Hume & Hovell Print Page

The cairn commemorates the explorers Hume and Hovell who passed through the area in 1824. The inscription on the plaque contains the last three lines of Tennyson's Ulysses. The cairn was unveiled in 1924, the centenary year of their exploration. 

In 1824, Hamilton Hume and William Hovell led an expedition of discovery to find new grazing land for the colony. They and their party trekked south from Appin to Lake George, then on into Victoria, keeping west of the Great Dividing Range and ending up at Corio Bay, on the Victorian coast, where present day Geelong is situated. Hovell mistakenly believed they had arrived at Westernport, and did not realise his mistake until after his return.

At the centenary of Hume and Hovell exploration in 1924 a committee was formed to co-ordinate and organise local celebrations along the route from Albury to Corio Bay. An itinerary was created for the unveiling ceremonies giving the hour and date for each place concerned from 15 to 21 November 1924.

Monuments, cairns or plaques commemorating this expedition were erected at Allan`s Flat, Avenel, Back Creek, Barjarg, Bellbridge, Broadford, Bulla, Deer Park, Ebden, Euroa, Everton, Hansonville, Hume Reservoir, Kilmore, Lara, Lima South, Meadow Creek, Molyullah, Mount Buffalo, Moyhu, Murmungee, Myrtleford, Samaria, Samaria West, Seymour, Staghorn Flat, St Albans, Stanley, Strath Creek, Swanpool, Tatong (Dodd`s Crossing), Violet Town, Warrenbayne West, Werribee, Whorouly, Woodfield Yarck and Yea.

The location of the plaques erected at Lima South is unknown.  It is believed that the plaque at Hansonville has come from another location as the date on the plaque does not match the date that the expedition was there.

Albury, Thursday. At a meeting of the Hume-Hovell centenary celebrations committee it was reported that the soldiers' memorial on Western Hill would be dedicated on the opening day of the celebrations, Sunday, November 16.

A special committee was appointed to provide entertainment for the pioneers who return to the town for the occasion. It is expected that there will be at least 7000 visitors for the week. Four hundred pounds' worth of bedding has been hired for the occasion, and the Drill Hall is to be mado available as sleeping quarters. The Town Council has applied £200 lor tho decoration of the mata streets. Several Victorian towns have arranged for shool excursions to Albury.

The following programme has been adopted for the ceremonies along the explorers' route from Melbourne to Albury:-Saturday, November 15, leave Melbourne for Wangaratta; Nov. 16, leave Wangaratta for Chalet, Mount Buffalo, and unveil tablet at The Horn; November 17, leave Mount Buffalo and unveil memorial at Myrtleford, 11.30 a.m, at Everton 2.30 p.m., Murmungee 4 p.m., Stanley 6 p.m., reaching Beechworth the same night; November l8, unveil memorial at Back Creek, Beechworth, 10 a.m., at Allan's Flat at 11.00 a.m., at Staghorn Flat 12.15 p.m., Ebden at 2 p.m., Bethanga 3.30 p.m., reaching Wodonga and Albury the same day; on November 19 the party will attend the Albury ceremonies, and the first party will leave for Wangaratta.
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), 17 October 1924.

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