They say it takes a village to raise a child, but the same can be said for plenty of other things in life.
On October 2, 1824, explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell set out from Appin on their epic expedition of discovery to Port Phillip.
Two hundred years later, off the back of a mammoth effort from numerous people and groups, a new plaque was unveiled next to the Hume and Hovell monument along Appin Road.
Descendants of the explorers, including Hume brothers Neil and Mark, joined Patrick Duffy, leader of this project, NSW Surveyor-General Narelle Underwood, Stephen Coppings, president of Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society, and Phil Hayward the from Surveying Heritage Group for today’s marking of the 200th anniversary.
Mr Hayward is also a Campbelltown Harlequins rugby club stalwart so this morning’s “expedition’’ to the Appin monument started from the footy club’s home ground at Campbelltown Showground.
History enthusiasts and rugby club legends heard speeches about the mighty effort from Hamilton Hume and William Hovell in carving out an overland route between the then colony of NSW and what was to become Melbourne and Victoria.
Their effort launched the start of a massive expansion of the colony that eventually led to federation.
Patrick Duffy, who took on the task of co-ordinating the 2024 project, thanked everyone who helped out.
“A lot of people contributed,’’ he said.
“From Campbelltown Council to Sam Mir, who owns the land the monument is on, the historical society, Greg Warren, it was a great community effort.
“We have ended up with a new plaque to mark the 200th occasion and also got a stonemason to give the original monument a makeover – it was so bad you couldn’t read the letters on it,’’ Mr Duffy said.
“But the bottom line is to honour what Hume and Hovell did, what an incredible task it was, going through the tough Aussie bush all the way down to Port Phillip.
“That’s why we’re here today, to take our hats off to them.’’
The question many people who attended this morning’s event wanted answered was why did Hume and Hovell start out on their expedition from that particular spot in Appin.
Too easy: the land where the monument stands may be owned by Mr Mir today, but 200 years ago it was the property of one Hamilton Hume, who had moved there from Minto.
Indeed, the monument pillar on the side of the road is near the remains of Hamilton Hume’s cottage “Brookdale”.
As it turned out his partner in crime William Hovell didn’t live that far away either: he had a home in Narellan, so it made sense to start an expedition heading south from somewhere like Appin.
And that’s exactly what they did on October 2, 1824.
Exactly one hundred years later in 1924, locals gathered around the Hume and Hovell monument pillar to honour the two great men.
“I’d like to think that 100, 200 years from people will again gather to pay tribute to them,’’ said Mr Duffy, pictured below delivering his speech on the monument site. At right checking out the new plaque he is with MP Greg Warren, council deputy general manager Ben Hoyle (at right) and Mitch Hanlon (Institute of Surveyors NSW).
