George Evans (explorer)

George William Evans (5 January 1780 – 16 October 1852) was a British-born surveyor and early explorer in the interior of the Australian colony of New South Wales.

Evans received early training in surveying and cartography. He arrived in Sydney in October 1802 and was briefly appointed acting-surveyor of the New South Wales colony and later assistant to James Meehan in Van Diemen's Land. In 1813, following the instructions of Governor Macquarie, Evans surveyed a route across the Blue Mountains and became the first European to describe the Bathurst Plains. In 1815 he explored further inland, including country adjoining the Abercrombie, Belubula and upper Lachlan rivers. Evans played a prominent role as second-in-charge under Surveyor-General John Oxley in two separate expeditions: in 1817 exploring the country west of Bathurst along the Lachlan River and in 1818 investigating the territory north of the settled districts from the Macquarie River eastwards to the coast at Port Macquarie. Evans then took up his role as Deputy Surveyor-General in Van Diemen's Land, but in 1824 he came under attack from Lieutenant-Governor Arthur and was accused of malpractice. He was allowed to retire on a pension in late 1825. Evans and his family lived in England from 1827 to 1832, after which they returned to Sydney where Evans remained until January 1844. He then returned to Hobart Town where he died in 1852.