from the Lithgow Mercury, May 2, 2013.
THREE granite boulders in the Hartley Valley have been placed in a new position in symbolic preparation for the bicentenary of the first European crossing of the Blue Mountains into Hartley.
The boulders were taken from the property of Hartley resident Dick Austen and transported to the grounds of the Hartley School to commemorate the valley’s history which includes Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson’s journey through the area in 1813.
The Governor Professor Marie Bashir will officially inaugurate the rocks on June 1, the date when it is thought the explorers passed close by to the school’s location.
Yesterday morning the rocks were guided into place on the school grounds by Dargan artist Henrik Topolnicki.
Henry Transport and Earthmoving Equipment supplied all the man power and equipment used to move and place the rocks.
Hartley District Progress Association secretary Ramsay Moodie said the commemorative rocks also acknowledge the special geology of the valley, from the high sandstone escarpments down to its granite base.
