NEW HOLLAND. 
780 
gravelly bottom, and its banks fkirted with trees, ex¬ 
cepting at the Hoping points of hills round which it wind¬ 
ed, and which were covered with a fine green 1'od down 
to the margin, intermixed with the white daify; all this, 
added to the temperate climate, put him in mind of Eng¬ 
land. Farther on, and before they reached Batliurft's 
Plains, the river was increafed confiderably in fize by the 
junftion of another ftream, which he called Campbell's 
River ; and to the united ftreams, he gave the name of 
Macquarrie's River, the general direction of which ap¬ 
peared to be to the northward of weft. Filh continued 
to abound of the fame kind as thofe firft caught, but of 
a fize from eleven to fifteen pounds each. Governor 
Macquarrie lays, thefe filh refemble perch, are not unlike 
that ufually called rock-cod, and have been caught from 
feventeen to twenty-five pounds weight each. Large 
herds of emus were feen crofting the plains, and kan- 
guroos in great abundance; but not a native human 
being appeared until on his return, when, near Bathurft’s 
Plains, two women and four children were come upon 
by furprife, and were fo terrified, that they fell down 
with fright. It was oblerved, that both the women had 
loft the right eye. Evans makes Bathurft’s Plains near 
150 miles from Emu Ifland ; but governor Macquarrie, 
who fubfequently vifited this place, ftates the meafured 
diftance from Sydney town to be only 140 miles. It is 
reprefented as an eligible fituation for eftablilhing a fet- 
tlement, as the land is excellent; plenty of ftone and tim¬ 
ber for building, but no lime-ftone; abundance of water, 
though the river, at the time of the governor’s vifit, juft 
at the clofe of an unufually dry feafon, was reduced to a 
chain of pools, the intermediate channels being dried up. 
The favourable account given by Mr. Evans of the 
country he had explored, induced the governor, in the 
following year, to undertake a journey himfelf acrofs the 
Blue Mountains; but firft he caufed a road to be con- 
ftru&ed for the paftage and conveyance of cattle and pro- 
vifions to the interior ; and men of good character, from 
emongft a number of convicts who had volunteered their 
fervices, were felefted to perform this arduous work, on 
condition of being fed and clothed during the continu¬ 
ance of their labour, and being granted emancipations as 
their final reward on the completion of the work. The 
direction and fuperintendence of this great work was en- 
trufted to William Cox, efq. the chief magiftrate at Wind- 
for; and, to the aftonifiiment of every one who knows 
■what was to be encountered, and fees what has been done, 
he effeCted its completion in fix months from the time of 
dts commencement, happily without the lofs of a man, or 
any ferious accident. 
Mr. Cox having reported the road as completed on the 
jift of January, the governor, accompanied by Mrs. Mac¬ 
quarrie and that gentleman, commenced his tour on the 
25th of April, 1815, over the Blue Mountains; and was 
joined by firjohn Jamiefon at the Nepean, who accompanied 
him during the entire tour. The following gentlemen 
compofed the governor’s fuite: Mr. Campbell, fecretary; 
Capt. Antill, major of brigade; Lieut. Watts, aide-de- 
camp ; Mr. Redfern, aftiftant-furgeon ; Mr. Oxley, fur- 
veyor-general; Mr. Meehan, deputy-furveyor-general; 
Mr. Lewin, painter and naturalift; and Mr. Evans, men¬ 
tioned above, who had been fent forward for the purpofe 
of making further difeoveries, and rejoined the party on 
the day of arrival at Bathurft Plains. 
The commencement of the afeent from Emu Plains to 
the firft depot, and thence to a refting-place, now called 
Spring Wood, diftar.t twelve miles from Emu Ford, was 
through a very handfome open foreft of lofty trees, and 
much more practicable and eafy than was expeCted. The 
facility of the afeent for this diftance excited furprife, 
and is certainly not well calculated to give the traveller 
a juft idea of the difficulties he has afterwards to encoun¬ 
ter. At a further diftance of four miles, a fudden change 
is perceived in the appearance of the timber and the qua¬ 
lity of the foil; the former becoming ftunted, and the latter 
barren and rocky. A 1 this place the fatigues of the jour¬ 
ney may be faid to commence. Here the country be* 
came altogether mountainous, and extremely rugged. 
Near to the 18th mile-mark (it is to be oblerved that the 
meafure commences from Emu Ford), a pile of Hones at¬ 
tracted attention. It is clofe to the line of road, on the 
top of a rugged and abrupt afeent, and is fuppofed to have 
been placed there by Mr. Caley, as the extreme limit of 
his tour. Hence the governor gave that part of the 
mountain the name of Caley's Repulfe. To have pene¬ 
trated even fo far was at that time an effort of no final! 
difficulty. From henceforward to the 26th mile is a iuc- 
ceffion of fteep and rugged hills, fome of which are almoft 
fo abrupt as to deny a paftage altogether; but at this place 
a confiderably-extenfive plain is- arrived at, which confti- 
tutes the fummit of the weftern mountains ; and from 
thence a moll extenfive and beautiful profpett prefents 
itfelf on all lides to the eye. The toum of Windfor, the 
river Hawkelbury, Profpect-hill, and other obje&s within 
that part of the colony now inhabited, of equal intereft, 
are diftinftly feen from hence. The majeftic grandeur of 
the fituation, combined with the various objeCts to be 
feen from this place, induced the governor to give it the 
appellation of thz King's Table Land. On the fouth-weft 
fide of the King’s Table Land, the mountain terminates 
in abrupt precipices of immenfe depth, at the bottom of 
which is feen a glen, as romantically beautiful as can be 
imagined, bounded on the further fide by mountains of 
great magnitude, terminating equally abruptly as the 
others, and the whole thickly covered with timber. The 
length of this pifturefque and remarkable traCl of coun¬ 
try is about twenty-four miles, to which the governor 
gave the name of the Prince Regent's Glen. Proceeding 
hence to the 33d mile, on the top of a hill, an opening 
prefents itfelf on the fouth-weft fide of the Prince Regent’s 
Glen, from whence a view is obtained particularly beauti¬ 
ful and grand ; mountains riling beyond mountains, with 
ftupendous maffes of rock in the fore-ground, here ftrike 
the eye with admiration and aftonifiiment. The circular 
form in which the whole is fo wonderfully difpofed, in¬ 
duced the governor to give the name of Pitt's Amphi¬ 
theatre to this offset or branch from the Prince Regent’s 
Glen. The road continues from hence for the fpace of 
feventeen miles on the ridge of the mountain which forms 
one fide of the Prince Regent’s Glen; and there it fud- 
denly terminates in nearly a perpendicular precipice of 
676 feet high, as afeertained by meafurement. The 
road conftructed by Mr. Cox down this rugged and 
tremendous defeent, through all its windings, is no 
lefs than three-fourths of a mile in length, and has 
been executed with fuch ficill and liability as reflects 
much credit on him. The labour here undergone, 
and the difficulties furmounted, can only be appreciated 
by thofe who view this feene. In order to perpetuate the 
memory of Mr. Cox’s fervices, the governor deemed it a 
tribute juftly due to him, to give his name to this grand 
and extraordinary pals ; and he accordingly called it Cox's 
Pafs. Having del'cended into the valley at the bottom of 
this pafs^the retrolpedtive view of the overhanging moun¬ 
tain is magnificently grand. Although the prelent pafs 
is the only practicable point yet difcovered for defcend- 
ing by, yet the mountain is much higher than thofe on 
either tide of it, from whence it is diftinguilhed at a confi- 
derable diftance, when approaching it from the interior; 
and in this point of view it has the appearance of a very 
high diftinCt hill, although it is in fad only the abrupt 
termination of a ridge. The governor gave the name of 
Mount York to this termination of the ridge, in honour of 
H. R. II. the duke of York. 
On defeending Cox’s Pafs, the governor was much gra¬ 
tified by the appearance of good pafture-land, and foil fit 
for cultivation, which was the firft he had met with lince 
the commencement of his tour. The valley at the bale of 
Mount York he called the Vale of Clwyd, in confequence 
of the ltrong refemblance it bore to the vale of that name 
in North Wales. The grafs in this vale is of a good qua¬ 
lity, and very abundant 3 and a rivulet of fine water runs 
