William Cox (1764-1837) was an English soldier, an explorer, a road builder, and a pioneering pastoralist in the early period of British settlement in the colony of New South Wales, Australia. In 1814, Cox supervised the construction of a road across Australia's Blue Mountains, and it was a remarkable achievement. His team of 30 convicts made 163 kilometers of road through appalling terrain, and they did so without serious accident or loss of life. This was in part a consequence of Cox's sympathetic treatment of his convict ...
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William Cox (1764-1837) was an English soldier, an explorer, a road builder, and a pioneering pastoralist in the early period of British settlement in the colony of New South Wales, Australia. In 1814, Cox supervised the construction of a road across Australia's Blue Mountains, and it was a remarkable achievement. His team of 30 convicts made 163 kilometers of road through appalling terrain, and they did so without serious accident or loss of life. This was in part a consequence of Cox's sympathetic treatment of his convict workers. Today, "Cox's Road" is considered a famous bush walk. In subsequent years, William Cox became a leading pastoralist in the colony, helping to carry through the developments which gave Australia its first significant exports. He also championed the rights of ex-convicts, whom he recognized as having created the colony through their labor. He looked forward to a country peopled by free-born British citizens with citizens' rights. By the time of his death, he
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