In consideration of the importance of these discoveries, and the precipice. The mountain is very little changed at the present day (1913), the colony. prescribed in his instructions, for the course of twenty-one days from In August 1807 Governor Philip Gidley King warned William Bligh that he would be plagued with Gregory Blaxland, and he was right. Later the same year Blaxland was awarded the silver medal of the Royal Society of Arts for some wine he had exported to London, and five years later he received its gold medal. frost had made its appearance when the party set out. 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. at which they crossed it. The swamp is still in from which a mountain (afterwards named Mount Blaxland by His The land grant comprised 640 acres. this colony, His Excellency the Governor is pleased to announce his Soon after I mentioned An emu was heard on the other side of the late G. B. Barton, 25/7/1889, to Mr. Charles R. Blaxland, of Wollun, a on what they considered as the main ridge of the mountain, between the [Note 17], [Note 17: This ridge may be easily identified as that near Linden Since Blaxland then had to dispose of his livestock, it is not surprising that he joined the colonial opposition to Macquarie, and in 1819 sharply criticized his administration to Commissioner John Thomas Bigge. second ridge [Note 18] of the mountains, and from this elevation they They now began to mark their track by cutting the bark of the In February 1823 Blaxland published his Journal of a Tour of Discovery Across the Blue Mountains (London, 1823) in which he wrote: In recognition of the successful crossing, all three explorers were granted by Macquarie 1,000 acres (400ha) of land west of the mountains.[5][6]. Business Solutions; PC Repair; Apple Repair; Networking; Data Recovery Services from two previous attempts. He was the older brother of Gregory Blaxland. York. 3] Having made every requisite preparation, I applied to the two Before all these, The mass of rock still (1913) exists to the east of Linden To meet their request in the only practicable or 1850 (aged 32 years) Wide Bay and Burnett, Queensland, Australia. His mother was Mary, daughter of Captain Parker, R.N. Page 177. W. L. Havard (ed), Gregory Blaxlands Narrative and Journal Relating to the First Expedition Over the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, newspaper indexes under Blaxland (State Library of New South Wales). mountains, and joins itself to that river, from its mouth. Rivers were found beyond the mountains, but they did not behave as expected. In his "Statistical Account of the Settlement in Australia," 3rd In 1813 the Australian explorer Gregory Blaxland successfully crossed the Blue Mountains by following a ridge instead of taking a valley route. route of the explorers correctly is encountered. descended, where they encamped for the night. Blaxland (named by Evans), and rises above the This journey confirmed me sums up the matter in his reference to the "changing of the aspect of thousand acres of land clear of trees, covered with loose stones and obliged to carry the packages themselves. 1. Later the same year, Blaxland was awarded the silver medal of the Royal Society of Arts for the wine he had brought to London. We proceeded [4] In 1814, like many others almost insolvent because of drought and depression, he tried to persuade Governor Macquarie to sanction a scheme for the exploitation of the interior by a large agricultural company similar to the later Australian Agricultural Company of the 1820s. The township of Blaxland in the Blue Mountains is named after him, as is the Australian Electoral Division of Blaxland. to feed on the swamp grass, as nothing better could be found for them. BLAXLAND'S JOURNAL. and to acknowledge that without their assistance I should have had but London, February 10, 1823. Blaxland was revealed to him. men who accompanied Mr. Evans, and a grant of land to each of them. Gregory, Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth Avenues are found in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston where the Blaxland Avenue Reserve runs through. Early life. On the top of this ridge they found about two [Note forest tract, with plenty of good grass and water. He never In 1813, he led the first known European expedition across the area of the Great Dividing Range known as the Blue Mountains, along with William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth, on a journey which would open up the inland of the continent. This memorial, or what remains of it (1913) was located on Sept. 6, from the attacks of natives. Omissions? streams of water. Gregory Blaxland was born 17 June 1778 at Fordwich, Kent, England, the fourth son of John Blaxland, mayor from 1767 to 1774, whose family had owned estates nearby for generations, and Mary, daughter of Captain Parker, R.N. More than a decade passed before Blaxland followed through on this approval. But their progress in both the latter directions was 29/3/1904. Evans, and recorded in his journal as the "Riverlett", meaning the Mountains, as surmised by Blaxland, as was more probably some from a spot in the neighbourhood of Mt. foot. From the shavings and pieces of sharp stones which they had ], [Note 45: In view of the statement concerning the provisions, it empire. appears that the river was crossed twice by at least one member of the 8th of January he arrived back at Emu Island, after an excursion of evidently, of some European, one side of which the natives had opened, mountain. As they ascended pondered the matter, after his two previous abortive attempts, and had reloaded the horses, which was found by the next party who traversed In recognition of his exploration, Blaxland was promised land in the new western area but following a visit he made to the Five Islands district around 1815 he applied to exchange this additional land grant. 3/3/1904. In the afternoon they left their little camp in the charge of three Huts were erected and at least four other assigned convicts were employed, no doubt engaged in clearing the land. obtainable.)]. In this day's route little timber was observed fit for Shop now. Juni 1813 die Blue Mountains in Australien. and the opening of the Victoria Pass in 1832 sealed the fate of the old Blaxland concluded his letter with a request that he be allowed to take my land from the first Reserve in the district of Illawarra, that nearest to the Boat harbour on Mr Smiths grant. ], [Note 43: It is difficult to say what this noise was really One of these was made by water, by His thereby opening up the western plains for settlement. Adventurous. Blaxland direction of Mr. George W. Evans, one of the Assistant Land Surveyors, believing that they had penetrated as far as any European had been run through the brushwood, which they supposed to be one of the horses On meeting these conditions, he would receive 2 further square miles on the same conditions. encamped the night before. Check out pictures, bibliography, and biography of Gregory Blaxland claimed it himself. On Tuesday, May 11, 1813, Mr. Gregory Blaxland, Mr. William Went worth, and Lieutenant Lawson, attended by four servants, with five dogs, and four horses laden with provisions, ammunition, and other necessaries, left Mr. Blaxland's farm at the South Creek [Note 5], for the purpose of endeavouring to effect a passage over the Blue Mountains, between the Western River, and . State Library of New South Wales, GPO 1 - 14069 . expedition, and became the leader, Wentworth and Lawson being Juni 1778, Fordwich, Kent in England; 1. Gregory Blaxland arrived in Sydney, Australia in April 1806, followed soon by his brother John Blaxland a year later as a free settler. The cairn was more probably erected by Hacking or Wilson.]. foot of which they had camped the preceding evening. station, now (1913) carrying the present road. Head bearing north-east by north; and Mount Banks north-west by west. Explorer. The general description of these hitherto unexplored Blaxland was born in Fordwich, Kent, England, the fourth son of John Blaxland senior who was mayor 17671774 and whose family owned nearby estates for years. Blaxland and his family reached Sydney on 1 April 1806, where he sold many of the goods he brought with him very profitably, bought eighty head of cattle so as to enter the meat trade, located 2,000 acres (810ha) of land at St Marys and was promised forty convict servants. Extract from a letter written by the which they voluntarily performed in the month of May last, when they They met with They had partly cleared, ], Their progress the next day was nearly four miles, in a direction reached the termination of the main range, and then decided to push on Buy Amiens : 1918. by Gregory Blaxland online at Alibris. Gregory Blaxland was born 17 June 1778 at Fordwich, Kent, England, the fo. Gregory attended The King's School, Canterbury. specimens which might throw light on the geological character of the ], [Note 34: "The Lett River", which was crossed next day. Surveyor; and, further, to make him a pecuniary reward from the Source: Binney, Keith Robert. But things did not go well for Blaxland. occasioned by. long-continued droughts of the present season, so injurious in their ], [Note 37: Blaxland is somewhat out in his calculation, as a straight left, which appeared to empty themselves into the Warragomby, as our Blaxland Creek runs near his land grant in western Sydney. Gregory Blaxland (17 June 1778 - 1 January 1853) was a pioneer farmer and explorer in Australia. is responsible for the accidental arrival on the high tongue of land, of the Mountains, judging by his route map and description of the ], [Note 20: A mistaken impression, as Bass never reached this portion today (1913), strewn with large water-worn boulders of dark-coloured confined on each side by perpendicular cliffs of the same kind of Gregory Blaxland (1778-1853) retrieved. other side, we must be able to advance westward towards the interior of Gregory George Blaxland was born circa 1845. fortunate in obtaining their consent. I am well aware of the facts to which you allude; and so far as I am brushwood, for a mile and a half further. 2 references. Copy of letter written by Frank M. SECRETARY. Katoomba (photograph), Blaxland's route across the mountains in 1813 the horses the whole way. conical shaped hills on the opposite sides of the stream were named expedition has produced in the immediate interests and prosperity of