BY H. H. CAMBAGE. 675 



In October, 1820, Lake George was visited by Governor Mac- 

 quarie, who then named it after His Majesty George IV. He 

 also named Goulburn Plains during the same visit. The Gover- 

 nor arrived at Lake Bathurst, from Parramatta, with Deputy 

 Surveyor-General James Meehan, Charles Throsby, Joseph ^^'ild 

 and others, and was there joined by Commissioner Bigge, Siii'- 

 veyor-General John Oxley, and Charles Fraser (Colonial Botanist), 

 who had journeyed from Bathurst up Campbell's River and 

 across the Abercrombie River.* The party travelled to Lake 

 George from Lake Bathurst, which latter was discovered by 

 James Meehan and Hamilton Hume on 3rd April, 1818 (Field 

 Book 143, Lands Department). 



On 28th October, 1820, the Governor and party ascended a 

 high hill to the eastward of Lake George, evidently EUenden, 

 and viewed the high land in the southern portion of the Capital 

 Territory, though, owing to an intervening range, they would 

 not have been able to see the plains at the northern end. That 

 they were not impressed with the potentialities of the future 

 Federal Territory is evident from the following entry made by 

 Oxley : — "The whole extent between the S.E. and West may be 

 properly described as rocky, broken, and mountainous, and no 

 feature or object in the prospect offered any reasonable expecta- 

 tion that a good or even tolerable country could have existence 

 in those quarters." How little could they foresee that they 

 were gazing over what \Vas to become, not only the spot where 

 William James Farrer 'was to carry out his great wheat-giowing 

 experiments, which would do so much towards producing 

 drought-resisting wheats, and revolutionise wheat-production in 

 a dry climate, but that they were also viewing portion of the 

 site of the future capital of all Australia. 



Macquarie refers to "anew-discovered river," and mentions 

 that " Mr. Throsby tried to get hold of some of the natives of 

 this part of the country to serve as guides to conduct them to 

 the new River Murrumbidgee," but the Governor's party could 



* See Governor Maequarie's Journal — Report by Commissioner of In- 

 quiry Bigge (Mitchell Library). Oxley's Field Book No, 17"2, Lands De- 

 partment, 



