George Evans (explorer)

George William Evans (5 January 1780 – 16 October 1852) was a surveyor and early explorer in the colony of New South Wales. Evans was born in Warwick, England, migrating to Australia in October 1802.

In 1803, Evans was appointed acting Surveyor General of New South Wales whilst Charles Grimes was on leave in England. In 1804, Evans explored the Warragamba River and upstream to the present site of the Warragamba Dam. Later removed from the position by Governor Philip Gidley King he was posted to the position of Assistant Surveyor by Lieutenant-Governor William Paterson. Evans surveyed the shores of Jervis Bay and inland to Appin leading the way to the settlement of the Illawarra region. Probably because of his success it was Governor Lachlan Macquarie who instructed him to find a passage to the west.

On 13 November 1813 Governor Lachlan Macquarie sent Evans across the Blue Mountains into the Wiradjuri nation of central-western New South Wales to confirm the findings of the exploration party of Blaxland, Lawson, and Wentworth. He was the first European to record meeting with the Wiradjuri people of the region. Evans generally followed the route of Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth, reaching the end of their route on 26 November 1813 at a point and had Evans named Mount Blaxland. Evan's party then moved on and discovered the Fish River area and further west near the junction of the now named Fish and Campbell Rivers and described two plains in his view, the O'Connell Plains and the Macquarie Plains. It was on 9 December that he reached the site of present-day Bathurst.

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