After months of determination and painstaking research into the Hume and Hovell expedition, Lance Pritchard may have rewritten history.
The widely held view of the famous expedition, which took place in 1824-25, is that it ended at Corio Bay.
But Mr Pritchard, secretary of Werribee District Historical Society, has issued a report challenging that view.
His report concludes the Hume and Hovell expedition actually terminated at the Werribee River.
Mr Pritchard said his interest in the subject was sparked when he saw a copy of a map, showing part of the expedition’s route, on display at the State Library of Victoria.
It was the first published map of the expedition, contained in an 1837 book by Hume and Hovell.
“I saw that and I thought, ‘Hang on, that’s not Corio Bay’,” Mr Pritchard said.
Mr Pritchard said he decided to do some digging to figure out the exact area portrayed on the map, including reading Hovell’s journal of the expedition and examining the last three days of the trek in great detail.
Mr Pritchard’s report states that the rivers and creeks in the map, on the west side of Port Phillip, are shown in “very much the correct location of the Werribee River and Kororoit Creek”.
Hume and Hovell’s book also said that at a certain point, the expedition altered its course to south-west and travelled “six miles in that direction along the shore”.
According to Mr Pritchard’s report, there is no shoreline of six miles (9.6 kilometres) in Corio Bay.
But the report states this is a “perfect description” of the shoreline between Point Cook and the mouth of Werribee River.
Mr Pritchard said he believed that the long-held belief Hume and Hovell finished their expedition at Corio Bay, rather than Werribee River, relied on incorrect secondary information published after their deaths.
Mr Pritchard, who has published his findings online, said he also intended to publish them in book form next year. The State Library of Victoria has told Mr Pritchard it would like to acquire the book for its collection.
Mr Pritchard said that if his theory about the Hume and Hovell expedition was accepted, it could be “terrific” for Wyndham tourism.
Details: humehovellexpedition.com
