication 

required for inland settlement, and so while it 

was of considerable symbolic importance, it had 

only limited actual economic usefulness. 

Grace Karskens, An Historical and Archaeological Study of Cox’s Road 

and Early Crossings of the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Crown 

lands Office, Bicentennial Project Unit, Sydney, 1988 

Items on display in the Crossing of the Blue Mountains exhibit 

in the National Museum of Australia — iron axe heads and nails, 

a breastplate given by settlers to Aboriginal leaders, Aboriginal 

stone tools found in the Bathurst area. 

2 Could this display represent a comment on the impact 

of the new settlers on Aboriginal life and culture? 

Discuss this idea. 


41

Activity page 

12C 

Source 7 

Bathurst was founded at the terminus of Cox’s Road on the 

orders of Governor Lachlan Macquarie who selected the 

site on 7 May 1815. It is the oldest inland town in Australia. 

The name Bathurst comes from the surname of the British 

Colonial Secretary Lord Bathurst. It was intended to be the 

administrative centre of the western plains of New South 

Wales, where orderly colonial settlement was planned. The 

settlers who crossed the Blue Mountains were harassed by 

Wiradjuri warriors, who killed or wounded stock-keepers 

and stock and were subjected to retaliatory killings. In 

response, Governor Brisbane proclaimed martial law on 

14 August 1824 to end ‘… the Slaughter of Black Women 

and Children, and unoffending White Men …’. It remained 

in force until 11 December 1824. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathurst,_New_South_Wales andhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_frontier_wars#New_South_Wales 

Source 8 Biography of Windradyne (c.1800–1829) 

Windradyne (c.1800–1829), Aboriginal resistance leader, 

also known as SATURDAY, was a northern Wiradjuri man of 

the upper Macquarie River region in central-western New 

South Wales. Emerging as a key protagonist in a period 

of Aboriginal-settler conflict later known as the ‘Bathurst 

Wars’, in December 1823 ‘Saturday’ was named as an 

instigator of clashes between Aborigines and settlers that 

culminated in the death of two convict stockmen at Kings 

Plains. He was arrested and imprisoned at Bathurst for one 

month; it was reported that six men and a severe beating 

with a musket were needed to secure him. 

After some of the most violent frontier incidents of the 

period, including the killing of seven stockmen in the 

Wyagdon Ranges north of Bathurst and the murder of 

Aboriginal women and children by settler–vigilantes near 

Raineville in May 1824, Governor Brisbane placed the 

western district under martial law on 14 August. The 

local military was increased to seventy-five troops, and 

magistrates were permitted to administer summary justice. 

Windradyne’s apparent involvement in the murder of 

European stockmen resulted in a reward of 200 hectares 

being offered for his capture. The crisis subsided quickly, 

although the failure to capture Windradyne delayed the 

repeal of martial law until 11 December. Two weeks later he 

and a large number of his people crossed the mountains to 

Parramatta to attend the annual feast there, where he was 

formally pardoned by Brisbane. 

The Sydney Gazette described Saturday as ‘without 

doubt, the most manly black native we have ever beheld 

… much stouter and more proportionable limbed’ than 

most Aborigines, with ‘a noble looking countenance, and 

piercing eye … calculated to impress the beholder’. Another 

observer thought him ‘a very fine figure, very muscular 

… a good model for the figure of Apollo’. His sobriety 

and affection for his family and kinsmen were considered 

remarkable. 

Apparently remaining camped in the domain at Parramatta 

for some time after the 1824 feast, Windradyne then 

returned to Bathurst. He declined to attend Governor 

Darling’s feast the following year. In later years, he was 

intermittently reported as being involved in raids on maize 

crops or in clashes with settlers around Lake George. In 

1828 an Aboriginal man being led to his execution for 

the murder of a stockman at Georges Plains attempted 

vainly to pin the crime on the ‘notorious Saturday’. 

Mortally wounded in a tribal fight on the Macquarie River, 

Windradyne died a few hours later on 21 March 1829 at 

Bathurst hospital, and was buried at Bathurst. 

Windradyne had been closely associated with George Suttor 

and his son William Henry, who were strong advocates on 

behalf of Aborigines during and after the period of martial 

law. Both lamented his passing in the Sydney press in 

April 1829. One of William Henry Suttor junior’s Australian 

Stories Retold (1887) placed Windradyne at the scene of 

the Wyagdon attacks in May 1824 and described how his 

warriors had spared the life of the author’s father … 

In 1954 the Bathurst District Historical Society erected a 

monument beside a Wiradjuri burial mound at Brucedale, 

attaching a bronze plaque commemorating ‘The resting 

place of Windradene, alias ‘’Saturday”, last chief of the 

Aborigines: first a terror, but later a friend to the settlers…. 

A true patriot’. His death date was erroneously given 

as 1835. 

In the late twentieth century Windradyne was transformed 

from a local figure to a character of national importance 

as a resistance hero. A suburb at Bathurst and a student 

accommodation village at Charles Sturt University, Wagga 

Wagga, were named after him. In May 2000 his presumed 

resting place was put under a voluntary conservation order, 

the occasion celebrated by Wiradjuri descendants and the 

Suttor family, continuing a 180-year-old friendship and 

creating a potent symbol of reconciliation. 

David Andrew Roberts, Online Dictionary of Australian Biography, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/windradyne-13251 

3 Add any information to your summary 

table on activity page 3A. 

4 Write a brief paragraph or do a comic 

strip sketch for your own history 

textbook (in box 8 of activity page 3C) 

to explain to readers what the main impacts 

of the crossing of the Blue Mountains were. 

The crossing of the 

Blue Mountains opened the 

west to an immediate rush of 

settlement. True or False? 

42 



How is the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813 

Investigation 9 represented in the National Museum of Australia? 

Here is the way the National Museum of Australia presents the story of the 

crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813. 

1 Read the information on Activity Page 13B and then look at the Museum 

objects (Activity Pages 13B and 13C). Then critically evaluate the Museum’s 

representation, using the Site Study Guide below. 

SITE STUDY GUIDE — Analysing a Museum Display 

See the film 


from 15:50 to 18:30 

Aspects to consider 

The Museum display 

What is your first impression of the display 

before you start studying it in detail? 

What aspects of the event does the display 

show? 

Is the historical context clearly explained? 

Is the significance of this event clearly 

explained? 

Is a variety of evidence displayed? 

Are the objects displayed authentic for that 

event or period? 

Do the objects tell the story effectively? 

Are the text descriptions clear, accurate 

and informative? 

Do the surroundings influence your 

impression of the display? 

How is the display arranged — when you 

see it what stands out in the display? 

Is there a particular message being 

presented to you in the display? 

Is the nature of the event clearly identified 

(e.g. am I told if it is controversial or 

contested)? 

If so, is a variety of viewpoints clearly and 

fairly put? 

Do I know where the evidence has come 

from and what sort of evidence it is? 

Is its purpose to present objects (neutral), 

or to explain (impartial), or to argue a 

particular point of view (partisan)? 

At the end, do I feel that I really understand 

the event and its significance? 

What is your final judgement about the 

display? Has it changed from your initial 

impression? If so, suggest why. 


43

Activity page 

13B 

Blue Mountains Looking for land Crossing the Blue Mountains 

Soon after British colonists established 

their first settlements in New South 

Wales, they began searching for new 

pastures for their stock. They explored 

north and south, and inland as far 

as Evan (now Penrith), but found 

their way further west blocked by the 


Local Gundungurra, Wiradjuri, 

Wanaruah, Darug and Darkinjung 

peoples knew and used two main 

routes to cross the Blue Mountains. 

But most Europeans saw the range 

as a forbidding maze of sandstone 

bluffs, deep gorges and dense bush. 

Then, several expeditions managed to 

penetrate part way into the mountains, 

travelling up the Burragorang Valley, 

inland from Richmond, and around the 

range to the south. 

In 1813 Gregory Blaxland, William 

Lawson and William Charles Wentworth 

forged a route directly west from Evan. 

The following year a road tracing their 

route was built across the range and 

settlers began moving stock into the 

inland slopes and plains of Wiradjuri 

country. In the following decades the 

Blue Mountains became a holiday 

destination for Sydneysiders, and today 

more than three million people visit 

each year to admire the rugged views 

and walk the forest trails. 

All the difficulties were surmounted 

which had hitherto prevented the 

interior of the country from being 

explored and the Colony further 

extended. 

Gregory Blaxland, 1813 

From his arrival in New South Wales, 

Governor Lachlan Macquarie sought 

to increase the colony’s capacity to 

produce its own food. He instructed 

settlers to grow grain rather than 

raise sheep and cattle, but many large 

landholders refused to comply and 

continued to increase their stock. When 

drought struck the Sydney region they 

grew desperate for new pastures. 

In 1813 William Charles Wentworth, 

William Lawson and Gregory Blaxland, 

keen to expand their holdings, 

persuaded Macquarie to support an 

attempt to cross the mountains. They 

departed Emu Plains with horses, an 

Aboriginal guide and three convict 

servants. Twenty-one days and about 

93 kilometres later they climbed what 

is now Mount Blaxland and saw to the 

west country suited to sheep and cattle. 

They had proved that colonists could 

cross the Blue Mountains. 

I am more pleased with the Country 

every day; it is a great extent of 

Grazing land 

George William Evans, 1813 

After Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth 

returned from the Blue Mountains with 

reports of promising land beyond, 

Governor Macquarie instructed 

surveyor George Evans to plan a road 

across the range. Evans traced the 

explorers’ trail of blazed (marked) trees 

and then followed a pathway made by 

local Aboriginal people down onto the 

inland slopes. He found rich grasslands, 

mostly created by the Wiradjuri people’s 

practice of periodic burning. 

Macquarie then commissioned 

ex-soldier William Cox to build a road 

through the mountains. In six months 

Cox’s team of 30 convicts and eight 

guards completed more than 160 

kilometres. Bathurst, the first settlement 

west of the range, was established 

in 1815, and pastoralists flooded 

into the inland. For the next decade 

there was armed conflict in the region 

as the Wiradjuri, led by the warrior 

Windradyne, resisted the invasion. 


3 Write a brief paragraph or do a comic strip sketch for your own history textbook (in box 9 

of activity page 3C) to explain to readers how the crossing of the Blue Mountains might be 

presented differently by different historical representations. (Use the Museum display and 

other textbooks to answer this question.) 

4 Looking at activity page 3A, what are your final answers to each of the questions, based on 

the evidence, information and ideas that you have summarised throughout this unit? 

44 


Activity page 

13C 

William Cox’s telescope early 1800 

Cox used this telescope as he supervised 

construction of the first road over the Blue 

Mountains in 1814 and 1815. Governor 

Macquarie rewarded Cox with the first land grant 

in the Bathurst area, 2000 acres (810 hectares) 

that Cox named ‘Hereford’. 

Private collection 

Black slate pendulum mantel clock 

Owned by the Blaxland family 1718. Gregory Blaxland 

arrived in New South Wales from Britain in 1806, 

and his brother, John, followed a year later. They 

brought with them this weighty clock made by 

London clockmaker Devereux Bowley. The Blaxlands’ 

move was assisted by the British Government, under 

a scheme encouraging educated and prosperous 

migrants. In return for investing capital in the colony 

they were promised land grants, convict workers and 

free passage for themselves and their possessions. 

Donated by Daryl Blaxland, National Museum of Australia 

A Corrobbirree, or Dance of the Natives 

of Australia about 1836 (detail) 

By Charles Staniforth Hext 

British army officer Charles Staniforth Hext 

sketched this scene while stationed in New 

South Wales. Annotations name members of 

the ‘Bathurst tribe’ and ‘Burrogorang tribe’. 


Two hand-forged nails from 

Pilgrim Inn, Blaxland 1820s 

Pilgrim Inn was built by merchant 

and theatre director Barnett Levy on 

his land grant at Wascoe (now called 

Blaxland) in the lower Blue Mountains 

in the late 1920s. In need of money to 

fund construction of Sydney’s Theatre 

Royal, the first theatre in Australia, 

Levy sold the inn soon afterwards. 

Eventually, three major roads in the 

region — Cox’s Road, Mitchell’s Pass 

and Old Bathurst Road — converged 

at this point and for many decades 

the inn was a key stopping point for 

people travelling over the montains. 

Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Gift of W Davis, 

1958 

Pocket watch 

Inset with pearls and diamonds, belonging to 

William Charles Wentworth 1816. 

Wentworth was born to a prosperous New South 

Wales family and became a leading figure in 

colonial society. As a young man he took up 

land on the Nepean River. Then in 1816, after 

traversing the Blue Mountains, he travelled to 

Britain to study law. From 1824 Wentworth settled 

in Sydney, serving in the Legislative Council 

and campaigning for a free press, trial by jury, 

self-government and the interests of ex-convicts. 

Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales 

Gunter’s chain used in the Bathurst 

area 19th century 

Surveyor George Evans travelled across 

the Blue Mountains to the future site 

of Bathurst in 1813. He measured the 

length of his return journey to Sydney 

with a Gunter’s chain, whose 100 links 

add up to 66 feet (just over 20 metres). 

Department of Lands, New South Wales 

White Mountain ash marker 1813 

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth 

marked their route through the Blue 

Mountains by blazing, or cutting, the 

bark of trees. This section of white 

mountain ash, removed from Pulpit 

Hill near Katoomba in 1901, shows 

markings believed to have been made 

by the explorers. 

Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. 

Collected by Mr Connelly, 1901 

Single-barrel shotgun 

Believed to have belonged 

to William Wentworth early 

19th century 

Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. 

Gift of Mr Minton, 1984 

Portrait medallion of 

Wentworth 1854 

By Thomas Woolner 



45

Activity page 

13B 

Gregory Blaxland’s sword 

About 1800. 


Breastplate 19th century 

In the 1830s George Larnach and his family 

became the first settlers in the Caloola Valley 

near Bathurst. They established friendly 

relations with the local Wiradjuri people. 

Lanarch presented this breastplate to an 

elder of the group as a mark of respect. 

On loan from Alan McRae 

Land grant made to Gregory Blaxland 1812 

In 1809 Lieutenant Governor William Paterson 

allocated Blaxland 2000 acres (810 hectares) at 

Evan, now Penrith. Three years later Governor 

Lachlan Macquarie granted him a further 2280 

acres (920 hectares) at the same location, and 

then, as detailed in this document, 500 acres 

(200 hectares) at what is now Cobbity. Macquarie 

believed this ended Blaxland’s entitlement, but 

the family disputed this in the court. Determined 

to expand his holdings, Blaxland looked for land 

west of the Blue Mountains. 


Surveyor and settler 

William Lawson arrived in Sydney in 1800 as an 

officer of the New South Wales Corps. He acted 

as a surveyor during the 1813 expedition into 

the Blue Mountains and may have been the first 

to take stock across the range. Lawson selected 

1000 acres (400 hectares) near Bathurst as 

his reward for a successful expedition. He was 

commandant of Bathurst from 1819 to 1824 and 

led expeditions to its west and north. Lawson 

eventually owned more than 200 000 acres, 

making his pastoral enterprise one of the largest 

in the colonies. 

William Lawson 

Mitchell Linrary, State Library of New South Wales 

Stone flakes found in the 

Bathurst area collected 

1900-60 

Wiradjuri craftspeople had 

made stone tools like these for 

thousands of years before the 

first settlers arrived. These flakes 

were collected by Percy Gresser, 

a Bathurst shearer who devoted 

his life to researching Indigenous 

culture and history. 

Bathurst Historical Society 

Brick from Fordwich House 1820s 

Blaxland hoped his 1813 expedition across the Blue 

Mountains would bring him new pastures. Governor 

Macquarie rewarded Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth each 

with 1000 acres (400 hectares) west of the range, but refused 

Blaxland’s request for further grants inland of the mountains. 

Despite such disputes with colonial authorities, the Blaxland 

family developed a network of properties in New South Wales. 

This brick is from Fordwich House, built by the Blaxland 

family with convict labour at Boke, near Singleton, in 1824. 

Cattle were bred and fattened at Fordwich before being 

slaughtered and salted at John Blaxland’s large property, 

Newington, on the Parramatta River, west of Sydney. 

On loan from Darryl Blaxland 

Road making tools used for 

crossing the Blue Mountains 

William Cox’s team of 

convicts used basic tools 

like these while building 

the first road across the 

Blue Mountains, now the 

Great Western Highway. 

On loan from Ralph Hawkins 

46 



Conclusion and reflection: 

What does the crossing of the Blue Mountains tell us about Australian history? 

You have now studied an event in great detail. 

It is time to make some judgements and assessments about the nature and significance of this event in 

Australian history. 

The Australian Curriculum: History asks you to consider the following areas. Compose your response to each, 

based on your knowledge, understanding and empathetic awareness (what it might have been like at the time) 

of the people and the event. 

1 What does the Crossing of the Blue Mountains tell us about: 

The Impact of the 

Industrial Revolution 

on Australia 

Convict life 

Impacts of 

settlement on 

Indigenous people 

The movement 

of people 

The nature of the 

free settlers 

Economic activity 

in New South Wales 

Land use in New 

South Wales 

What it was like 

(empathy) 

Causation 

Consequences of 

settlement 

Different views of 

the future of New 

South Wales 

2 Write a brief paragraph or do a comic strip sketch for your own history textbook 

(in box 10 of activity page 3C) to summarise for readers what you think the 

crossing of the Blue Mountains tells us about this part of our past. 


47

Country Women’s Association of NSW collection, National Museum of Australia

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