The Great Western Road illustrated by Frank Walker FRAHS

The Great Western Hoad.
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The Ji5th April,x815,was a"red-letter day" in
the history of Hew South Wales,as it signalled the throwing open
of the newly“discovered western country to settlement,and the
opening of the new road,which was completed by William uox,and
his small gang of labourers in January,of the same year.
The discovery of a passage across those hitherto
unassailaole mountains by ulaxland,Lawson and wentworth,after
repeated failures by no less than thirteen other expeditions;the
extended discoveries beyond Blaxland s furthest point by ueorge
William Evans,and the subsequent construction of the road,follow
-ed each other in rapid sequence,and proud indeed was i.acquarie,
now that his long cherished hopes and ambitions promised to be
realised,and a vast,and hitherto unknown region,added to the
limited area which for twenty-five years represented the English
settlement in Australia.
Separated as we are by more than a century of
time it is difficult to realise what this sudden expansion meant
to the tfeen colony,cribbed,cabbined and confined as it had been
by these mysterious mountains,which had guarded their secret so
well, '^-'he dread spectre of famine had once again loomed up on the
horizon before alaxland s successful expedition had ueen carried
out,and the starving stock required newer and fresher pastures
if they were to survive. All these things were of the past now,
and a well made road,extending from the Nepean to the site .of the
future city of Bathurst,invited traffic,and the virgin country
into which it led,stood expectantly open,with waiting arms,ready
to welcome the first settler willing to posess it.
The construction of that first road,wiiich oy
reason of the wild and rugged country.through which it passed,
presented almost unsurmountable difficulties to that inexperienced
band of road engineers,was,in itself,a remarkable undertaking,and
may be classed as one of the most wonderful pieces of
engineering in Australian history. With a working strength of
only thirty,and having to face the rigours of a mountain winter
for the greater part of the time,the story of this work as told
in the pages of William Cox s juiary,is not only interesting,but
it calls forth admiration for the pluck and perseverance of the
leader and his band. Ho hardship was too great;no disappointment
too keen,and though failures were frequent,and almost superhuman
difliculties presented themselves,uox•s dogged perseverance alone
carried him through,and success was his reward at last.
The road was commenced on July 7,lol4,and on
the 14th January in the following year uox was able to report to
o.e ..Oi scqaarie that his .task was finished,and the road ready;
j.0- ora.;.lie, A few months were allowed to intervene when,as men
Cloned above,the official opening of the road took place on the
ensuing &oth April,1S15. The following extract from Cox’s Diary