SIR: We have recently had celebrations for the bicentenary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth.
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I have four newspapers with articles referring to them as having crossed the Great Dividing Range.
A commonly held belief.
Their journey is reported to have ended at Mt Blaxland. Mt Blaxland is on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range.
We live at Cheethams Flats, just on the western side of the Divide.
Just up from here on the side of Mt Cheetham and on the side of the Rydal-Hampton Road is a plaque informing that “the first crossing of the Great Dividing Range was made in this vicinity on November 29, 1813 by Deputy Surveyor George William Evans with Richard Lewis, James Burne, John Coogan, John Grover and John Tighe”.
The Rydal-Hampton Road runs along the top of the Great Dividing Range for most of the distance between the two villages, 25 kilometres.
The Great Western Highway crosses the Great Dividing Range at Mt Lambie where we had the service station for many years and where I realised that the vast majority of people having crossed the Blue Mountains and descended Mt Victoria Pass think that they have crossed the Great Dividing Range.
They would comment that it was colder there than on the Blue Mountains and would be surprised when told that it was colder because Mt Lambie was on the Great Dividing Range and considerably higher than the Blue Mountains.
Not one of the newspapers would correct their error when written to or contacted by phone.
I am hoping you will publish this letter about this widely held geographical and historical error so that I will have it in print and will be able to forward it to responsible bodies such as the NSW Library Historical Society, our local MPs and the Ministers for Education and Heritage, also any other responsible body that you would nominate.
Most people tell me they were taught at school that the Blue Mountains are part of the Great Dividing Range. It would be interesting to know just what part, if any, of the Great Dividing Range is part of the Blue Mountains – perhaps somewhere in the Hampton-Jenolan Caves area.
The Bastard Point Road from Gingkin to Jenolan Caves runs along the top of the Great Dividing Range and the Great Dividing Range runs through the Hampton area, but I would not have thought that either area would have been considered part of the Blue Mountains.
Bill Hoolihan, Rydal
