HAWKESBURY HISTORY with Michelle Nichols & Jonathan Auld
Charles Darwin
The Grose Valley has had many visitors over the years . One visitor in the 1830s contemplated the gorge and wondered on the possibilities of how it was created . This young man had been given the opportunity to sail halfway across the world on a research project . Some of these encounters influenced him and his revolutionary ideas and discoveries .
The young man was Charles Darwin and he was best known for creating the theory of evolution through natural selection .
Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury England in 1809 , his father Robert Darwin was a doctor and his maternal grandfather Josiah Wedgwood had established the celebrated pottery business . His mother Susannah , nee Wedgwood , died when he was only a boy and he was cared for by his older sisters . Darwin started out studying medicine but eventually followed his interest of botany . At one stage he was attracted to life as a clergyman .
In 1831 Charles Darwin sailed on the HMS Beagle , a survey vessel heading to South America and the Pacific for a five-year expedition , with the intent
Charles Robert Darwin , LL . D ., F . R . S . Courtesy National Library of Australia .
of observing various meteorological observations and charting the South American coast .
On its final leg , the Beagle visited Australia and arrived in Sydney in January 1836 . Darwin was keen to view the geology and get a feel of the countryside , so employed a guide with two horses . He made his way from Penrith , across the
Platypus from The mammals of Australia by John Gould , 1855 . Courtesy State Library of NSW .
View near Grose Head NSW 1809 by George William Evans . Courtesy State Library of NSW .
Nepean by ferry and through the Blue Mountains . From Govetts Leap he viewed the gorge carved by the Grose River , with the outstanding views of the cliffs surrounding the Grose Valley and where the river eventually joins the Hawkesbury- Nepean . He described the view as “ stupendous ”.
Darwin travelled along the Coxs River and headed to Bathurst . Near Wallerawang he witnessed several platypuses playing along the waterway ; he likened the animals ’ behaviour to those of the European water rat . He pondered how the marsupial had adapted to the environment despite being a different species .
He only spent two months in the country but managed to collect hundreds of plants species , rocks and examples of the natural world while exploring the Blue Mountains and as far as Bathurst . He also paid a short visit to Tasmania and Western Australia .
During his five-year travels on the Beagle and his visits to various countries , Darwin amassed a great deal of data alongside his extraordinary specimens . Fascinated by Australia , the land down under provided some important insights for Darwin in the development of his theory of natural selection and research . He wrote to a colleague that he was really intrigued by Australia and read whatever he could about the country .
On his return Darwin contemplated his specimens , observed , reviewed his research and meditated on the results and expanded his knowledge . Eventually he published his controversial research titled , On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection in 1859 and it quickly sold out . Copies did not arrive in Australia until 1860 .
Darwin published his famous text , The Origin of Species which focussed on his theory of evolution and natural selection in 1859 . The book became one of the most profound influences on scientific thinking in the modern era , and is the publication for which Darwin is best remembered .
Darwin married his first cousin , Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and the couple had ten children , seven reaching adulthood . Throughout his remarkable life , Charles Darwin received a number of awards for his exceptional achievements , including the Royal Medal , Wallaston Medal and the Copley Medal .
After a notable life , Charles Darwin died in 1882 , aged seventy-three . He was highly respected and admired and his family were given permission for his body to be buried in Westminster Abbey .
One of Darwin ’ s notable quotations states :
In the struggle for survival , the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment .
It is interesting to know that some of Darwin ’ s Australian experiences in the 1830s influenced him and his revolutionary discoveries .
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12 ISSUE 159 // AUGUST 2023 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT