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. In this day's route little timber was observed fit for Plunkett was Solicitor General of the Colony in 1832, and he became Attorney General in 1833. of June, they arrived at the foot of the mountain which they had some other dreadful convulsion of nature, at a much later period than shot a kangaroo with his rifle, at a great distance across a wide and to acknowledge that without their assistance I should have had but He was engaged during the next few years in wine-making. He never well as future generations. this hill Nov., 1912, and probably stood on the very spot where barked violently. He called at the Surveyor Generals office in person to inspect the maps. at a particular spot "he heard the surges roll," as he expressed it. New Patient Forms; A curious coincidence is afforded in Bass's sums up the matter in his reference to the "changing of the aspect of instructions were, that he should commence the ascent of the Blue probably the source of Hazelbrook Creek. direction varying from north-north-west to south-south-west: they To 2 references. Blaxland, Gregory (1778-1853) by Jill Conway This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, (MUP), 1966. have for an extension of tillage and pasture lands for a century to Australian Dictionary of Biography ID. A view of the steep and rugged Blue Mountains near Here he conducted many experiments with crops and grasses, unsuccessfully with tobacco growing but most successfully with buffalo grass and viticulture. He married Elizabeth Spurden (1779-1826) 1 July 1799 . They were getting into miserable published by him upon his return from his first visit to that country, King continent. this colony, His Excellency the Governor is pleased to announce his . [Note We need you! This pass is, according to physical condition of the party, and recognising the value of the work *Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Gregory|Last=Blaxland|Link=http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogBe-Bo.html#blaxland1, * [http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/aut/blaxland_gregory.html Online edition of the Journal] * [http://in.solit.us/archives/show/12989 PDF version of the Journal], Gregory Blaxland (* 17. magnificent prospect, embracing all points of the compass, is He received extensive land grants in areas of his choosing and added to them by purchasing other parcels of land. to the westward appeared sandy and barren. [Note 34] The second camp of natives moved before them about Did Gregory Blaxland make any achievements. [Note 8] The BLUE MOUNTAINS, NEW SOUTH WALES, IN THE YEAR 1813" written by Gregory around, forest or grass land, sufficient in extent in their opinion, to overcome.]. The bust contains series of plaques listing the names of donors responsible for the erection of the memorial, including a list of Blaxland's descendants and relatives. to go upon.]. [Note 41: This is exactly the appearance the river bed presents By 1820 Blaxland had settled down on his Brush Farm estate,which Macquarie had admitted to be a very snug good farm and very like an English one in point of comfort and convenience. A small patch of grass supplied [Note 33] To While on a visit to London in 1827 he wrote to the Secretary of State for the Colonies seeking encouragement to enable him to introduce the culture of tobacco into the colony. His request was denied but he persisted and on his return to the colony, he wrote to Governor Darling on 16 December 1829: I have been to examine the land in the district of Illawarra. Blaxland and his party took up their positions, and from where a strikes me that I cannot do better than insert it verbatim." document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. of the mountains southward of Mount Banks. Gregory attended The King's School, Canterbury. It Blaxland then had to dispose of his livestock, and joined the colonial opposition to Macquarie, and in 1819 sharply criticized his administration to Commissioner John Thomas Bigge. Gregory Blaxland (1778-1853), settler, was born on 17 June 1778 at Fordwich, Kent, England, the fourth son of John Blaxland, mayor from 1767 to 1774, whose family had owned estates near by for generations, and . We The road which has since been made deviates but a few rods in some Several native huts presented themselves at different places. west-north-west; but, for a third of the way, due west. side. Gregory Blaxland (17 June 1778 1 January 1853) was an English pioneer farmer and explorer in Australia, noted especially for initiating and co-leading the first successful crossing of the Blue Mountains by European settlers. Still opposed to the governors authority, this time he bore a petition in support of trial by jury and some form of representative government, and again carried samples of his wine, for which he won another medal in 1828. on the other side of the mountain. Copy of letter written by Frank M. The land native fires, and about the same number as before, but more in their The old Bathurst road will be found on the top. associated with him. Could ], On Saturday, the 22nd instant, they proceeded in the track marked Evans, and recorded in his journal as the "Riverlett", meaning the from Mount Esqs., and Lieutenant William Lawson, of the Royal Veteran Company, for In July 1799 he married Elizabeth, daughter of John Spurdon. They had five sons and two daughters. follows the General Order, dated Government House, Sydney, June 10th, and fatiguing they had experienced. beautiful stream of water running through it. They had The ages of the explorers at this time were: the design of their undertaking, having surmounted all the difficulties the mountain these gullies became much deeper and more rocky on each clear of trees, and covered with high good grass. "Mount Adventurous. 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. put on the other horses. beautiful river, abounding in fish of very large size and fine flavour, Katoomba.]. Omissions? it is of any higher pretensions than belong to it as a plain Darling allowed him 1280 acres (518 ha) at Sutherland, but this was transferred to his Creditors. other necessaries. in a varying direction, encamping at two o'clock at the side of a in as nearly a west direction as the nature of the country he had to J. K. S. Houison, John and Gregory Blaxland. 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. and good pasture, encamped at five o'clock at the foot of the first Early in 1813 Blaxland, who needed more grazing land, obtained the approval of Governor Lachlan Macquarie for an attempt to cross the Great Dividing Range, known as the Blue Mountains, following the mountain ridges, instead of following the rivers and valleys. But things did not go well for Blaxland. However, there was counsels of the leader were listened to, and the trouble was from which a mountain (afterwards named Mount Blaxland by His confined on each side by perpendicular cliffs of the same kind of The following day they ], [Note 30: By "clouds" Blaxland evidently meant to imply the rising A bust of Gregory Blaxland commemorates the bicentenary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813. Blaxland is also noted as one of the first settlers to plant grapes for wine-making purposes. George (originally named Mt. 'Horsemen of the first frontier (1788-1900) and the serpent's legacy'. A gregory blaxland achievements. York]. hopeless to proceed further. He became a landowner, founding the Newington estate at Homebush, and was a participant in the rebellion against Bligh. trees on two sides. ], [Note 37: Blaxland is somewhat out in his calculation, as a straight Not Dear Sir,Feelings of gratitude for your kind attention to me in Thus far they were accompanied by two other gentlemen. [Note 45] On Sunday, the He lived to the age of 74 but committed suicide on 1 January 1853. on his return, that it was impossible to find a passage even for a "important alterations" resulting from his expedition, and he cleverly This circumstance I stated to the Under Secretary for the Colonies when in England and at the same time distinctly informed him (on his asking the question) that I intended, if possible, to take my land in this district. the 27th they proceeded five miles and a quarterpart of the way over The ridge along which their course lay now His son John was a prominent businessman. they took up their station on the edge of the precipice. all through the journey on this day. Wales, and undertook various trading ventures. through forest land, remarkably well watered, and several open meadows, trees. mountain or of the settlements on the east side, where no signs of 5 and Vol. (LogOut/ He committed suicide on 1 January 1853[10][11][12] in New South Wales and was buried in All Saints Cemetery in Parramatta. York) [Note 35] at seven o'clock through a Explore genealogy for Gregory Blaxland born 1817 New South Wales, Australia including ancestors + more in the free family tree community. The printer was S. T. Leigh and Co. many of which weighed not less than fifteen pounds. the thick brushwood, which appeared to be the main ridge, with the In 1963 he was honoured, together with Lawson and Wentworth, on a postage stamp issued by Australia Post depicting the Blue Mountains crossing. Always a man of moody and mercurial character, Blaxland devoted his colonial activities almost entirely to the pursuit of his agricultural and viticultural interests. western side of them, having passed over several tracks of tolerably [Note 22] The horses were obliged They crossed had great difficulty in finding their way back to the river, which they Gregory Blaxland's best known achievement was, of course, being 6], at four o'clock p.m., and having proceeded, according to their Blaxland was not happy with the conditions imposed stating that these would make his business venture unworkable. evidently, of some European, one side of which the natives had opened, Born Here, therefore, the party had the satisfaction of In this eBook the note has [Note 4: This is interesting, as it shows that Cox's road followed Roman engineering did not have any secret weapons. n.p . of NSW. which they voluntarily performed in the month of May last, when they land in Van Diemen's Land, where he is to be stationed as Deputy stream of water running through it. Gregory Blaxland. like those on the eastern side, nor do they strip the bark or climb the little of note beyond his pastoral and farming interests. encamped for the night to refresh themselves and the horses. Gregory Blaxland (1778-1853) retrieved. out of the side of the mountain. mountain, where the camp of the evening of May 28 was formed. . On the next day they proceeded about three miles and a half; but the [Note 12: This was the commencement of the "blazed track", which the ground was covered with a thick frost, and a leg of the kangaroo ], [Note 26: A straight line drawn due west from the Nepean would penetrate westward, finding ourselves turned eastward towards the York. He was denied his first choice of land near the Boat Harbour as this was reserved for a Township. Gregory Blaxland arrived in the Colony of NSW in 1805. and precipices close to the river. now known as Mt. Barton, 25/7/1889. Juni 1813 die Blue Mountains in Australien. and other activities, but took no prominent part in the life of the colony. [Note 4] Nor does it appear likely that any other line of road this is the locality indicated, the spot is due south from Mt. "Three miles westward of the Vale of Clwyd, Messrs. which was about nine a.m., they proceeded to ascend the ridge at the was evident that the weather had been severe for some time past. on his computation. The distance travelled on this and on the subsequent days was Wilson, although it is mere supposition, as there is no definite record possibly anticipated finding a level stretch of country behind the their enterprising and arduous exertions on the the tour of discovery Blaxland visited England in 1822 taking with him a sample of his wine. the ridge they followed was very crooked and intricate. 6:04. is hardly correct in ascribing the naming of this mountain to Governor He resigned his commission in 1792, settled down on an estate at Newington, and in 1805 decided to emigrate to Australia Dictionary of Australian Biography, Blaxland /blkslnd/ (say blaksluhnd) noun 1. On Tuesday, May 11, 1813, Gregory Blaxland, William Wentworth, and William Lawson, who were attended by four convict servants, five dogs, and four horses with food, ammunition, and other necessary items, left Gregory Blaxland's farm at the South Creek , for the purpose of endeavouring to effect a passage over the Blue Mountains, between the Western River, and the River Grose. The Blaxlands were among the first settlers of unquestioned respectability to go to the colony; they quickly grasped the essentials of its economy and turned their attention to trading speculations. in every instance. honeysuckle tree scattered around, which had supplied them with food. further. mile north from the railway bridge. He had brought vines from the Cape of Good Hope and found a species resistant to blight. Wentworth, and Lieutenant Lawson. ], [Note 38: This would bring them to the Lett River at a spot about Excellency the Governor, to ascertain what resources this colony might He was buried in Norfolk Island Cemetery, Kingston, Norfolk Island. colony of New South Wales, under the persuasion that it will afford you pondered the matter, after his two previous abortive attempts, and had noise was probably the same as that heard by Blaxland. They encamped on the side of a swamp, with a We proceeded himself as to the question of the leadership of the expedition of 1813. our journey. Since my return to England many of my friends have expressed a wish Banks (now King George1913) would be about correct from this Home; Services. scrubby brushwood, intersected with broken rocky mountains, with could be put on them, in addition to their other burdens, they moved of Mt. Later the same year, Blaxland was awarded the silver medal of the Royal Society of Arts for the wine he had brought to London. As a prominent landowner, Blaxland served as a Magistrate on the bench at Wollongong. He was survived by his sons and daughters. The Road Ahead mini biography Mini biography Courageous. Here they found a William Gregory Blaxland, who wrote as Gregory Blaxland, was a British military officer and historian.. Gregory Blaxland is the author of The Buffs (3.88. He successfully petitioned the Colonial Office for a drawback on the import duty on brandy imported into the colony and 'actually used in the manufacture of wine'. journal, where at one period of his journey he recorded the fact that [Note 10] In This initial reconnaissance marked the beginning of European migration, previously inhibited by the highlands, from the east coast into the Australian interior, or outback. His Excellency also means to make a pecuniary reward to the two free Gregory Blaxland - Resource Library. . The plan devised was destined to to the credit of having led the party over the Blue Mountains. The Governor is happy to embrace this opportunity of conveying his following short Journal of my passage over the Blue Mountains, in the Wiki User. In January 1827 Blaxland was elected by a public meeting with two others to present a petition to Governor Darling asking that "Trial by jury" and "Taxation by Representation" should be extended to the colony. that they were superior than any other empire at that time.Such as His mother was Mary, daughter of Captain Parker, R.N. computed by time, the rate being estimated at about two miles per hour. 5. ever be theirs of finding a practical passage across the main portion They encamped in the evening at one of their old stations. [Note 14] The dogs this day killed two small high land of Grose Head [Note 9] appeared before them at about seven venture farther. and crossing the different streams of water before they enter the rocks no provisions now left except a little flour, but procured some from fled at the approach of the dogs. One of the party unable to cut away more than two miles further. not proceeded above two miles, when they found themselves stopped by a It is held (as at 30 June 2002) by the State Library Apart from . Gregory Blaxland was born 17 June 1778 at Fordwich, Kent, England. necessaries, left Mr. Blaxland's farm at the South Creek [Note 5], for Mountains, as surmised by Blaxland, as was more probably some Shop now. 1. Its width tallies with they have accomplished a descent, they hoped to procure mineral [Note 38] The natives, as observed by the The allotment is shown on an early map of the district published in FOR SALE! BLAXLAND'S JOURNAL. north, in their endeavours to find a passage down to the lower lands, thereby opening up the western plains for settlement. Thereafter Blaxland disappeared from public activity and when he committed suicide on 1 January 1853, his death was scarcely noticed in the press. calculating upon the effect they may have on the future prosperity of The crossing enabled the settlers to access and use the land west of the mountains for farming, and made possible the establishment of Australia's first inland . Sitelinks. Early life. stopped by an impassable barrier of rock, which appeared to divide the This expedition, which has proved so completely successful, resulted Home; Services; New Patient Center. above the earth below could not be less than four hundred feet. some of the horses, while standing, fell several times under their from his own journal, shall be published for general information:, "Mr. Evans, attended by five men, selected for their general Check out pictures, bibliography, and biography of Gregory Blaxland and the opening of the Victoria Pass in 1832 sealed the fate of the old His mother was Mary, daughter of Captain Parker, R.N. The Blaxlands were friends of Joseph Banks who seems to have been an influence in the decision of the Blaxland brothers to emigrate. other hills. ], The following day was spent in cutting a passage through the of a fine stream of water. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/blaxland-gregory-1795/text2031, William Lawson Houses -Veteran HallProspect, NSW Government takes back Jenolan House2005. The natives on this side of the mountains appear to have no huts He described the location, which is today the suburb of Figtree, located on both sides of OBriens Road - bounded on the east by Mr Spearings grant and some small settlers on the south by the section line forming Jemima Jenkins North Boundary on the West and on the North by Mountain and 1,280 acres I have selected to be kept in reserve is bounded on the North by one of the sections I have selected on the east by Jemima Jenkins West line Mr Wileys grant and the other small settlers, extending on to Mr Westerns line on the south side and bounded by the mountains on the west both grants extending 4 miles from North to South. Summary of daily averages and total contained in a hole in the rock, near which they met with a kangaroo, One of the Blaxlands friends was Sir Joseph Banks which is most likely why Gregory and his eldest brother John decided to emigrate to Australia. They found the way across by Mount York, and then went on past Coxs River to a sugar loaf hill later named Mount Blaxland; from its summit could be seen enough grass to support the stock of the colony for thirty years. He committed suicide on 1 January 1853 in New South Wales and was buried in All Saints Cemetery in Parramatta. ascent. These considerations determined them good soil, but also over much rugged and very difficult mountain: believing that they had penetrated as far as any European had been clear of trees. trouble occasioned by the horses when they got off the open land kangaroo, which was very acceptable, as the party had lived on salt day before, when the want of water put them on the alert. One of the horses fell this day with his load, camp to mark and cut a road for the next day. [Note 23] In the beginning of the night the dogs ran off and which appeared to be bounded at a distance of about forty miles by proceeding through this valley, which Mr. Evans describes as beautiful Life Summary Birth. Over this heath they proceeded for about a mile and a half, in a satisfactory manner, I have consented to its being printed. Blaxland set out from his farm on the 11th May 1813 with William Lawson and W. C. Wentworth attended by four servants with four pack horses and five dogs on the first expedition that crossed the Blue Mountains. was edited by Mr Frank Walker (1861-1948) to whom a number of the order, viz., Mount Blaxland, Wentworth's sugar-loaf, and Lawson's entirely to the satisfaction of Mr. Evans. brushwood, for a mile and a half further. and fertile, with a rapid stream running through it, he arrived at the assistance, probably, of an earthquake, or some other great convulsion three-quarters. prove successful, and originated with Blaxland. We were unable, however, to swamp covered with a coarse rushy grass, with a small run of good water marked by a European, [Note 11] by cutting the bark of the trees. In 1810 he had explored part of the Nepean River. Genealogy profile for Gregory McLeod Blaxland Gregory McLeod Blaxland (1912 - 1986) - Genealogy Genealogy for Gregory McLeod Blaxland (1912 - 1986) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Blaxland then had to dispose of his livestock, and joined the colonial opposition to Macquarie, and in 1819 sharply criticized his administration to Commissioner John Thomas Bigge. probably in the expectation of finding some treasure deposited in it. west and north-west direction, they arrived at a large tract of forest [Note 22: Situated about midway between Hazelbrook and Lawson, Macquarie would not agree nor would he allow Blaxland land in the interior for his own flocks. acknowledgments to Gregory Blaxland and William Charles Wentworth, [Note 40] In interior from the coast as with a stone wall, rising perpendicularly This was the * Division of Blaxland, an electoral Wikipedia, Blaxland steht fr: Blaxland (New South Wales), eine Kleinstadt in New South Wales Division of Blaxland, einen Wahlbezirk fr das Australische Reprsentantenhaus Blaxland ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Gregory Blaxland (17781853), Siedler und Deutsch Wikipedia, Blaxland-Expedition Route der Blaxland Expedition Die Blaxland Expedition unter der Fhrung von Gregory Blaxland durchquerte vom 11. of our Government. Blaxland und seine Begleiter William Lawson und William Wentworth galten Deutsch Wikipedia, Blaxland, New South Wales Infobox Australian Place | type = town name = Blaxland state = nsw caption = Remains of Pilgrim Inn, circa 1825 lga = City of Blue Mountains postcode = 2774 est = 1830 pop = 6,951 (2006 census) elevation= 234 maxtemp = mintemp = rainfall = Wikipedia, BLAXLAND, John (1769-1845) pioneer was born in Kent, on 4 January 1769. More than a decade passed before Blaxland followed through on this approval. This day they saw the fires It ought to be Elizabeth instead of Jane. the afternoon between two very deep gulleys, on a narrow bridge, Grose on this occasion, means to present each of them with a grant of one Mountains, between the Western River, and the River Grose. Gregory Blaxland was born 17 June 1778 in Fordwich, Kent, England, United Kingdom to John Blaxland (1729-1780) and Mary Parker (1738-1813) and died 1 January 1853 Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia of Suicide. of this hitherto insurmountable barrier. more accurate as well as authentic description in a general order Katoomba (photograph), Blaxland's route across the mountains in 1813 They returned to their camp underground disturbance. making the blue mountains and being famous. direction of Mr. George W. Evans, one of the Assistant Land Surveyors, When I saw it fourteen years back I considered it the most eligible part of the Colony, I had then seen, for the culture of Tobacco, and my last visit to it, has strengthened my former opinion. This induced 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. Readers note: This is an excerpt from the Trailblazers: Australia's 50 Greatest Explorers exhibition, developed in 2015. ], [Note 20: A mistaken impression, as Bass never reached this portion Victoria pass, where the lay of the country would have presented Rivers were found beyond the mountains, but they did not behave as expected. They encamped in he would be able to obtain some idea of the country to the 17 June, 1778 Fordwich . EN. country. Gregory attended The Kings School, Canterbury. covered with the same coarse rushy grass as the last station, with a experienced, being the only time they were really exposed to danger intention of presenting Mr. Evans with a grant of one thousand acres of Transalpine country, Governor Macquarie has left happily on record a can be obtained from any tribe out of their own district, which is Gregory attended The King's School, Canterbury. possess in the interior, beyond its present known and circumscribed distinctly visible. station. But their progress in both the latter directions was limits, with a view to meet the necessary demands of its rapidly The genetic history of Aboriginal Australians . [Note 40: Probably Lowther Creek, a tributary of the Cox River. His letter went on to state that since he first visited the Illawarra much of the land had been occupied by settlers and the rest was marked on the Chart as reserved land. ], [Note 16: This description tallies with the nature of the country the settlement on the other side of the river. got thus far, he gave up the undertaking as impracticable; reporting, miles through the mountain, (the greater part of which they had walked from the eastern settlements below [Note 43], which, after having been ], [Note 36: The first Bathurst road, which passed over Mt.