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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.
‘virtual visit’
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
Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains
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