Blaxland, Lawson & Wentworth ExpeditionPrint Page

The cairn at Mount Blaxland commemorates the Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth expedition which was the most westerly point reached by the explorers in 1813. The cairn was erected in 1913, the centenary year of their expedition and also contained a flagpole. There are also special markers placed on the slopes of Mount Blaxland which commemorate the journey.

Three explorers Gregory Blaxland, Lieutenant William Lawson, and William Charles Wentworth left Blaxland`s Farm at South Creek on 11th May 1813 and crossed the Nepean River the same day, camping at the foot of the Mountains. They followed the main ridge which heads west and then north, now the route of the Great Western Highway between Glenbrook and Mount Victoria and reached Mount York on 28th May 1813. They descended into the Kanimbla (Hartley) Valley and climbed Mount Blaxland on May 31st. They returned home by retracing the outward journey, arriving back on 6th June.

The cairn was partially designed by Professor Ronald Woodhead.

Note: Note Mt Blaxland is located on private property. It is believed that the plaque is no longer located on the cairn and the caairn has deteriorated. 

The disputed point as to the exact location of Mount Blaxland was definitely settled on Monday last, when a party, representing the Blue Mountains Centenary Celebration Committee, including Mr. Frank Walker (president) and Mr. J. W. Berghofer (vice-president), visited the locality where the mountain was supposed to be, and with the help of some valuable maps, brought by Mr. Caswell, of Lithgow, the matter was settled.

The mountain is that isolated peak, in the form of a sugarloaf, which towers up above the Cox River, and is about about eight miles in a south-westerly direction from the village of Hartley. On the opposite side of the stream are two other peaks (locally known as "The Brothers"), which are, undoubtedly, the two named after the other explorers, Wentworth and Lawson. The party climbed the almost perpendicular sides of the first-named peak, which rises to a height of about 1800 or 2000 feet above the stream, and having gained the summit were rewarded by one of the most magnificent views it is possible to conceive. Here, Blaxland and his heroic companions stood, and, taking a final farewell of the rolling country to the westward, slowly and painfully retraced their steps to the settlement.

The president, in a short address, proposed a toast to the memory of the gallant explorers, which was duly honoured, and Mr. Berghofer also added a few remarks. It was decided to prepare a brass inscription plate, to be affixed to a large rock at the summit, bearing the following words - "This mountain, which marks the terminal point of Blaxland, Wentworth, and Lawson's expedition across the Blue Mountains, was reached on May 31, 1813, and was named Mount Blaxland, in honour of the explorer, by Governor Macquarie. Erected by the Blue Mountains Centenary Committee, May 31, 1913. "

It is intended also to erect a cairn of stones, with a flagpole in the centre sufficiently large to be visible for miles around. The party descended the mountain, and, after arranging for the fixing in position of another plate on the stump of a tree which formerly bore the initials of the explorers but was unfortunately destroyed some years' ago, the return journey was commenced, most of which lay over the old Bathurst road constructed by William Cox in 1814.
The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), 30 October 1913.
 

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Dedication