Download Teacher Guide & Print Resources - Australian History ...

Activity page 11A
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
‘virtual visit’
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
Blue Mountains.
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 …
This candidate might be considered the first
to cross the Blue Mountains because …
Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains
35