Hovell Tree - Albury, NSW, Australia
Posted by: 
bucketeer
S 36° 05.167 E 146° 54.533
55H E 491796 N 6006496
Marked by Explorer Capitan William Hovell on November 17, 1824.
Waymark Code: WM735V
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 08/25/2009
Views: 43
The Hume & Hovell Expidition
In 1824, Governor Brisbane asked Hamilton Hume to join forces with an English sea captain, William Hovell, to go from Lake George to the Spencer Gulf (in what is now South Australia).
They left Lake George on 17 October 1824, with a party of 6, enough supplies to last 16 weeks loaded onto bullock carts, horses and dogs (which they used to hunt kangaroos).
The first two weeks of the journey was through areas that had already been explored. They reached the Murrumbidgee River to find it was in flood. They waited for three days before they could cross it, using one of the carts as a boat, and then found themselves in mountainous country. Some slopes were so steep that they had to zig zag their way up.They left the carts behind and loaded supplies onto the bullocks, and continued on. It took some time to find a pass through the ranges. However, when they reached the top, they gazed at a sight that no white man had seen: the Australian Alps. They had to travel to the west to avoid them. The weather became warmer, and they were pestered by flies, mosquitoes, ticks and leeches.
By 16 November they reached another river, which they named the Hume, but which was later renamed the Murray. The river was very wide and the water was clear and deep. In order to cross this river, they made a boat from some poles and tarpaulins, and pulled the animals across on ropes. Near the Murray, at the place that is now Albury, the explorers carved their names on trees on 17 November 1824. The tree carved by Hume The Hume Tree)was destroyed by fire in the 1840's. A monument to the Hume Tree can be found in the nearby Albury Botanic Gardens.
They continued on to the southwest, travelling through forest country. They saw a snowy peak to the east, and named it Mt Buffalo.
They travelled through the Ovens Valley and crossed the Eastern Highlands, passed Mt Disappointment and Mt Macedon and crossed the Werribee River. They at last they reached the sea at Corio Bay in Port Phillip. As supplies were running low, the expedition set off for home the next day.
The journey home was easier. In summer, the flooded rivers had become shallow puddles. They collected their carts from where they had left them, but the ground was now too rough for the bullocks, which had to be abandoned in the bush. They arrived back at Lake George on 18 January.
The three month expedition had found much open land suitable for farming and grazing between Sydney and Port Phillip.
Website: [Web Link]
Historic Event:
Marked by a member of the first European Exploration party to the area
Year: 1824
Species: Red Gum
Approximate Age: 300
Location: Albury
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