Curio

State Library of New South Wales
View taken on Major Mitchell's Pass to the Pilgrim Decr 5th 1832

View taken on Major Mitchell's Pass to the Pilgrim Decr 5th 1832

SV1B / Blu M / 20
Watercolour

Before 1830, people who wished to cross the Great Divide were forced to travel long distances on hazardous roads and rickety bridges across very steep terrain. Surveyor- General Thomas Livingstone Mitchell was determined to develop a more direct and safe route through the mountains, by building a road ‘that was built to last.’

Work on Mitchell’s Pass commenced in 1830 under the supervision of the Department of Roads and Bridges, lead by Mitchell. To assist in creating his vision, Mitchell recruited fellow Scottish engineer David Lennox to the role of Superintendent of Bridges. Lennox earned the reputation in the UK for being a skilled engineer who created beautiful stone arch work. This was evident when he designed and supervised the construction of the most important part of Mitchell’s Pass, the arched stone bridge crossing over Lapstone Creek.

‘View taken on Major Mitchell's Pass to the Pilgrim’ is a watercolour that shows the convicts at work on this section of Mitchell’s Pass at Lapstone Hill in 1832. Both the bridge and the pass are excellent examples of surviving convict road works in NSW.

David Lennox had previously worked under famous British bridge engineer Thomas Telford.

Lennox Bridge on Mitchell Pass is the first arched bridge to be built in New South Wales. It is also the oldest bridge on mainland Australia.

The Lapstone Bridge was renamed The Lennox Bridge In honour of its designer, David Lennox.

Mitchell’s Pass was the third vehicular route constructed on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Mountains.