1830s
The area of Bowral was first traversed in 1789 by ex-convict John Wilson and his search party. Wilson's search party had been commissioned by Governor Hunter to explore south of the new colony of Sydney.
After Wilson's expedition a series of expeditions followed decades later by John Warby and Botanist George Caley (an associate of Joseph Banks), the Hume brothers and later famous pioneer explorers John Oxley and Charles Throsby.
In 1817, Charles Throsby was given land by Governor Lachlan Macquarie of the New South Wales colony. Throsby established a small township named Bong Bong which today is located 7 km north of Bowral. Throsby built Old South Road, a road that lead from Stonequarry (Picton) and Sydney to Goulburn and the southern plains of New South Wales.
Governor Macquarie had also given 2,400 acres (9.7 km2) to John Oxley in a land grant. This land would one day be present-day Bowral. John Oxley never lived in the area but he sent his sons to live in the area as sheep and cattle pastoralists. Oxley's sons named the area around Bowral "Wingecarribee"; the current name of the local government area of the Southern Highlands.
In 1831, 3,000 acres (12 km2) had been granted to what is known today as East Bowral to a Sydney business man, Edward Riley whose son, George took residence on the land.
Read more about this topic: History Of Bowral, European Discovery and Early Settlement: 1780