Peron, the French naturalist, tells us that when in Sydney in October, 1802, he persuaded Governor King to fit out a party to attempt the passage of the mountains, and that a young Frenchman, aide-de-camp to the Governor, was intrusted with the leadership.  He returned, however, without having been able to penetrate further than his English predecessors.

On the following month, however, Barallier set out from Parramatta, on his famous embassy to the King of the Mountains.  This fictitious embassy arose from the fact that Colonel Paterson having refused Barallier the required leave, King claimed him as his aide-de-camp, and sent him on this embassy.  Barallier started with four soldiers, five convicts, and a waggon-load of provisions drawn by two bullocks.  He crossed the Nepean and established a depot at a place known as Nattai, whence the waggon was sent back to Sydney for provisions, Barallier, with the remainder of his men and a native, pushing out westwards.  After this preliminary examination he returned to the depot, and made a fresh departure on the 22nd of November, and, continuing mostly directly westwards, he reached a point (according to his chart) about one hundred and five miles due west from Lake Illawarra.  If this position is even approximately correct, he must have been at the very source of the Lachlan River.

I give a few extracts from his diary, which was not even translated until the Historical Records of New South Wales were collected by Mr. F.M.  Bladen.  They refer to the crossing of the range.

“On the 24th of November, I followed the range of elevated mountains, where I saw several kangaroos.  This country is covered with meadows and small hills, where trees grow a great distance apart...I resumed my journey, following various directions to avoid obstacles, and at 4 o’clock I arrived on the top of a hill where I discovered that the direction of the chain of mountains extended itself north-westerly to a distance which I estimated to be about thirty miles, and which turned abruptly at right angles.  It formed a barrier nearly north and south, which it was necessary to climb over...At 7 o’clock I arrived on the summit of another hill, from where I noticed three openings:  the first on the right towards North 50 West; the other in front of me, and which appeared very large, was west from me; and the third was South 35 West.

...This discovery gave me great hope, and the whole of the party appeared quite pleased, thinking that we had surmounted all difficulties, and that we were going to enter a plain, the apparent immensity of which gave every promise of our being able to penetrate far into the interior of the country...At six o’clock I found myself at a distance of about two miles from the western passage...I was then only half-a-mile from the passage, and I sent on two men in order to discover it, instructing them to ascend the mountain to the north of this passage...I waited till 7 o’clock