The first road over The Blue Mountains. From Emuford to Bathurst, 101.5 miles, was formed in six months by a working party of 28 men and was completed in January 1815.
The Commission to execute the work was entrusted by Governor Macquarie to William Cox Esquire J.P. Lieutenant, 102nd Regiment, of Clarendon, Windsor. Died 15-3-1837.
The beginning of the descent of Cox's Road to the western plains. The display board at this site notes:
From this point down, evidence of the original steep road formation can be seen from the cutting of stone gutters and widening of gaps between larger rocks. In most places, this road was constructed to a width of 12 feet.
View from part way down Cox's Road. Apart from some clearing, and the dwelling, it is probably much as Cox and his crew would have seen it 188 years earlier.
The wording on the monument is thus:
This Pavilion was erected May 28th, 1913 to commemorate the centenary of the first crossing of the Blue Mountains by Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth, Lieutenant William Lawson and Deputy Surveyor General George William Evans, whose noble work of discovery and exploration on behalf and in the best interests of their adopted country it is desired to honour.
The other side reads:
In commemoration of the wise and efficient administration of Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of N.S.W. 1810 - 1821 and in honour of Lieutenant William Cox J.P. the first road maker in Australia, this tablet was inscribed in the centenary year of the first crossing of the Blue Mountains, May 28th 1813.
Of course, the Aborigines had been crossing the mountains for thousands of years before this!
The pavilion in its setting.
Mt York
2003