Charles DarwinPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates the 200th birthday of the naturalist, Charles Darwin, the 150th anniversary of his book On The Origin of the Species and the fact that in 1836 Darwin stayed at Gardners Inn on his way across the Blue Mountains.
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist who established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.
Location
| Address: | 255 Great Western Highway, Gardners Inn, Blackheath, 2785 |
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| State: | NSW |
| Area: | Foreign |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -33.634561 Long: 150.284857 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
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| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Science |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Wednesday 4th February, 2009 |
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Charles Darwin
In January, 1836, a young distinguished English naturalist by the name of Charles Darwin, arrived at Sydney Cove aboard the HMS Beagle.
Darwin was on a 5 year voyage around the world and while visiting the infant Colony of New South Wales decided to take a trip over the Blue Mountains to Bathurst.
Darwin kept a journal of his travels and on the evening of the 17th January 1836 he wrote in his diary that had reached an inn called "The Blackheath".
The inn he referred to was Gardner's Inn which he found very comfortable and kept by an old soldier, Andrew Gardiner. It reminded him of the small inns in North Wales.
The next morning he walked down to Govett`s Leap and recorded in his diary that it was one of the most spectacular chasms he had seen on his trip around the world.
To celebrate Charles Darwin`s stay at Gardners Inn and to mark his 200th birthday on Saturday 14 February 2009 a special old fashion dinner was held in the Hydora Restaurant.
The plaque commemorates Charles Darwin`s visit to Blackheath as well as his contribution to science and was unveiled on 14 February 2009, by the Mr Philip Koperberg AO AFSM BEM MP, State Member for the Blue Mountains, together with Mr Bruce MacDougal, owner and licensee of Gardners Inn Hotel.
