Illustrated by Roland Harvey
In 1813 Governor Macquarie gave permission for landowners Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth and William Lawson to mount an expedition to find a way across the Blue Mountains in search of new pasture land. For nearly three weeks they pushed westwards, slashing a path through thick, almost impenetrable scrub. Their success paved the way for the colony to become more than just a penal colony.