Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Saturday 6 March 1954, page 4


WHY YOUR STREET

IS NAMED BARRALLIER

Barrallier Street, Griffith, is named after the pioneer, sur-veyor and explorer, Francis Louis Barrallier, who although of French descent, was commis-sioned by Governor Hunter in the New South Wales Corps in

1800.

Barrallier was concerned with scientific rather than military tasks, his first job being to de-sign the Parramatta orphan asylum building, and later to help Grant survey harbours on the New South Wales coast.

The charts of Jervis Bay, Western Port and portion of Bass Strait were mainly Barral-lier's work. In recognition of hisservice, King made him engineer and artillery officer in the Corps.

In October, 1802, he carried out exploration of the ranges west of the Nepean, travelling about 140 miles in seven weeks. From the junction of the Nattai and Wollondilly rivers he struck out west to Yerranderi but was turned back by unfriendly natives. A second attempt from the Nattai River was stopped by shortage of provisions about 16 miles south of the Jenolan

Caves.

For many years it was thought Barrallier had crossed the main range and discovered a tribu-tary of the Lachlan, but subse-quent re-examlnation of the ex-plorer's notes established he had only reached the watershed. His own chart could not be followed on a modern map.

Barrallier left other samples of his work in Sydney, designing the fort on Observatory Hill, now used as a signal station. He

also drew plans for the first vessel built in Sydney.

In 1803, Barrallier resigned his commission and returned to Eng-land where he remained in the army, rising to major before re-tiring. His work was mainly in the survey and engineering spheres in the West Indies. He

died in London on June 11, 1853.