Bicentenary of the Hume & Hovell Expedition

A public event will be held to commemorate the Bicentenary of the Hume and Hovell expedition tasked by Governor Brisbane in 1824 with opening a land route from the Colony of NSW to Port Phillip Bay, the future site of Melbourne in Victoria. The event is being organized by History Goulburn with assistance from Goulburn Mulwaree Council and members of the Hume family. It will take place at 11.00 am at Lansdowne Bridge, Forbes Street Goulburn on 13 October 2024, close to the site where the expedition party camped 200 years ago.

The commemoration ceremony will include planting a cultivar from an exceptionally rare species of tree, Picconia Excelsa, planted by Hamilton Hume at his home near Yass in 1840. The tree will be planted beside the Mulwaree Walking Track and marked by a commemorative plaque. It is expected that descendants of a number of the original party will be present and take part in the ceremony.

The expedition was led by Hamilton Hume and retired sea captain William Hovell together with six assigned convicts. The route taken by the explorers passed through the site of Goulburn, the party camping on the banks of the Mulwaree River on 11/12 October 1824. The 1824 expedition was singularly important in opening up south-eastern Australia to European settlement and its agricultural development. It also laid the foundation for the separation of Victoria from New South Wales.

Goulburn’s links to Hamilton Hume are particularly strong. Early exploration by Hume from 1814 to 1817 was the key to opening up the Goulburn area and its surrounding district to European settlement.  His name is today synonymous with the principal route from Sydney to Goulburn, and the highway to Melbourne.

Goulburn is also the final resting place of William Hovell, co-leader of the expedition and a significant figure in the development of the city after the 1824 expedition. He is buried in the St Saviour's Cemetery.

The cultivar is one of a very small number commissioned by the National Trust of Australia Its location in Goulburn should be of considerable botanical interest to the community and visitors to the city.