William Charles Wentworth Print Page

The bust commemorates the explorer William Charles Wentworth who crossed the Blue Mountians with Gregory Blaxland and William Lawson in 1813. The bust was commissioned for the bicentenary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains.

In 1813, Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth, and Lieutenant Lawson, along with four servants, four pack horses and five dogs, set off on an exploration which was to create history. On 11th May 1813 the explorers departed from Emu Plains reaching the foothills of the Blue Mountains, or Glenbrook as it is known today.

For Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson, the trip across the Blue Mountains was a tremendous struggle. Having insufficient food for their journey, they recorded the trek required constant hacking through thick scrub and treading through "damp dew-laden undergrowth". They were also in fear of attack by Aborigines. These factors, in combination with sickness, nearly saw the men defeated by the rugged terrain.

Eighteen days later, on 29th May 1813, the Blue Mountains was no longer considered an impassible barrier following the discovery of the gently sloping mountains to the west.

Lawyer, politician, journalist, jockey, Blue Mountains explorer, there was no native born son like W.C Wentworth in the early life of the colony of NSW.

At the unveiling of a bronze bust in the explorer’s honour on Monday, 203 years to the day since he first visited what is now Wentworth Falls – the village named in his honour – his descendant, Stephen Wentworth, spoke of his great, great, great grandfather as a remarkable man in the history of Australia. “It could be said, that if Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth hadn’t crossed the Mountains when they did, the colony would more likely have been abandoned and Australia would not be the country that it is today – we could be speaking French, Russian, Portuguese or Spanish, or be a continent of many countries rather than one Commonwealth.”

The bust stands at Coronation Park in Wentworth Falls and was made possible with the help of council, Philip Hammon and Tom Colless (businesses supporting the Bicentenary) and 146 sponsors and descendants who helped pay for the sandstone plinth the bronze bust stands on. It was created by Mountains sculptor Terrance Plowright.

MP for Macquarie Louise Markus thanked Wentworth and his descendants. “We do stand on the shoulders of those who took risks, significant risks, before us”. Chamber of Commerce vice president Lew Hird said the village was fortunate to not only have a beautiful natural landscape but significant cultural heritage – both European and Indigenous. 
Blue Mountains Gazette, 23 May 2016. 

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