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The Australian Town and Country Journal printed the following article in 1877 which gives a short account of the early exploration of the Grose Valley :
“The Valley of the Grose.
“The Valey of the Grose, from which a scene is here presented, has been an object of attraction from the very early days of the colony. To those who formed the first settlement at Port Jackson the sight of the Blue Mountains on the western horizon suggested inquiry as to what might lie beyond them; and the chasm of the Grose soon attracted notice as a possible channel of communication. It was named after Major Francis Grose, who, as senior officer of the 102nd Regiment, or New South Wales Corps, filled for a short time the office of Lieutenant-Governor after the departure of Captain Phillip, in August 1793, explored this chasm for some distance, and named it after the Lieutenant-Governor.
 “He failed in his attempt to find a way through this chasm to the other side of the mountains. Rapids and impassable precipices fioled his efforts; and he could not get more than about twelve miles from the junction of the Grose and the Hawkesbury.
“But the aspect of this great chasm, running westward nearly at right angles to the general trend of the Blue Mountains, allured many travellers to attempt the same task. Lieutenant Dawes, Captain Tench, and others successively adopted the opinion that there must be some way through by this chasm to the other side of the mountains. Each of them, while he pressed up through this valley, was alternately aroused to hope and subjected to disappointment, as he turned one bend after another of the almost perpendicular walls of rock.
“In 1794, Mr. Hacking, the quarter master of the Sirius, made a bold attempt to overcome the difficulty of penetrating through the mountain range by the Valley of the Grose. But after going about 30 miles up from the Hawkesbury, he was obliged to give up the enterprise. In 1796, Mr. Bass, who discovered the straits called by his name, made another attempt in the same direction. he furnished himself with iron hooks for his hands and feet to enable him to climb the precipices; and took ropes, ladders, and other appliances for the prosecution of his task. But after fifteen days of great exertion, fatigue, and suffering, he and his companions were obliged to give up the attempt.
“In 1799, a convict named Wilson, a man of considerable intelligence, who had lived some years with the blacks, undertook to find a way through the mountains. Hunter trusted this man with the conduct of an expedition for this purpose, and sent with him one free man (servant of the Governor), and four other convicts. On their return Wilson reported to the Governor that they had succeeded in getting through the Blue Mountains. He dsecribed the nature of the country. One of the chief features was a river, as wide as the Hawkesbury, running from south-east to north-west. It is now supposed that the river he saw was the Lachlan. But at that time the idea of a river running away from the sea into the interior was deemed incredible by most of those who heard the report.
“M. Peron, a French explorer, who visited Sydney in 1802, writes this of the Blue Mountains : - ‘In clear weather these mountains are readily distinguished from the upper part of Sydney town, at a distance of 50 miles. They here present the appearance of a bluish curtain raised but a small degree above the horizon, and the uniformity of which scarcely admits suspicion of their constituting different tiers. Seen from the heights of Castle Hill, that is to say, five-and twenty miles away, thier summits appear to be regular; at intervals some bold peaks are perceptible; and the different tiers appear like so many lines, rising in height as they advance deeper into the country; and the dull colour of which seems to indicate their being arid and bare. Viewed from the vicinity of the Hawkesbury, at a distance of but 8 or 10 miles, ‘they resemble,’ says M. bailly, ‘a vast curtain, which limits the horizon on the north-west; no break, no peak varies the outline.’ On advancing to the foot of the mountains M. Bailly observed the same continuity in their summits; the only break they present, in fact, in this part, is that from which the River Grose is precipitated; a river, the source of which, yet unknown, appears to be at a distance in the interior of the mountains, and which by its junction with the Nepean constitutes the Hawkesbury River.’
“In 1802 M. Peron induced the Governor (Captain King) to send another expedition to explore the Grose Valley, in hope of finding a passage across the Blue Mountains. The direction of the work was entrusted to M. Barrallier, a French engineer, who was then aide-de-camp to the Governor. This expedition ended, as many other attempts had done, in failure. And the conclusion that the Blue Mountains were impassable was strengthened in men’s minds. M. Peron mentions the superstitious dread with which the aborigines looked upon the Blue Mountains, as the abode of a terrible divinity, who from the summit of those insurmountable rocks hurled his thunder and lightning, and sent dow at times upon the country floods and burning winds.
“Until 1813 the Blue Mountains retained in the minds of the colonists the reputation of being invincible. In that year Messrs. Wentworth, Blaxland, and Lawson succeeded in in opening the great western region to the enterprise of their fellow countrymen. They left the Grose on their right, and ascending a ridge between the river and the Western, or Cox’s river, travelled 56 miles over the mountain range, and 8 miles through the forest and plain country beyond it.” (The Australian Town and Country Journal, 8th September 1877)
The Following account of a journey to Ecclestone Du Faur’s camp in the Grose River Valley is taken from the Australia Town and Country Journal :
“A Trip to the Valley of the
Grose.
(BY A CORRESPONDENT.)
 “THE sources of the Grose river are on the high land about Mount Victoria. The Great Western Railway traverse the summit of this mountain, forming the watershed dividing the waters of the Wollondilly on the south from those of the Grose on the north. The traveller on the railway is struck with admiration of the the magnificent views of the mountains and cliffs on both sides of the line. But to form any idea of the stupendous size of these cliffs, he must descend one of the deep ravines and view them from below. Of course this was impracticable until a track had been formed, and some gentlemen of the Academy of Art and the Philadelphia Commission lately resolved to open up one of these ravines. The result is that scenery unequaled in many respects in any country has been found and an opportunity given to tourists to traverse and sketch the same. The writer was one of about a dozen gentlemen who were the first party to visit the camp that has recently been formed in the valley of the Grose. We left Sydney by the morning train on Thursday 23rd September. The carriage was mainly occupied by our party, amongst whom was the gentleman who originated the expedition, and to whose care and superintendence it is principally due, that it is carried out. On stepping into the saloon our olfactory organs at once advised us that photographic material formed part of the luggage, , and we were somewhat surprised at the size of the baths, plates, &c., when we considered the difficulty of conveying large packages through the bush. The day was beautifully fine, and we had a good view from Lapstone Hill of the country through which we had travelled, and also further on of the mountain scenery. At Hartley Vale siding, three miles beyond Mount Victoria station, we alighted and found pack horses in readiness to convey the luggage of our leader, but each one of us had to shoulder his own swag of blankets down the steep descent of the creek which flows into the river. A good track had been opened, being the same that was made in 1857 by the surveyors who were sent to ascertain the practicability of laying the railway through the valley and over the Blue Mountains [know as The Engineer’s Track; see Sketch Map of Upper Grose]. The great obstacle that led to the rejection of that work was the frequent occurrence of land slips from the hills and rocks into the river. Evidence of some of recent occurrence we saw in our journey. After almost ten miles fatiguing walking, we arrived at the camp about sundown and found tents erected for our accommodation, and a substantial meal kindly provided for our refreshment. In all, we numbered seventeen in camp that night, comprising gentlemen in the davanced guard of the learned professions - the University, the law, the college, &c. Thompson the companion of the late explorer Andrew Hume in his last journey, was our camp keeper and guide; and all of us will long remember his care and attention in promoting the success of the expedition. The narrative of the fearful hardships by him excited much sympathy in his behalf. The camp was situated close to the creek, and we had the morning sun reflected from the rocks above us an hour or so before he shone on our camp. On Friday, the 26th [sic], the main portion of our party pushed on four miles further down the river at its junction with Govett’s Leap Creek, at which place a camp was formed. The writer remained with the artist; and while one portrays the scenery with pencil and brush, the other will crave the reader’s indulgence while he endeavours to describe it with the pen. before descending the valley, and while the cliffs are still in the distance, they appear as huge unshapely boulders, lifting their heads above the trees in the valley. As seen from the bed of the river, and before coming up to them, a profile view is presented with some of the strata jutting out, and forming fantastic shapes of hats, foreheads, noses, lips, chins; sometimes, indeed, the projections appear in this natural order. Other rocks, more massive, present a striking resemblance to a castle, with round and square towers supported by escarpments and moats; turrets and columns, huge nobs and ledges and buttresses are also seas of various size and shape. The escarpment is well wooded up to its junction with the talus.
“The latter is a barren, perpendicular rock, the face of which is in some cases broken into the shapes above mentioned, in others a long line of wall is presented, as avenly built as if a level and plumb had been used for each stone. few have any idea of the immense proportions of these rocks, or can credit the statement who have measured by mathematical means their height. From the levels of surveyors of the table land above, and those of the bed of the river, it has been estimated that the perpendicular rocks seen above the trees is from 700 to 800 feet in height. The estimate is confirmed by comparison with a measured line of 100 ft. or so, which was suspended from the top of one of the cliffs. The rocks are composed of sandstone, of a light colour, with patches of deep red. When reflecting the lateral rays of the early morning or afternoon sun they present a most marvellous effect. The brilliant and immense flare of light glows from the massive towers, above the escarpment of trees that are in deep shade. On the northern side of the river an effect entirely opposite is produced. The sun lights the trees on the escarpment, which shine in varied hues of green and red and brown, while the whole face of the rock is in deep shade for several hours. Effects of perspective are also seen in these huge blocks never seen elsewhere, and which puzzle the spectator who judges of their comparative height before coming abreast of each one. Mr. Piguenit, an artist from Tasmania, has painted several of these scenes, and when the pictures are completed they will be exhibited by the Academy of Art. The photographer, Mr. Bischoff, is also busy taking views, and when the series is complete, they will, we believe, be published in the form of a portfolio.
“ The lower camp is situated at the junction of the Govett’s Leap Creek with the Grose, just under the precipitous southern edge of Mount King George. From this camp a party set out on Saturday morning, to endeavour to find the foot of the Govett’s Leap waterfall, a task which several years ago had baffled Govett, who, with a staff of men spent six weeks about it. They must have been too fond of taking their ease in camp, and they have left the honour of accomplishing the same feat to five of our fellow citizens, who in one day returned victorious. Mr. Weigall had expressed his determination to find the foot of the leap during his holiday, and he and his comrades, Burkitt, Stephenson, Backhouse, and Ross returned to the camp on Saturday evening, after having bathed themselves in the spray that breaks from the prodigious leap over the cliff. Since then, others have visited the spot, and a way is being cleared for the photographer. It will, however, be useless for him to go within a distance of half a mile from the Fall, as the angle subtended by by the lofty column of water would be too great for the field of his lens. Two other deep waterfalls are seen on the same horse-shoe line of cliffs that enclose the Govett’s Leap Creek; one of them divides into three distinct falls, and was named Trinty Falls by our party, on first going to the foot of them. It will be seen that, that to get from the top of Govett’s Leap to its foot, a distance of about 25 miles has to be traversed. One or two attempts were made to find a way through the wall of the cliffs, at places where a creek descends, but hitherto the attempts have been without success. Should an accessible opening be found on either side of the river, the distance to a main road would be lessened. If on the northern side, on reaching the top of the cliff, a mile or two’s walk would bring the travellers on Bell’s line of road, which crosses the railway at Wilson’s platform. On the south side the edge of the cliff is a few miles from the railway near Mount Victoria or One Tree Hill.
“The botanist will find this spring time a good one for collecting flowers and ferns. Those most plentiful are - the beautiful little white Leucepogon, the magnificent scarlet-headed Waratah, Boronias, Epscride, and Orchida. Of ferns we gathered Adriantum Oethiop___, (the dark stemmed maiden’s-hair fern), Adiastum affine, Aspenium attenuateum, Asplanium nidus (birds nest fern), Pellae, falcata, Bischnum cartalaginum, Alsophilia (tree fern), Aspinium flabeliitelium, Cyathea, Gleichesis (head fern), Doodia asperia, Caeilanthes tenufolia, Linden micropphyila.
“Among the native songsters, we saw and heard the bell bird, native pheasant or lyre bird, Wonga Wonga pigeon, satin bird, galah, cockatoo, parrot, and kingfisher. Snakes are appearing in too great plenty to be comfortable for tourists, and we killed several; one of these black reptiles
“swinges the scaly horor of his tail
“from beneath the blankets in our tent. We fired the bush in several places to clear the track of these venomous beasts, but at the risk of incurring the rage of our German photographer, whose views would be spoilt by the smoke.
“In closing this brief account of the exploration of the Grose Valley, we feel that it is only just to mention the name of the gentleman to whose generosity and enterprise the scheme is due. Mr. Ecclestone Du Faur, F.R.G.S., one of the Academy of Art, has, principally at his own expense, opened up to view this wonderful scenery. The Academy of Art and the Philadelphia Exhibition Commission are employing the photographer, and we believe it is the intention of Mr. Du Faur to ask the Government for assistance in constructing a road down the valley. It is estimated that with about L50 a farther extension of the track might be made to the foot of Govett’s Leap falls, and Mr. Du Faur invites the co-operation of his fellow citizens in this laudable exercise. In 1857 some thousands of pounds were expended in making a road through the valley, which road might have been kept in a passable state with an annual outlay of L50, and it seems a pity that it should have been allowed to be overgrown with ferns ans scrub. It is only necessary that it be known that we have scenery so grand within a short distance of our great trunk railway, and thousands of visitors would be attracted thither. The journey from Sydney to the camp may be easily accomplished in one day, four hours of which is by train. It is intended to leave Thompson in charge of the camp for several weeks longer, thus affording an opportunity for gentlemen to visit the valley. Accommodation and rations are provided at a moderate charge, and no risk is involved of missing the way to the camp.” (The Australian Town and Country Journal, 9th October 1875)
The claim that Mr. Weigall, and his companions, were the first Europeans to reach the foot of the falls was quickly disputed :
“GOVETT’S LEAP.
To the Editor.
SIR. - Your Correspondent is very much in error in stating that Mr. Weigal and party were the first to stand and bathe under the falls of Govet’s [sic] Leap.. In the year 1847 I explored the whole of the valley and falls above Mount George, and since that date I have taken several parties down to the bottom, and by a much shorter route than your Correspondent has taken. I beg to state that the nearest route is two and a-half miles from the Great Western Railway at Little Black Heath. Keeping on the top of the ridge to the eastward until you get near the cliffs of Grose Valley, to the right you have a very deep gorge, and near an immense mass of rock there is easy access to the valley below. My name and date is out in the rocks in several places, and ought to be there still if the storms have not obliterated it. I have not been down since the year 1849, but I think I could still find the spot to descend.
I am, sir, yours respectfully,
WILLIAM HAYWARD,
Watchmaker, Bathurst.
Bathurst, 11th October, 1875.
“P.S. - I have also to state that Mr. Govett never was at the bottom of the valley, and that Sir Thomas Mitchell and staff of men did not succeed any better in getting down.” (The Australian Town and Country Journal, 16th October 1875)
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