Major Thomas Mitchell, Surveyor-General of the Colony of New South Wales from 1828 to 1855, undertook several journeys of exploration. His third, in 1836, took him south into what is now Victoria. On 10 July he recorded in his journal that he and his party
crossed a deep creek running westward which I named the Avoca, and we encamped on an excellent piece of land beyond it.
Mitchell was born and raised in Scotland not Ireland. The inspiration for the name probably came from Thomas Moore’s 1807 poem ‘The Meeting of the Waters’.
There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet
As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet;
Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart,
Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.2. Yet it was not that nature had shed o’er the scene
Her purest of crystal and brightest of green;
‘Twas not her soft magic of streamlet or hill,
Oh! no, — it was something more exquisite still.3. ‘Twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near,
Who made every dear scene of enchantment more dear,
And who felt how the best charms of nature improve,
When we see them reflected from looks that we love.4. Sweet vale of Avoca! how calm could I rest
In thy bosom of shade, with the friends I love best,
Where the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease,
And our hearts, like thy waters, be mingled in peace.
A footnote to the poem published in 1808 states: “The Meeting of the Waters” forms a part of that beautiful scenery which lies between Rathdrum and Arklow, in the country of Wicklow, and these lines were suggested by a visit to this romantic spot, in the summer of the year 1807.
The print shows a view of the confluence of three rivers, the “River Avonbeg”, “River Avonmore”, and “River Avoca”, in the “Vale of Avoca”, County Wicklow, Ireland. Includes four lines of verse from the poem “Avoca, the Vale The Meeting of the Waters” by Thomas Moore.
Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2002710554/.
The Irish town of Avoca is a small town near Arklow, in County Wicklow, situated on the River Avoca.
In Irish the town is called Abhóca; it was formerly Abhainn Mhór, meaning ‘the great river’.
The Avoca area in Ireland has been associated with copper mining and is also famous for its handweaving. The town has been used as a filming location for several films and television series. The BBC series Ballykissangel (1996-2001) was filmed there.
Sources
- Mitchell, Thomas, Sir, 1792-1855 (1839-01-01). Three expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia : with descriptions of the recently explored region of Australia Felix and of the present colony of New South Wales. T. & W. Boone volume 2 retrieved through http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/e00036.html
- Currier & Ives, and Thomas Moore. The meeting of the waters. In the Vale of Avoca, County Wicklow Ireland. Wicklow Avoca County Ireland, 1868. [New York: Published by Currier & Ives 152 Nassau St. New York] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002710554/.
See also: 1836 journey of Major Mitchell: surveying Australia Felix
