SURVEYORS WALK GUIDE. A walk through history or something catchy perhaps

Transcription

1 SURVEYORS WALK GUIDE A walk through history or something catchy perhaps

2 The Surveyors Walk will take you along the Wambool/Macquarie River to historic William Street and then on to King s Parade. Along the way, you will be told the story of government surveyors, who in the early 19th century explored and surveyed the inland, opening the way for today s roads, farms and towns. You will be retracing the footsteps of these pioneering surveyors on this walk. You will also be in the footsteps of the Wiradjuri people, who for countless generations have known the same country through a traditional familiarity.

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4 Our walk begins at the Commemorative Pillar for George Evans campsite, which will be found on the riverbank between George Street and The Pillars of Bathurst (a cultural heritage garden commemorating the lives of past Bathurstians). From there follow the route shown on the map to find the numbered stops on the walk. "Footsteps in Time Commemorative Pillar The Flag Staff A Delightful Spot Display 1815 Town Corner Post Explorers Memorial Macquarie s Meridian Two Trees - Two Understandings Evans Memorial

5 FOOTSTEPS IN TIME COMMEMORATIVE PILLAR In November 1813, Surveyor George Evans was sent by Governor Macquarie to report on the country beyond the Blue Mountains. His journey brought him to a grassy plain of excellent land, which he named the Bathurst Plains. Following the river running through the plains, on 9 December Evans and his party camped on Jordan Creek, about 200 metres from the Commemorative Pillar. The Pillar is in the form of a Trig. Survey Pillar, but larger. On 22 December, on the return leg of his journey, Evans again camped in this area.

6 As you walk to the next stop, the Flag Staff, and then through the park to lower William Street, you will be following closely the traverse of Surveyor Evans in Nearby, you will find the introductory panel for A Delightful Spot, an interpretation trail through the settlement established in Look for more of these distinctive panels on your walk. The Pillars of Bathurst has a plaque for James Byrn Richards, the government surveyor who in the late 1820s undertook the first land surveys on the western side of the Macquarie River and went on in 1833 to survey the proposed town of Bathurst. Free brochures are available from the Bathurst Visitor Information Centre for A Delightful Spot settlement walk and The Pillars of Bathurst.

7 Circumferentor THE FLAG STAFF The Bicentennial Flag Staff is located on the site of the one erected by Governor Macquarie in It was there, on 7 May 1815, he announced the establishment of a town to be called Bathurst. Macquarie s Flag Staff became the inland s first gazetted location and proved essential in the work of surveyors exploring, surveying and mapping the inland. The sign panel Placing Bathurst on the map, nearby on the Stanley Street side, will tell you more about the importance of the 1815 Flag Staff in surveying history. Also look for the Permanent NSW Survey Mark, which is on the concourse near the Flag Staff. When you leave the park at the Proclamation Cairn and enter lower William Street, you will be walking along Bathurst s first street, originally a short rough track between the early settlement s first buildings. The end Gunter s chain Surveying in the early 19th century r mathematician. The principal instru post with two moveable sighting arm bearings of natural landmarks and s chain, a metal chain of 100 short wi measurement known as a chain. kit, perhaps along with some convic and versatile replacement for the c and longitude could be calculated recording compass bearings and d travelled. In 1813, George Evans m

8 of Cox s Road, the first road into the inland, ran along this track before terminating at Macquarie s Flag Staff. The road followed a line marked out by George Evans in 1813 for much of its route of 101½ miles from the Nepean River. equired the practical skills of a bushman combined with the talents of a ment used was the circumferentor, basically a compass mounted on a straight s. With its aid, the surveyor could record from the one place the relative compass urvey markers, such as the Flag Staff. Measuring distances was done with a Gunter s re links connected together by loops. Its full length of 66 feet (20.1m) was an official (An acre is ten square chains.) These were the two basic tools in the early surveyor s t helpers. The better-equipped surveyor might employ a theodolite, a more accurate ircumferentor, and, more rarely, a sextant and chronometer, with which latitude. The first surveys began with a traverse, literally a succession of walks in straight lines, istance measurements in a field book, along with observations on the country being ade the first surveying traverses in inland Australia.

9 A DELIGHTFUL SPOT DISPLAY If the Bathurst City Community Club is open, drop in to see their extensive display of maps, plans and drawings, many of which were produced by government surveyors. (Free Admission)

10 1815 TOWN CORNER POST The post is located near a corner of the town site chosen for Bathurst by Governor Macquarie in 1815, as shown on the town plan prepared by Deputy Surveyor-General James Meehan. EXPLORERS MEMORIAL Located at the corner of the bowling green, the Memorial lists explorers who between 1815 and 1836 used the Bathurst settlement as their base for their journeys into the inland. The list includes three government surveyors: Surveyor George Evans (1815), Surveyor-General John Oxley (1817), and Surveyor-General Thomas Mitchell (1836). Durham Street, which you will now cross, follows the boundary line of the Government Domain, surveyed in the first days of the settlement s establishment.

11 MACQUARIE S MERIDIAN The Meridian Flag Staff on Howick Street is exactly midway between William and George streets. As the sign alongside explains, it is located on a meridian that runs from Macquarie s Flag Staff exactly through the centre of Bathurst. King s Parade is part of the Bathurst Town Square. The Square is a key feature on the Bathurst Town Plan approved in 1833 by Surveyor- General Thomas Mitchell. The streets you have walked date from this plan, laid out by Surveyor Richards. TWO TREES TWO UNDERSTANDINGS In May-June 1815, George Evans undertook the first expedition beyond Bathurst. On this journey, Evans explored as far as where Mandagery

12 Creek enters the Lachlan River. A section of the tree on which he marked his reaching this point is now in the Bathurst District Historical Museum (East Wing, Bathurst Court House, Russell Street). If you look carefully, you may be able to make out some details of what he carved into the tree. Alongside Evans tree is a traditional Wiradjuri carved tree, once used to mark a place of cultural importance. The two trees, standing side by side, offer different understandings of the landscape. (Admission Fee)

13 EVANS MEMORIAL This impressive memorial, the work of Gilbert Doble, was commissioned in 1913 to commemorate the centenary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains and the subsequent explorations by George Evans. War delayed its completion until The prominent presence of an Aboriginal man is a feature rarely found on public memorials of that time. Crouching with eyes shaded in the way of a hunter, he shares the topmost plinth with Surveyor Evans, who is standing behind him in a more conventional statue pose. Both men are gazing westward, sharing the view of the land beyond. As Evans had no Aborigines in his exploration party, the figure is not present as a guide, but as a Wiradjuri inhabitant of these lands. The Wiradjuri and the Evans party were aware of each other, but direct contact only happened once, accidentally

14 and peacefully. Occupying lower positions, two allegorical figures representing agriculture and geographical knowledge tell of the benefits brought by the explorations of Surveyor George Evans. An information panel nearby provides a detailed account of the life and accomplishments of George Evans.

15 Acknowledgements The Institution of Surveyors, NSW Inc. Office of the Surveyor General of NSW Land and Property Information Photos of circumferentor and Gunters Chain courtesy of DFSI Spatial Services (2016), Damien Bennett Portrait of Governor Macquarie courtesy of Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW Lewins Image Courtesy of State Library of NSW Special thanks to John Reed Copyright Surveyors Walk Guide Copyright 2017 Bathurst Regional Council All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of Council. Disclaimer Bathurst Regional Council expressly disclaims all liability for errors or omissions of any kind whatsoever, or any loss, damage or other consequence which may arise from any person relying on information comprised in this document.