George William Evans (5 January 1780 – 16 October 1852) was a British-born surveyor and early explorer in the interior of the Australian colony of New South Wales.
Evans received early training in surveying and cartography. He arrived in Sydney in October 1802 and was briefly appointed acting-surveyor of the New South Wales colony and later assistant to James Meehan in Van Diemen's Land. In 1813, following the instructions of Governor Macquarie, Evans surveyed a route across the Blue Mountains and became the first European to describe the Bathurst Plains. In 1815 he explored further inland, including country adjoining the Abercrombie, Belubula and upper Lachlan rivers. Evans played a prominent role as second-in-charge under Surveyor-General John Oxley in two separate expeditions: in 1817 exploring the country west of Bathurst along the Lachlan River and in 1818 investigating the territory north of the settled districts from the Macquarie River eastwards to the coast at Port Macquarie. Evans then took up his role as Deputy Surveyor-General in Van Diemen's Land, but in 1824 he came under attack from Lieutenant-Governor Arthur and was accused of malpractice. He was allowed to retire on a pension in late 1825.
Evans and his family lived in England from 1827 to 1832, after which they returned to Sydney where Evans remained until January 1844. He then returned to Hobart Town where he died in 1852.
Early life George William Evans was born on 5 January 1780 at Warwick in Warwickshire, England, the third child and eldest son of William Evans and Ann (). His father was secretary to the earl of Warwick.A. K. Weatherburn (1966), George William Evans (1780–1852), Australian Dictionary of Biography website, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 6 February 2025.Family records, Ancestry.com.
For a short period Evans served as an apprentice with an engineer and architect and gained some rudimentary training in surveying, as well as cartography and sketching.Karl R. von Stieglitz (1967), 'Introductory Note', A Geographical, Historical and Topographical Description of Van Diemen's Land (1967 facsimile edition), London: William Heinemann Ltd., pages 1-8.
Career
South Africa
George Evans and Jennett Melville were married in 1798. Jennett was the daughter of Captain Thomas Melville, commander of the Britannia, one of the eleven ships comprising the Third Fleet by which convicts, military personnel and administrators were transported to the Sydney penal settlement during 1891. By 1798 Thomas Melville and his family were living in the Cape Colony and he been the commander of several ships owned by Samuel Enderby & Sons plying between England, the Cape Colony and New South Wales.A. K. Weatherburn (1966), page xvi.
After their marriage George and Jennett Evans migrated to the Cape of Good Hope, on the Atlantic coast of South Africa, where George was employed in the Naval Store-keeper's Department at Table Bay. The first three of their eventual ten children were born at Cape Town.
The Sydney region
Evans and his family remained at the Cape of Good Hope until May 1802 when, in compliance with the treaty of Amiens, British forces were withdrawn. Evans was persuaded by Captain William Kent to go to the colony of New South Wales. He and his family arrived at Port Jackson on 16 October 1802 aboard the H.M.S Buffalo. Evans was initially appointed to the position of store-keeper in charge of the receipt and issue of grain at Parramatta, west of Sydney.
In August 1803 the Surveyor of Lands for the colony of New South Wales, Charles Grimes, was granted leave of absence to travel to England and Evans was appointed by the Governor "to do that Gentleman's Duty in his absence".General Orders, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 14 August 1803, page 1. In September 1804 Evans explored the Warragamba River, south-west of Sydney, managing to travel upstream to the present site of Warragamba Dam.
In April 1804 Evans was appointed Lieutenant of the Parramatta Association.General Orders, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 22 April 1804, page 1.
In February 1805 Evans was discharged from the Survey Department by Governor King. He began farming at a settlement on the Hawkesbury River, on land granted to him in 1804. In March 1806 his land was inundated by a disastrous flood.Sydney, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 16 March 1806, page 2. Evans and his family had a narrow escape from drowning, having to be rescued from the roof of their cottage one at a time in a small dinghy.An Australian Explorer - Mr. G. W. Evans, Australian Town and Country Journal, 29 May 1880, page 17.
In January 1809 Lieutenant-Governor William Paterson was appointed acting Governor of New South Wales after Governor Bligh was deposed as a result of the 'Rum Rebellion'. In October 1809 Evans was appointed by acting Governor Paterson as the Deputy Surveyor of Lands at Port Dalrymple, in northern Van Diemen's Land.General Orders, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 29 October 1809, page 1. As it transpired, however, Evans' services were needed in Sydney. In late December 1809 Lachlan Macquarie arrived in the colony to take up his appointment as Governor. In January 1810 he issued orders that James Meehan was to continue to act as "Head Surveyor of the Colony" and Evans was appointed as acting Assistant Surveyor.Government and General Orders, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 14 January 1810, page 1.
In November 1811 a vessel carrying Governor Macquarie was forced to shelter from bad weather in Jervis Bay, south of Sydney. Macquarie subsequently ordered Evans to conduct a survey of the bay.Huskisson and Jervis Bay, The Canberra Times, 10 October 1988, page 42. In March 1812 Evans sailed to Jervis Bay aboard the Lady Nelson. After completing the survey he decided to return to Sydney by an inland route. His small party travelled northward and initially turned inland near the present locality of Nowra, where they encountered towering cliffs that blocked their efforts. Continuing to follow a coastal route they crossed the Illawarra escarpment and turned inland once more and succeeded in travelling overland to Appin. The return journey took two weeks, carried out under arduous conditions. Evans' explorations led to the European settlement of the Illawarra district.Marcia McEwan (1987), page 71.
Van Diemen's Land
In July 1812 Evans and Acting Surveyor-General Meehan arrived at Port Dalrymple to begin the process of re-measuring all land grants in Van Diemen's Land, considered by Governor Macquarie to be in a deplorable state through the inefficiency and misconduct of the Deputy Surveyors George Harris (who had died on 16 October 1810) and Peter Mills.Sydney, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 4 July 1812, page 2.E. R. Pretyman (1966), George Prideaux Robert Harris (1775–1810), Australian Dictionary of Biography website, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 7 February 2025. The lamentable state of affairs under the mismanagement of Harris and Mills had led to numerous complaints from settlers regarding boundary disputes.
In November 1812 Evans was appointed as Acting Deputy Surveyor of Lands in Van Diemen's Land, to be based at Hobart Town.Government and General Orders, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 7 November 1812, page 1. In August 1813 he was recalled to Sydney and instructed by Governor Macquarie to find a passage into the interior.
West of the Blue Mountains
Evans had arrived in Sydney only ten weeks after the return of Gregory Blaxland, Lieutenant William Lawson and William C. Wentworth from their journey across the Blue Mountains, west of the Sydney region. Blaxland's expedition had reached Mount Blaxland (south of the present site of Lithgow), before returning to Sydney. Governor Macquarie was anxious to establish a passage across the mountainous barrier and determine what type of country lay beyond the Blue Mountains, "with a view to meeting the necessary demands" of the colony's "rapidly increasing population". He appointed Deputy Surveyor Evans to the task of leading a small party to survey the route taken by the Blaxland expedition and to explore and survey the country westward of that point.A. K. Weatherburn (1966), pages 27, 30-32.The Second Crossing of the Mountains by Frank Walker, Sydney Mail, 28 August 1912, page 12.
Evans' party comprised two free men, Richard Lewis and James Burns, and three convicts, John Cooghan, John Grover and John Tygh. They set out on 20 November 1813, from Emu Ford on the Nepean River at the base of the Blue Mountains, with provisions for two months carried on packhorses. Evans decided to defer measurement of the route between Emu Ford and the Mount Blaxland vicinity until his return. The expedition made good progress, following the track marked by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth six months earlier, and reached Mount York after five days. The party descended to the River Lett, where they set up camp. On November 26 Evans commenced his survey; they followed the River Lett downstream to Cox's River, which was crossed and soon afterwards they reached the termination point of Blaxland's expedition.A. K. Weatherburn (1966), pages 32-33.
After leaving Mount Blaxland progress was slow due to the steepness of the country, but after four days open country to the west could be seen and the party reached their first inland-flowing stream which Evans named the Fish River. The party proceeded downstream, with the river "winding through fine flats and round the points of small ridges" (as recorded by Evans). On 6 December they passed through "a fine plain of rich land" which Evans named O'Connell Plains. The next day their progress was temporarily halted by the northward-flowing Campbell's River (at its confluence with the Fish River). The party followed Campbell's River up-stream until they found a suitable place to construct a log bridge, by which they crossed to the western bank. Following the combined streams of the Fish and Campbell's rivers, which Evans named the Macquarie River, on 9 December 1813 the exploring party camped on the site of present-day Bathurst.A. K. Weatherburn (1966), pages 33-34.
Evans was encouraged by the surrounding country which he named Bathurst Plains, describing it as "excellent good land, and the best grass I have seen in any part of New South Wales". The party progressed alongside the Macquarie River and entered hilly country to the north-west, by which stage the condition of the horses became a cause for concern, as the movement of the packs had badly chafed their backs. Evans concluded his survey on 16 December and two days later he and his men commenced their homeward journey. Their return route was more direct, leaving the Macquarie River and rejoining it near its confluence with Campbell's River. At this location on 21 December, Evans and his men had their first contact with aborigines of the Wiradjuri nation of central-western New South Wales, when they encountered two women and four children. Evans recorded that "the poor creatures trembled and fell down with fright". He gave them some fish, fish-hooks and twine and a tomahawk. After some time "they began to be good humoured and laugh".A. K. Weatherburn (1966), pages 35-37.