2 Battles will take place on Sunday 26th April,
at 11.30am and 2.30pm.
"THE MYTH"
In an age of propaganda, doctored history and parallel universes, our collective concept of reality cannot be viewed with any certainty.
History is the story of the conqueror.
Historical fact can be, and almost certainly is skewed, inaccurate, myth even.
But can myth be fact?
The Battle of Lithgow is based on myth.
The following history is a mix of both myth and fact.
The Historical Background
The great prestige won by Captain James Cook through his discoveries in the Pacific, induced the French Navy, with the active support of King Louis XVI, to prepare a large-scale expedition to the Pacific Ocean.
Jean François de Galaup Lapérouse, a brilliant young soldier/sailor born in August 1741, was appointed to command the expedition. His mission: to claim for France as much land as possible, 'en Austalie', before the British claimed it all.
The two frigates La Boussole and L'Astrolabe left Brest in August 1785, each with a complement of about hundred and fifty soldiers and ten scientists. Their route to the Pacific lay via Cape Horn, with calls at Brazil and Chile on the way before reaching the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).
Lapérouse next set sail for the southern Pacific. The next call was at Tonga before reaching Australia at Botany Bay, near Sydney, where he arrived in December 1787.
Prior to his departure from France, Laperouse knew that the British "First Fleet" would arrive at Botany Bay sometime early in 1788. (The "First Fleet" actually arrived in Jan of '88)
He had to explore and claim as much land as quickly as he could.
Immediately upon his arrival, Laperouse sent expeditions into the west.
Soon after the arrival of the English, however, Laperouse made as if to depart, but unbeknown to the English, he relocated his expedition to the area now known as Broken Bay, near where present day Brooklyn is located.
With assistance from local aboriginal tribesmen, the mountains that are now known as the Blue Mountains, were first crossed by an expedition of Laperouse’s men in 1799 by following the Hawkesbury River to near Richmond, then by following the traditional aboriginal pathway that the present Bell's Line of Road now follows.
Laperouse’s men first established a base near permanent water in a valley now known as the Lithgow Valley in 1805. In the following eight years 6 permanent houses, a jail, a blacksmith workshop and a temporary government house were built.
In November 1813, following the successful crossing of the Mountains by the English expeditioners, Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth, Governor Macquarie sent surveyor and artist George Evans out west. Evans's mission was to plan a road across the mountains, and to explore the country that lay further west.
Crossing the Great Dividing Range, he descended down into the valley onto the Bathurst Plains, discovering the west-flowing rivers there, and continued 150 kilometers further west to the future site of Bathurst.
While on his return journey, Evan became intrigued by a native tribesmen's report about a ‘white fella camp’ that existed further east on the banks of what is today known as Farmers Creek.
Guided by a member of the Wiradjuri tribe, Evan secretly surveyed the nascent French colony and was stunned to discover what he described as 'an established European village'.
Being outnumbered, Evan prudently withdrew and with much haste returned to Sydney to report his discovery to Governor Macquarie, who with great urgency and complete secrecy, assembled three regiments; the 73rd Regiment of Foot, the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment and the 2nd 95th Rifles, and dispatched them to deal with the French threat.
Hauling two large field pieces across virgin terrain, and dealing with appallingly wet and cold conditions, the British forces arrived at what is now called River Lett Hill, to find the French forces, who had been warned by friendly aboriginal tribesmen, entrenched, fresh & ready to do battle, despite being outnumbered by more than 3 to 1.
On April 23, 1814, at approximately midday, the English and French forces met in battle…….. 'The Battle of Lithgow'.
photo by m.graham |
The Battle of Lithgow Napoleonic battle re-enactment is the
biggest
annual Napoleonic battle re-enactment to take place in Australia,
involving participants from all around the World.
Go back in time & experience what it was like to be on a
military
campaign in the 19th century; the fighting, the music,
the marching and the camping.
Hear the thunder of cannons, smell the smell of gunpowder
and horse dung waft across the fields.
See a 19th century field hospital, kitchen and smithy in action;
the uniforms & equipment, all historically acurate.
Experiencing the Battle of Lithgow is an experience you
must have if you are at all interested in our not-so-long-ago
past.
In 2009 there will be two spectacular battle events
featuring pyrotechnics (for the first time)
as well as over 120 participants in fully authentic
Napoleonic apparel, small arms
and artillery (4 cannons).
The Battle of Lithgow is presented by the Australian Napoleonic Association
and involves the following historical re-enactment groups:
The 73rd Regiment of Foot Inc 1810-1815 are New South Wales premier
regency living history unit.
The units central focus is reenacting a centre company of the regiment that
Governor Lachlan Macquarie brough with him to the colony in 1810.
The unit is interested in broader cultural and social from the period such as
cooking, singing, music dancing games and sports.
Our membership encompasses a broad group
of people and our target membership is between 3 and 73 years of age.
We pride ourselves on being a family club that encourages membership
across the state and interstate as well.
42RHRA – AUSTRALIA
The 42nd Royal Highland Regiment (1815) Australia is a part of a world wide organisation with formal links to the UK, Germany and the United States. The 42nd RHRA has members in Qld, NSW, Victoria, SA and WA.
We are also proudly founding members of the Australian Napoleonic Association (ANA).
Members of the 42RHRA live in widely separated areas of Australia - Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia - and form local squads for drill practise, marching and shows.
The 42RHRA members replicate the uniform and drill of the 42nd Regiment, 1st Centre Company, of the British Army in the 1815 period. The soldiers are wearing what they would have worn at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Visit our web site for more information: http://www.rhra.com.au/
95th (Rifle) Regiment
The 95th (Rifle) Regiment were active throughout the Peninsular Wars, fighting as a skirmish line & armed with rifles, proudly boasting of being the first onto the field of battle and the last out. Indeed they formed the advance line of Wellington’s forces and, when needed, excelled at rear guard tactics. Taught to use natural cover and encouraged to think more for themselves, these troops excelled at fighting in a thin skirmish line. Our re-enactment group offers the whole family a chance to experience the colourful Napoleonic era & we meet regularly for social events, drill days, camps and battle re-enactments.
The Black Brunswickers are a Brisbane based group that recreates
the Liebbattalion of the Brunswick Army in 1815.
Originally raised to fight the occupying French army in Germany the Black Band
saw service with the Austrians in 1809 and with the British in Spain and Portugal
and eventually at Quatre Bras and Waterloo.
Our groups meets fortnightly and activities include: workshops, drill with
muskets and sabres, and games: whether it is a game of whist
or a war game and every month we will go to the range
and shoot our muskets.
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