Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Birds-eye view of pass from Kings Tableland to Cox’s River

Birds-eye view of pass from Kings Tableland to Cox’s River

1912
MLMSS 4457 / MLK 3281
Manuscript diary

The conservationist and architect Myles Dunphy OBE (1891-1985) was a passionate advocate for New South Wales’ nature reserves, and particularly for the Blue Mountains. His love of nature started at a young age after spending much time with his family exploring the bushlands near their home in the southern suburbs of Sydney.

In 1914 Dunphy and his friend Bert Gallop found the Mountain Trails Club which marked the beginning of his lifelong commitment in connecting urban residents with the natural world. Through his association with the Club, Dunphy was able to create a series of maps for newly developed trails within the greater Blue Mountains area. *

‘Birds-eye view of pass from Kings Tableland to Cox’s River’ is an illustration of Dunphy’s route from Wentworth Falls to Cox’s River from his travel journal dated 1912. In the classic style of Dunphy’s cartographic work, this map provides topographical information, and names the peaks, valleys and rivers reflecting the difficulty of the walk. *

Footnotes

* Australian dictionary of biography http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dunphy-myles-joseph-12446

The steep banks of the Cox's River

The inscription above the illustration reads
‘… about 3’-6” or 4’-0” rose to tip of tail. The track now wound close to the Cox. We were in the Cox Valley of course. The river was close on 100 feet in places and around to 30 feet in other parts. There were extensive deposits of round worn stones in places along the banks. Sometimes the banks were steep’
Myles Dunphy, 1912