Hume & Hovell ExpeditionPrint Page

The plaque commemorates the Hume and Hovell expedition who climbed and named Mount Disappointment in 1824.  The plaque was originally unveiled at the school on the 6th December 1924, the centenary year, as the 6 metre cairn which was built at Mount Disappointment was not completed in time. 

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.

WALLAN EAST, Tuesday. — Large and enthusiastic crowds attended the Hume and Hovell centenary celebrations at Upper Plenty on Saturday. The official party from Melbourne included Messrs. W. Hume, a descendant of the explorer, H. Hansford, of the Lands Department, J.M. Reed, of the Tourist Resorts Committe, Barnard and Isaac Selby, of the Historical Society, W.F. Oates, secretary of the Hume and Hovell Central Committee, and C. R. Long, of the Education Department. Mr Long unveiled a memorial tablet at the State school. Owing to unfavorable weather, it was found impossible to complete the cairn in time. The tablet is inscribed: — "To commemorate the centenary of Hume and Hovell, who ascended and named Mt. Disappointment, December 7, 1824. Erected by the residents, December, 1924. Lunch followed in the public hall, and in the afternoon about 100 set off to climb to the top of Mount Disappointment, 2632 feet high, about five miles distant. There Mr Long read an instructive paper on the visit of Hume and Hovell to the mount, with a description of the fauna and flora seen by the explorers.
Herald (Melbourne), 9 December 1924.

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