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First Sighting of Avon Valley by EuropeansPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates the first sighting of the Avon Valley by Ensign Robert Dale and William Brockman in 1830 when they climbed Mount Mackie.
In July and August 1830 Ensign Robert Dale of the 63rd Regiment, accompanied by William Locke Brockman and two other men, explored the country east of the Darling Range and discovered the Avon Valley. Brockman and Dale formed an exceedingly favourable impression of the region, as did Lieutenant Erskine, who explored the area a few weeks later. On November 12th, 1830 the district was declared open for settlement, and notice given that "a town to be called York will be laid out in a situation near Mount Bakewell”. There was an immediate rush to select land on either side of the river from Beverley to Northam.
Location
| Address: | Spencers Brook - York Road, York, 6302 |
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| State: | WA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -31.773611 Long: 116.713056 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
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| Monument Theme: | Landscape |
| Sub-Theme: | Exploration |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 07-August-1830 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 07-August-1830 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Monday 7th August, 2000 |
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Mount Mackie
On 7 August 1839 Ensign Robert Dale and William
Locke Brockman climbed the far side of Mt Mackie,
which stands before you, becoming the first
Europeans to see the Avon Valley and its river,
obtaining, as Dale wrote "an extensive prospect
over a comparatively level country to the eastward,
through which we observed flowing at the apparent
distance of two miles, a considerable stream."
This Plaque Was Placed Here On 7 August 2000
By The Shire Of York
With The Assistance Of The York Society
