But no record of such a journey has ever come to light.
[Illustration.

Statue of Gregory Blaxland, Lands Office, Sydney.] [Map.

Routes of Blaxland, Wentworth, and Lawson (1813); Evans (1813); Oxley (1817, 1818, 1823); and Sturt (1828 and 1829).] 1.4.THE BLUE MOUNTAINS: BLAXLAND.
Whether Barallier succeeded or not in reaching the summit of the mountains, the verdict accepted at that date was that they had not been passed; and until the year 1813, they were regarded as impenetrable.

The narrative of the crossing of these mountains, and the chain of events that led up to the successful attempt is widely known, but only in a general way.

It is for this reason that a longer and more detailed account is given in these pages; and as the expedition was successful in opening up a way to the interior of the Continent, it is fitting that its leader and originator, Gregory Blaxland, should be classed amongst the makers of Australasia.
Blaxland was born in Kent, in 1771, and arrived in the colony in 1806, accompanied by his wife and three children.