In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth lead an expedition to cross the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Their route opens up inland Australia for continued expansion throughout the 19th century.
The 1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains was the expedition led by Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth, which became the first successful crossing of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales by European settlers. The crossing enabled the settlers to access and use the land west of the mountains for farming, and made possible the establishment of Australia's first inland settlement at Bathurst.
William Lawson, MLC (2 June 1774 – 16 June 1850) was an English-born Australian explorer, land owner, grazier and politician who migrated to Sydney, New South Wales in 1800. Along with his close friends and colleagues Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth, he pioneered the first successful crossing of the Blue Mountains by European settlers.