Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth cross the Blue Mountains, 1813
A 21-day ridge-line crossing that opened inland Australia to pastoral expansion
Quick facts
- Date departed
- 11 May 1813
- Party
- Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson, William Charles Wentworth
- Duration
- 21 days
- Outcome
- opened the route to Bathurst, the colony's first inland settlement
What happened
On 11 May 1813, Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson, and William Charles Wentworth left Blaxland's farm at South Creek, near modern St Marys in western Sydney, aiming to cross the Blue Mountains, which had blocked colonial expansion west of Sydney for a quarter of a century. Rather than following the valleys, where earlier attempts had failed, the party stayed on the mountain ridgelines and completed the crossing in 21 days, covering roughly 58 miles. They reported forest and grassland beyond the range that could support the colony's growing flocks for decades, opening the way for the colony's first inland settlement at Bathurst.
Why it matters
The crossing broke a barrier that had confined the colony to a narrow coastal strip since 1788, driven by droughts in 1812 and 1813 that made new grazing land urgent. It set off a wave of inland pastoral expansion that, within a generation, dispossessed Aboriginal nations across the continent's interior of land they had occupied for tens of thousands of years.
How we know
Blaxland's own journal of the crossing survives and was later published, describing the route, terrain, and the party's calculations of distance covered.
Sources
- Project Gutenberg Australia (Blaxland's journal). Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth · Primary source (author-declared)gutenberg.net.au · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Australian Museum. Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth, William Lawson · Reputable sourceaustralian.museum · The domain "australian.museum" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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