Members of the Goulburn and District Historical Society (GDHS) gained a sense of that journey during a recent excursion in search of one of the earliest European roads to Goulburn.

The excursion, led by Roger Bayley and Garry White, begun in began at Paddy’s River− called St Patrick’s River in 1820 – roughly between Canyonleigh and Arthursleigh.

The road is often referred to as the Old Macquarie Road because it was the one Governor Macquarie travelled in 1820 when he visited what would become Goulburn.

From Paddy’s River, the excursion then travelled to Arthursleigh, which is now owned by the University of Sydney, then past Greenwich Park to Wild’s Pass. Macquarie wrote:

“We had great labour and difficulty in getting the baggage carts up to the top of the mountain and it occupied upwards of two hours to do so  . . . I named this ascent and descent ‘Wild's Pass’, after Joseph Wild the overseer of the road party, who are employed in constructing the road in this new country.”

There they met with an Aboriginal family, led by Nagary, who courteously let the visitors traverse their land. Away from the track is the remnants of a stone construction.  It is said to be a hut, or maybe a store – or could it be Aboriginal? Whatever it might have been, it remains intriguing

In the new year the GDHS plans to host events to find Goulburn’s early settlement history.