EVANS LOOKOUT, BLACKHEATH NSW AUSTRALIA
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| View from Evans Lookout October 1960 |
Every Blue Mountains lookout has a story attached to it.
This lookout has one of the finest views of them all, but it’s not simply the
view we are interested in here.
The first questions which come to mind are these: who was
George Evans and how does his name come to be attached to this lookout? Because
we have recently celebrated the bicentenary of the first Blue Mountains
crossing by the British settlers in NSW, many will be aware that Governor
Macquarie sent out an expedition late in 1813 to follow up on the discoveries
of Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth. This was led by George Evans, assistant surveyor
to John Oxley, who went on to the site of Bathurst and beyond. Be assured that this is a different George
Evans from the one whose name is attached to the lookout.
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The monument at the
lookout has this inscription: “This
memorial was erected in memory of George Evans Esq. Solicitor of Sydney &
London who was a pioneer of this district. He discovered this lookout and
entrance to Grose Valley in the year 1882. Erected by his daughter Mrs E.E.
MacLaurin 1932.” This information appears to be accurate, except that it is
unlikely that Evans was the first to discover the nearby access into the
valley.
There are several valuable books you might like to locate. “Blackheath – Today from Yesterday”
(produced by the Blackheath Rotary Club, 2005) is a great source of information
on early Blackheath, including material on George Evans. “Back from the Brink” (Andy Macqueen, second edition 2007) is the
story of the Grose Valley and is a great read.
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| Note: "Mr Evans" lower centre of map |
A useful download from a blog called Dossier 48
(here) will also save me repeating a lot of material.
That Evans’ country home had already been built in
Blackheath by 1882 is beyond doubt. It’s also clear from a report in the Nepean
Times (Saturday 15th June 1889, page 4) that a track ran from there
to what is now known as Evans’ Lookout. You can download this from Trove here. Also of interest is a
map (probably dating from 1882) in the “Pictorial
Guide to the Blue Mountains” by JEM Russell, which you can download from Trove here.
There is good reason to believe that, although Evans came
across the site of the lookout in 1882, he was preceded by others who found the
access into the Grose Valley, probably by way of the present Horse Track.
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| Hayward Gully Falls from Pulpit Rock Lookout |
Evidence for this comes from two letters by one William Hayward, the first in The Sydney Morning Herald for Thursday
26th January 1860, page 8 (downloadable here). Hayward claims
to have shown the route for the proposed railway line through the Grose Valley
to the surveyors in 1857 or 1858. The second letter tells us that a route he
used to get into the valley was near today’s Evans Lookout. (Australian Town and Country Journal for
Saturday 16th October 1875, page 33.) This letter is downloadable here.
He states that he was last in the valley in 1849, a fact which is not
inconsistent with the 1860 letter. Obviously, the way into the Grose Valley
near Evans Lookout was known before George Evans came there in 1882.
Presumably Myles Dunphy named the nearby gully “Hayward Gully” in recognition of this
man’s feat.
Apparently it is only a happy coincidence that my uncle Philip Hayward
and his family were living in the vicinity around the time that Dunphy was
investigating the area (1950’s).
Here are the links to several of my videos on the Evans Lookout
area. Evans Lookout Tracks here.
The Grand Canyon here. The Cliff Top Track here.
There has been considerable redevelopment of the lookout area in recent years. (Note February 2024)
https://johnsbluemountainsblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/links-to-all-blog-entries-and-relevant.html All Blue Mountains blogs and videos
All New England and other Geology blogs and videos
Limestone Caves of NSW
Song Studies. Bible studies based on hymns and songs
Shoalhaven District Geology
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