Lawson, William (1774-1850), was an Australian explorer. He is known as one of the first Europeans to cross the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. Lawson traveled with fellow explorers Gregory Blaxland and William Charles Wentworth. 
The Blue Mountains make up part of the Great Dividing Range, which runs along the eastern and southern coasts of Australia. In the early 1800’s, local Aboriginal groups had at least two routes that they used to cross the mountains. However, their knowledge was not understood or valued by the Europeans.
In May 1813, Lawson set out to cross the Blue Mountains with Blaxland, a rancher; and Wentworth, who later became a leading Australian statesman. The expedition was Blaxland’s idea, but he had limited knowledge of land exploration. Lawson was invited in part because he was a trained surveyor. A surveyor records the measurements and characteristics of land areas.
Instead of following routes used in previous attempts to cross through the mountain valleys, Lawson and his companions followed the mountain ridges westward. Over several weeks, they cut a path through brushland. On May 31, they reached a peak and saw plains to the west, in the area of present-day Bathurst. They were the first Europeans known to have reached the other side of the Blue Mountains. Lachlan Macquarie, the governor of New South Wales, rewarded the men with grants of land. Lawson’s notes about the journey enabled other settlers to retrace the explorers’ path.
Lawson was born at Finchley, now part of Greater London, England, on June 2, 1774. In 1800, he traveled to Sydney, Australia, as part of the New South Wales Corps, an infantry regiment recruited in Britain (now the United Kingdom) to keep order in New Sough Wales. From 1808 to 1810, Lawson was in charge of the British settlement at Newcastle. From 1819 to 1823, he was the commander of the Bathurst settlement, and he explored as far north as Mudgee. From 1843 to 1848, Lawson was an active member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales. He died in Prospect, New South Wales, on June 16, 1850.
