John's Blue Mountains Blog: Govett

Friday, 8 November 2013

BARROW LOOKOUT BLACKHEATH BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

BARROW LOOKOUT BLACKHEATH

BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

Barrow Lookout from Govett's Leap Lookout

Barrow Lookout is easily seen from Govett’s Leap Lookout, being just to the left of the waterfall and above it, on the cliff top track to Evans Lookout. It takes its name from the 19^th century surveyor Isaac Le Pipre Barrow, who worked in the area.

Its location matches the place mentioned by Assistant Surveyor William Romaine Govett in his letter to Surveyor General Major Thomas Mitchell dated 1^st July 1831. “The Creek near ‘Blackheath’ after running about two miles and a half falls abruptly after the manner of the cascade at the ‘Weatherboard’ into one of the Gullies of the Grose River; at a point near this fall of water you have a grand view of two cascades, and that break of rock which forms such a particular (feature) in this Survey. Indeed I have not as yet seen a view which shews (sic) so well the character of the mountain feature …”. (Quoted from “Blackheath Today from Yesterday” p 131, edited by Peter C Rickwood and David J West, 2005).

Govett's Leap from Barrow Lookout

No doubt Govett discovered the waterfall by following the creek we now know as Govett’s Leap Brook, rather than the ridge which ends with the present day Govett’s Leap Lookout. We need to take note at this point that the correct name for the waterfall is “Govett’s Leap” (not the Bridal Veil or Bridal Veil Falls), which name appears to have been given by Mitchell soon after Govett’s discovery. The monument at Govett’s Leap Lookout reads as follows: “This fall of water was named Govett’s Leap from the circumstance of William Romaine Govett Assistant Surveyor first having come upon the spot in June 1831”.

This concise statement of the facts is in stark contrast to the bizarre stories that abounded from the early 1870’s onwards, which had Govett as a bushranger, an escaped convict or convict overseer, a murderer and general vagabond. His “leap” was supposed to have been on horseback over a rocky gully (which he and his horse survived) or over the cliff (in which case they didn’t). Those responsible for promoting tourism in Blackheath could have easily contradicted these wild stories; however it seems that they used them to promote interest in the town and district. Even today poor Govett is seldom show the respect he deserves.

I don’t know when the name “Govett’s Leap” came into general use, but in the 1845 edition of Charles Darwin’s “The Voyage of the Beagle”, chapter 19 page 438 we read "Jan 18, 1836: Very early in the morning, I walked about three miles to see Govett's Leap: a view of a similar character with that near the Weatherboard, but perhaps even more stupendous.”

Not having seen Darwin’s original diary, I can’t say that he actually wrote this in 1836. Darwin corresponded with Major Thomas Mitchell and it is possible that he was given the name by him, inserting it into the text when he prepared his notes for publication. The name was certainly in common use when the railway opened to Mt Victoria on 1^st May 1868. The first timetables suggest that the reason for trains stopping at Blackheath was so that visitors could go and see Govett’s Leap.

Readers might like to look up this reference in Trove: The World's News (Sydney, NSW: 1901 - 1955), Saturday 30 September 1922, page 20, 21.

Professor V. Gordon Childe

Now here is an intriguing story for readers of this blog to follow up. What happened to world renowned archaeologist, atheist and socialist Professor V. Gordon Childe at Barrow Lookout in 1957?

See the article by Dr Peter Rickwood in the “Blue Mountains History Journal”, Issue 3 October 2012 page 35.

For my video on the walk from Govett's Leap Lookout to Barrow Lookout, click here.

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Song Studies. Bible studies based on hymns and songs

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Shoalhaven District Geology.

Sunday, 18 August 2013

GOVETT’S LEAP LOOKOUTS, BLACKHEATH BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

GOVETT’S LEAP LOOKOUTS

BLACKHEATH BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

John and Sue at Govett's Leap Lookout July 2007

Govett's Leap has been one of the focal points of the Blue Mountains since its discovery in June 1831 by William Romaine Govett, an assistant surveyor with the survey department of NSW. Dispatched by Surveyor-General TL Mitchell to survey the upper Blue Mountains, Govett’s party came across the view of the Grose Valley and the famous waterfall during the course of their work. It is likely that Mitchell himself is responsible for the name “Govett’s Leap”, but this is by no means certain.

I recommend the fine publication “Blackheath Today From Yesterday”, published by the Rotary Club of Blackheath in 2005 as a good source of information on the area.

Something needs to be said about the silly stories about Govett the supposed bushranger or Govett the escaped convict. As the facts about the discovery and its naming have always been readily available, I suspect that these fictions were invented to drum up business for the tourist industry in Blackheath. You can read lots about it in the newspapers of the day by searching Trove.

The name “Govett’s Leap” applies only to the waterfall itself. It is also commonly called the Bridal Veil Falls or the Bridal Veil, which name is also used for the upper Leura Falls. As “leap” means waterfall, it is the correct and original name. The point where Govett’s Leap Road reached the edge of the valley is correctly called “Govett’s Leap Lookout”, though popular usage is hard to change.

There are 4 lookouts here: an upper and lower one at the end of the road and Williams and Breakfast Rock Lookouts below them, accessible by the Grose Valley track. I would guess that 90% of visitors don’t even get as far as the second principal lookout and a fraction of 1% make their way as far as Breakfast Rock, which is the best viewpoint and always

Breakfast Rock Lookout from an old photograph

has been. See the Blog entry “The Princes’ Visits to the Blue Mountains – 1868 and 1881” dated 12^th August 2013 for an interesting story about the Govett’s Leap lookouts.

Govett’s Leap has always been the focal point of tourism in Blackheath. There are numerous early reports of visits to be found using Trove, including one by Charles Darwin, who came this way in 1836. He wrote the following account in “The Voyage of the Beagle” (1845): “January 18^th. Very early in the morning, I walked about three miles to see Govett’s Leap: a view of similar character with that near the Weatherboard, but perhaps even more stupendous. So early in the day the gulf was filled with a thin blue haze, which, although destroying the general effect of the view, added to the apparent depth at which the forest was stretched out beneath our feet. These valleys, which so long presented an insuperable barrier to the attempts of the most enterprising of the colonists to reach the interior, are most remarkable. Great arm-like bays, expanding at their upper ends, often branch from the main valleys and penetrate the sandstone platform; on the other hand, the platform often sends promontories into the valleys, and even leaves in them great, almost insulated, masses”.