Centenary of the Crossing of the Blue MountainsPrint Page

The pavilion was erected to commemorate the centenary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813 by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth. The plaques were unveiled in May 1913 and the pavilion was completed in December 1913. Additional plaques were placed on the pavilion in 1988 and 2013 to commemorate the 175th Anniversary and the Bicentenary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains. 

It was J. W. Berghofer, President of Blaxland Shire and also a trustee of the reserve, who initially suggested the idea of the centenary celebrations. Mount York was also reasonably close to the main railway line at Mount Victoria, and of sufficient area that large crowds could be accommodated. Despite fundraising efforts and a special purpose Treasury grant of £700, the Centenary Celebrations Committee of 1913 had to concentrate its efforts on only a few main projects and locations due to financial constraints. A major element proposed was the erection of a memorial pavilion planned to cost £400.

The design for the memorial pavilion was prepared by George Sydney Jones, of Jones and Southcott, Architects, Sydney. The neo-Classical style pavilion with eight columns, cupola and a central tablet of polished trachyte, was intended to be the focus of the 1913 Centenary celebrations. The contractor was Mr F. T. Collas of Marrickville, with the memorial tablet supplied by the monumental masons, Loveridge and Hudson. This structure was dedicated to the explorers Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson, the surveyor George Evans, the road-builder William Cox, and the visionary governor Lachlan Macquarie. The pavilion was incomplete on the day of the official centenary celebrations, as rain had delayed the construction work. It was not finally completed until December 1913.

Tablet Unveiling 1913

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Dedication