Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Incident on road at Victoria Pass

Incident on road at Victoria Pass

November 1835
A 330 (Safe 1 / 404) between pp. 6-7
Ink and watercolour in notebook

Bequeathed by David Scott Mitchell, 1907

Almost better known for his wild behaviour, the naturally gifted sketcher and surveyor William Govett arrived in New South Wales at the young age of 20, and was immediately assigned to serve on Sir Thomas Mitchell’s staff in 1827.

From 1828 to 1833 Govett surveyed the area west of Sydney to the Blue Mountains. He is most noted for his work on the Old Bathurst road, and discovering the waterfall ‘Mitchell’s Leap’ named in honour of his superior. Mitchell was so impressed with Govett's work, that he re-named the fall ‘Govett’s Leap’ to pay tribute to his star surveyor.

Govett was particularly interested in depicting local Aboriginal people and their customs.*He learnt from their knowledge of the land, and noted their rituals and practices in journal. This notebook with entries written in his hand provides a detailed description of times and distances of his route through the Blue Mountains. Govett also records details of the terrain, including 31 drawings (tipped in) illustrating the journey. Several of the sketches appear to have been inserted at a later date, possibly by other people with several annotations on the reverse of the sketches written in pencil.

Footnotes

*Design and Art Australia Online

http://www.daao.org.au/bio/william-govett/biography/? 

The incident

In this extract from William Govett’s journal  he depicts an accident involving him and his team near Govett’s leap in November, 1835. 
…The most remarkable of these cascades is the one near the Weatherboarded hut and that which falls into the head of the Grose river; and which the Surveyor General named "Govetts leap" from the circumstance of my first having come upon the spot when surveying with Mr Rusdin, and having sent in a description of the scene in my official letter – The sketch opposite is intended to represent an accident which happened to my team which employed on the mountains – A mass of rocks and earth wh. had fallen in from the side which had been newly cut, nearly blocked up the road, and the bullocks as soon as they had turned the corner took fright at some Black fellows who were loitering by, and off they went, with all the clumsy speed & strength, until their further progress was put an end to by the said blockade of rocks & earth. This tremendous violence with which they came in contact with it fairly hoisted the dray in the air, and over it went, accompanied with the shaft bullock [indecipherable] , thundering & cracking down a precipice at least 800 feet, where may be seen to this day the skeleton of poor old Redman (the name of the Bullock) and the shattered fragments of a surveyors equipment – I was a spectator and beheld with some amazement the loss of Government property and of my own a little – as soon as the shock from the crashing and tumbling of the Dray had ceased and a horrid stillness ensued from which I concluded the animal was dead I reflected awhile and thought to myself – What! – why that it was a good excuse to go to Sydney, so mounted my horse ordered the men to remain at Emu Plains until further orders, and galloped off as much pleased as annoyed at the accident –
WRG. Novr 26. 1835