Lawyer, politician, journalist, jockey, Blue Mountains explorer, there was no native born son like W.C Wentworth in the early life of the colony of NSW.
At the unveiling of a bronze bust in the explorer’s honour on Monday, 203 years to the day since he first visited what is now Wentworth Falls – the village named in his honour – his descendant, Stephen Wentworth, spoke of his great, great, great grandfather as a remarkable man in the history of Australia.
“It could be said, that if Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth hadn’t crossed the Mountains when they did, the colony would more likely have been abandoned and Australia would not be the country that it is today – we could be speaking French, Russian, Portuguese or Spanish, or be a continent of many countries rather than one Commonwealth.”
The bust stands at Coronation Park in Wentworth Falls and was made possible with the help of council, Philip Hammon and Tom Colless (businesses supporting the Bicentenary) and 146 sponsors and descendants who helped pay for the sandstone plinth the bronze bust stands on. It was created by Mountains sculptor Terrance Plowright.
MP for Macquarie Louise Markus thanked Wentworth and his descendants.
“We do stand on the shoulders of those who took risks, significant risks, before us”.
Chamber of Commerce vice president Lew Hird said the village was fortunate to not only have a beautiful natural landscape but significant cultural heritage – both European and Indigenous.