Hume and Hovell memorial. Photo contributed by local Lance Marke.
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As we approach the 200-year anniversary of Hamilton Hume and William Hovell’s expedition to find new grazing land for the colony, it is the perfect time to look back on their journey through NSW and Victoria.
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Eight days before crossing the intersection of Hume and Hovell Rd and Anzac Ave, Hovell described our famous native wildlife in his journal, writing “on the downs are numbers of emus, native companions, and Cape Barren geese. These emus run too fast to be caught by our dogs.”
Former secretary, and president, of the Seymour Historical Society John Jennings said Hume and Hovell’s passing “became Seymour’s first Christmas Day”.
Seymour was founded 15 years after Hume and Hovell’s expedition, in 1939.
Jennings said the explorers passed through Seymour on their return trip to Sydney, and their route was roughly along Telegraph Rd.
They also discovered the Murray River, and initially named it the Hume.
Hume and Hovell’s expedition.
Hume and Hovell’s expedition resulted in a major discovery for settlers of Australian lands, including the first sighting of the Australian Alps and the Murray River by non-First Nations peoples, and place names such as the Hume Hwy and the Hume and Hovell track.
The State Library of NSW credits Hume and Hovell’s expedition as opening the way for settlement around the Port Phillip area, and resulted in the founding of Melbourne.
Commemoration of the Hume and Hovell Monument in Kilmore.
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Victorian Governor Margaret Gardner commemorated the 200th anniversary of Hume and Hovell’s crossing through Kilmore on Friday, December 13 in a ceremony that involved the unveiling of a commemorative plaque.
Held at Monument Hill in Kilmore, the ceremony reflected on Hume and Hovell’s journey, and celebrated the efforts of the Kilmore community in building the initial monument in 1924, which honoured the expedition 100 years after it took place.
Mitchell Shire Councillor Andrea Pace said “the event recognised both the achievements of Hume and Hovell and the resilience and culture of our First Nations people who have called this land home for tens of thousands of years”.
The unveiling of the Hume and Hovell monument in Seymour in 1924.
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The monument in Seymour was also unveiled in 1924, 100 years after Hume and Hovell’s crossing through the intersection of Hume and Hovell Rd and Anzac Ave.
Hume and Hovell camped on the banks of the Goulburn for two nights, December 24 and 25 of 1824.
The party rested to, in Hovell’s account, “avail themselves of the fine fish which abound in its [the Goulburn’s] waters as well as refresh the horses”.
