Hume & Hovell ExpeditionPrint Page

The monument commemorates the Hume and Hovell expedition which passed through the area in 1824. 

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 Samaria West and Lima South are 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.

The committee in charge of the Hume and Hovell centenary celebrations have arranged the following time-table for the unveiling of monuments along the route followed by the two pioneers. In co-operation with the Royal Automobile Club, the route followed will be as under: —
Starting from Bright on Sunday, 16th November, they will unveil a tablet at the foot of Mount Buffalo. On Monday they will proceed via Myrtleford, Whorouly, Everton, Murmungee and Stanley, staying at Beechworth overnight. Tuesday evening and Wednesday will be spent at Albury. On Thursday the party will divide at Wangaratta, the main body proceeding to Benalla, where a civic reception has been arranged. They will then proceed to Violettown, Euroa, Avenel, and Seymour. The remainder will proceed via Edi, Hansonville, Samaria, and Swanpool, to Merton. On Friday this second party will travel from  Avenel through Bonnie Doon and Yarck to Yea.  The Education department has arranged for demonstrations by school children at places included in the itinerary, and is a making special efforts to interest the children in the history and development of the districts traversed by the two explorers.
Benalla Standard (Vic), 10 October 1924.

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Dedication