HERITAGE NEWSLETTER OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS ASSOCIATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE ORGANISATIONS INC. SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2012 ISSUE No. 23 WILLIAM COX AND HIS TEAM OF CONVICT ROAD BUILDERS by Richard Cox, great, great, grandson of William Mr Cox is a Sensible, intelligent Man, of great arrangement, and the best agriculturalist in the colony.... Governor Macquarie, recommending William Cox to be the Commandant at Bathurst, after building the road, 24 June 18151 WILLIAM COX, who forged a place skilled convict workers, or way over in 1813, they had in fact for himself in Australian history by ‘mechanics’, to employers and was not traversed the main range. organising the building of the first heavily criticised for it by his Blaxland’s advice to William to road across the Blue Mountains in contemporaries. At the same time follow the ridges very nearly 1814, was a man of extraordinary his judgements were fair and liberal, defeated the entire enterprise when personal contrasts. as when he simply re-assigned the road builders reached Mount convicts to new masters after York. On his way out to the colony in punishment had been demanded by 1799 in charge of a shipload of obstreperous ones. On July 14, 1814 Macquarie sent convicts on the Minerva he William a letter detailing exacting displayed considerable humanity. This brings one to the way in which requirements. The road had to be Between them, he and the ship’s he dealt with convicts and the 12 feet wide to permit two carts to surgeon ensured that the 196 building of the Blue Mountains road, pass each other ‘with ease’, convicts were given regular which he was contracted for by although he preferred it to be 16 exercise and fresh air. Macquarie. It was a considerable feet. In forest and brush ground the task. timber had to be cleared away to 20 As a result only three elderly feet. It was to run from the Emu prisoners died en route, an The range rises to over 4,000 feet Plains, on the Nepean River, to a unusually low percentage. When and although the famous trio of ‘centrical part’ of the Bathurst there was an attempted mutiny Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson Plains. Depots were to be William only sentenced the and WC Wentworth had found a established en route. ringleaders to six lashes each, Continued page 3 when on many ships they would have been hung from the yardarm. Yet on arrival, as paymaster of the New South Wales Corps he used regimental funds in London to pay for farms, building himself into the second largest landowner in the colony in two years. In plain terms he embezzled the money. William’s little empire collapsed in 1803, leaving his family penniless. He was sent home for trial and ‘dismissed the service’ in 1808.1 But Governor King had already given him and his sons’ grants of land in 1804 and after his return in 1810 he was rehabilitated when Governor Macquarie appointed him as a magistrate at Windsor. ‘Convicts repairing the mountain road’ circa 1826. A painting by the However, as a JP he increasingly American Augustus Earle, reproduced with permission of the National Library of favoured himself in the allocation of Australia HERITAGE 1 September - October 2012 Contents......... An opinion from the editor....... HERITAGE September - October Educational and 2012 research body proposed *P1 William Cox and DR DAVID BLAXLAND a descendant of the explorer, Gregory his team of Blaxland has come up with a proposal which may well be seen convict road as a lasting and welcome commemoration for the bicentenary buiders of the ‘1813-15 Western Crossing’ and at the same time *P2 Opinion - harness the wealth of knowledge and expertise contained in the Educational and Western Crossing Committee (WCC). research body He has proposed the establishment of much talked about walking trails along proposed a permanent educational and parts of the route on which William Cox *P6 Professor Ian research body in this region. The main and his gang of 30 convicts built the 101 Jack launches objective of such a foundation would miles of road between the Nepean River William Cox be to facilitate and promote education and the site where Bathurst now stands. *P7 Trust walk will and research concerning the natural trace earliest history, cultural heritage and human The idea in that project was to restore a crossings of Blue development of this region. The idea substantial part of Cox’s Road so this Mountains appears to have great merit and could be used as an educational tool *P8 Everglades a needs to be carefully considered. and tourist attraction through the region. picture of beauty In the case of this project it is important *P9 Best visual There are many in the heritage sector to acknowledge the investigative work memories of who strongly believe the into land ownership in the Lithgow Valley Scenic Railway to commemoration of the 1813 -15 carried out by members of the National go on display western crossing should have lasting Trust and the funding of signage by *P10 The white lady of benefit. The same people are Lithgow City Council. Mt Victoria becoming concerned that the *P11 Convict Female opportunity to create a lasting There are plenty of wonderful examples Factory Women commemoration is fast slipping away. of these types of walkways or selected *P16 Proposal for site access projects around Australia permanent The WCC came into being as a result such as the UNESCO World Heritage educational and of discussions between BMACHO and listed Great North Road convict built to research body the RAHS when concern was being link Sydney with the fertile Hunter Valley, *P16 A lesson learnt expressed about ad hoc plans across the numerous walking tracks within the from burial of the the region. BMACHO asked the then Sydney metropolitan area including the 1867 rail cutting president of the RAHS, Associate Fairfax walk on North Head or the Tamar abutment Professor Ian Jack if it might be Valley Drive in Tasmania with its *P17 All set for Blue possible for RAHS to co-ordinate the educational journal and audio Mountains history various plans and so the RAHS companion for those who prefer to stay conference Council appointed Professor David in their car. *P19 Volunteer Carment AM to chair the committee Defence Corps who recently handed over the chair to A ‘visionary’ was needed to get the not a Force his RAHS colleague Dr Anne Cox’s Road project up and running and *P19 Lithgow Small Whittaker. The committee under the no such person has so far been Arms Factory auspices of the RAHS has from forthcoming who had the capacity to centenary Penrith to Bathurst attracted a wide excite government, major corporations *P20 Patron’s favourite range of individuals and organisations and the local community to the Lindsays on show and eventually local government . significance of this important milestone *P20 Vintage and retro in the history of Australia. *P20 More accolades In early discussions BMACHO and for HERITAGE RAHS asserted that the This is not to say, David Carment and *P21 Inland esplorers’ commemoration should include the WCC have not done a most stamps issue projects that are of a long-term commendable job coordinating the launched benefit. At the time it was considered many local groups so that there will be *P22 Western crossing possible, because of the significance plenty of celebrations including some commemoration of the event that application to the educational activities. Sure, to capture 2013-15 federal and state governments might the imagination of the public there will well attract funding for projects which be need for some celebratory activity; *P23 will remain long after the event. but care should be taken to ensure that public funding is not all frittered away on It is fair to say that there has been an extravaganza of parades, plaque some success in funding smaller placements, partying and pyrotechnics. Stolen artefacts commemorative projects. But to date John Leary, OAM - Past president, back in there has been little success in Blue Mountains Association of Afghanistan initiating a major project such as the Cultural Heritage Organisations Inc. HERITAGE 2 September - October 2012 William Cox selected 30 convicts to work for emancipation Continued from page 1 William selected 30 convicts, who volunteered, in Macquarie’s words, ‘on the Condition of receiving emancipation for their extra Labour on the conclusion of it. This is the only remuneration they receive, except their rations’.2 The supervisors were free men. William kept a journal during the six months of the job. He never referred to the men as convicts, always by names or as ‘workmen’, ‘quarrymen’ or ‘carpenters’. A small guard of soldiers was there to deal with Aborigines and ward off sightseers. On July 17,1814 William left Clarendon, his estate, for Captain Woodruff’s farm, carts and provisions arrived from Sydney, and he ‘mustered the people’. They were issued with slops (working clothes). On July 24, he noted that, after crossing the Nepean, ‘The workmen exerted themselves during the week, much to my satisfaction’. As reward he gave them ‘a lot of cabbage’ (which would also ward off scurvy). A resting place subsequently named Springwood was created 12 miles from the ford, beyond the first depot. But soon the going became tougher. William recorded ‘The ascent is steep; the soil rough and stony; the timber chiefly ironbark.’ The hardness of this wood blunted the axes. The blacksmith’s forge was brought up and a chimney built for it. In effect they were progressing in a leapfrogging way, with William himself at the centre and the advance party ahead, while behind them provisions were moved slowly forward.