John Dunmore Lang's Travels

John Dunmore Lang wrote about many of his travels in New South Wales and the next two pieces relate to his trip to Wiseman's Ferry and subsequently on the Great North Road from Wiseman's to Wollombi. The description comes from his book, An Historical and Statistical Account of New South Wales, Vol. 2, 1834, published in London by Cockrane and McCrone.

a. JDL travels to Wiseman's Ferry

The first time I travelled across the mountains - in the year 1827 - I had a young man, who lived as a settler at Hunter's River, for my fellow-traveller, and guide. Our horses had each a long tether-rope wound about their necks, to fasten them with at night; we had each a valise or portmanteau affixed to the saddle behind, containing a small supply of provisions for the mountain-part of the road, and a boat-cloak lashed to it before, to serve as our covering when bivouacking in the open forest during the night. A tin quart-jug to make tea in on the mountains, and a pistol to strike a light, completed our equipment.

b. JDL travels the Great North Road from Wiseman's to Wollombi

Having slowly gained the summit of the ridge, we again mounted our horses and trotted at a brisk pace along an excellent road, over a mountainous and sterile country, for about twelve miles; we then dismounted for breakfast, near a small stream of limpid water, in a valley called The Twelve Mile Hollow, unsaddled our horses and, fixing the ends of their tether ropes, turned them out to browse for a little on the miserable vegetation which the place afforded. My fellow-traveller then struck a light with his pistol and immediately kindled a fire, on which he placed the tin-jug, which he had strapped for the purpose to his saddle bow on our leaving the small settler's, and which he had previously filled with water from their well. He put the requisite quantity of tea in the palm of his hand, and threw it into the pot; and then, adding a quantity of sugar, he broke off a twig from the dead branch of a tree, which he humorously told me was called a 'spoon' in the Australian dialect, and stirred the mixture ... For a mile or two from the place where we halted for refreshment, the road, which was only a footpath at the time I refer to, though it is now a good road throughout, lay along the bottom of the valley; but we were soon obliged to dismount again to climb up the precipitious side of a steep mountain, to gain the summit of which the colonists call a 'dividing range'. These ranges which are flanked on either side by deep and sometimes impassable ravines, traverse the country in many places for a great distance, ... and the traveller has therefore merely to ascertain the proper range, to ascend to the summit and to follow it in all its circumlocutions, to reach the proposed termination of his journey; for if he should attempt to pursue a direct course by descending into the gullies, he would in all probability lose his way and perhaps perish of hunger. The summits of these ridges are just broad enough for the construction of a carriage road, and they are often so level that a person on horseback can trot along them for miles together without the slightest interruption.

The stage we had now commenced was eighteen miles in length but the frequent mountings and dismountings, to climb or to descend the rocky sides of the mountains, made it appear much longer. In many parts of the route, the road was so very bad, that I am sure most English horses would have refused to face it; it seemed as precipitous in some places as the stair of a church-steeple; and how the poor horses could either ascend or descend I was frequently at a loss to conceive. The colonial horses, however, are remarkably adept in such situations; my own was an Australian by birth and was so trustworthy ... on the mountain road that I had only to throw the reins on his neck in the dismounting places and he would either ascend or descend the steepest and ruggedest precipices, as quickly as I could follow him, without ever leaving the track.

Along the miserable valley of the Twelve Mile Hollow, and up the sides of the rugged and sterile mountain beyond it, to a height ... of not less than fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, I was exceedingly gratified at observing innumerable specimens of one of the most splendid flowers in the whole botanical kingdom ... commonly called ... the gigantic lily (the gymea lily) ...

At the termination of our second stage, we arrived at a place, of which the mere name is sufficient description - 'Hungry Flat': it affords neither bread for man nor grass for horses, and its only recommendation is a stream of delicious water, at which both the horse and his rider ... quench their thirst. We again unsaddled our horses ... and allowed them to roll themselves on the sand.

In half an hour we were again on horseback and trotting along towards the valley of the Wollombi, at the head of which we arrived towards sunset, after traversing about eight or ten miles more of sterile mountainous country.