George Evans (explorer)

George William Evans
Born	Template:Birth date Warwick, England
Died	October 16, 1852(1852-10-16) (aged 72) Hobart Town, Tasmania
Occupation(s)	Surveyor, explorer, artist, educator, bookseller
Years active	Early 1800s–mid 1800s
Known for	Exploration of New South Wales; first European to contact the Wiradjuri people; surveys of Blue Mountains, Lachlan River, Macquarie River

George William Evans (5 January 1780 – 16 October 1852) was a prominent surveyor and pioneering explorer within the Colony of New South Wales. Originally from Warwick, England, he emigrated to Australia in October 1802.

Early career

Evans assumed the role of acting Surveyor General of New South Wales in 1803 during Charles Grimes' absence. The following year, he undertook exploration along the Warragamba River, reaching the area now occupied by Warragamba Dam. After being replaced in that position by Governor Philip Gidley King, Evans served as Assistant Surveyor under Lieutenant-Governor William Paterson. He conducted surveys of Jervis Bay and extended his work inland to Appin, which aided the settlement of the Illawarra district. His achievements prompted Governor Lachlan Macquarie to assign him the task of discovering a route westward.

Verification expedition across the Blue Mountains, 1813

On 13 November 1813, Governor Macquarie commissioned Evans to traverse the Blue Mountains into Wiradjuri lands to validate the discoveries made by Blaxland, Lawson, and Wentworth. He became the first European to document contact with the Wiradjuri people.

Following their established path, Evans reached its terminus on 26 November at a location he named Mount Blaxland. His team then examined territories along the Fish River and near where the Fish and Campbell Rivers converge, identifying two plains which he designated as O'Connell Plains and Macquarie Plains. By 9 December, they arrived at the area now known as Bathurst.

After seven weeks exploring these regions, Governor Macquarie awarded Evans £100 along with a grant of 1,000 acres near Richmond in Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania). Evans briefly moved there in 1814 but returned by 1815 to resume his inland expeditions.

Initial Lachlan River journey, 1815

In May 1815, under Governor Macquarie’s instructions, Deputy Surveyor-General Evans led an expedition from Bathurst to investigate the Lachlan River. He was the first colonial explorer to penetrate the Lachlan Valley within New South Wales’ Central West. Evans named this territory Oxley Plains in honor of Surveyor-General John Oxley. A cairn located near Cowra commemorates where Evans and his team—comprising George Kane (also known as Thos. Appledore), James Butler, Patrick Byrne, and John Tighe—first observed the Lachlan River and designated Oxley's Plains.

Evans also became the earliest European visitor to the Abercrombie and Belubula River Valleys and traversed areas now including Boorowa and Cowra. On 1 June 1815, his party marked a tree at the junction of the Lachlan River with Byrnes Creek (named after convict Patrick Byrnes) near what is now Eugowra—the westernmost point reached by Europeans at that time.

Due to dwindling supplies, Evans returned to Bathurst by 12 June 1815. This mission opened routes for subsequent explorations primarily led by John Oxley, with Evans participating in several of those ventures.

Second Lachlan River expedition, 1817

Although Evans briefly returned to Tasmania in 1817, he soon rejoined John Oxley for further exploration along the Lachlan River corridor.

Macquarie River expedition culminating at Port Macquarie, 1818

In May 1818, Evans supported Surveyor-General Oxley on an expedition tracing the Macquarie River from Bathurst through its marshlands and ultimately reaching the east coast at Port Macquarie. During this journey, Evans was the first European to discover the Castlereagh River.

By early July 1818, near Mt Harris located north-northwest of present-day Warren, Oxley dispatched Evans ahead with a small group to scout a northeastern path across the plains after their progress was blocked at the Macquarie Marshes. Starting on 8 July, Evans crossed the Castlereagh River close to Combara between Gulargambone and Coonamble before moving northeast toward the foothills of the Warrumbungle Range. He then returned southwest toward Mt Harris via open plains. On his return journey, he recrossed the Castlereagh between future settlements Armatree and Curban, describing this landscape as low-lying and marshy.

Evans’ scouting party came back on 17 July; full expedition movement resumed on 19 July following his mapped route. Floodwaters delayed their crossing of the Castlereagh until 2 August near Combara. They then proceeded through Goorianawa Gap and Liverpool Plains before arriving at the coast near Port Macquarie. That same year Oxley named the Castlereagh River after Lord Castlereagh, British Foreign Secretary.

Later life and death

During his period as Surveyor-General, Evans encountered allegations concerning irregular financial disbursements and was dispatched to England in 1826 to discuss these issues with Lord Bathurst, the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. Although substantiating the accusations proved challenging, partly due to inadequate oversight of payments, Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur endorsed Evans’ appeal for a pension upon retirement. Approximately six years later, Evans made his way back to New South Wales, where he established himself as a stationer and bookseller in Sydney. He spent his final years residing in Hobart Town and passed away there on 16 October 1852. The gravestone commemorating both him and his wife, Lucy Parris, is located at St Andrew's Anglican Church in Evandale, Tasmania.

Other activities

In addition to his surveying career, Evans was a skilled artist; several of his aquatints and watercolour works are preserved at the Dixson Library in New South Wales. He also served as an educator at King's School in North Parramatta, which holds the distinction of being Australia's oldest independent Anglican boarding school, founded in 1831.

Memorials to Evans

(1) A bronze relief portrait of Evans mounted on a sandstone base is situated in Kings Parade Park, Bathurst. This monument was erected by local residents in 1913 to honor the hundredth anniversary of his exploration of the Bathurst area.

(2) A commemorative plaque near his initial crossing point of the Castlereagh River, south of Coonamble, marks Evans’ 1818 discovery during Oxley's expedition.

See also

• List of Blue Mountains articles
• Bathurst, New South Wales
• European exploration of Australia