Editing Australian Capital Territory (section)

=== European colonisation ===
Following European settlement, the growth of the new colony of New South Wales led to an increasing demand for [[arable land]].<ref name="Gillespie84" /> Governor [[Lachlan Macquarie]] supported expeditions to open up new lands to the south of [[Sydney]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |title=Canberra 1820–1913 |last=Gillespie |first=Lyall |publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service |year=1991 |isbn=0-644-08060-4 |pages=3–9,110–111,149,278,303}}</ref> The 1820s saw further exploration in the Canberra area associated with the construction of a road from Sydney to the [[Goulburn]] plains. While working on the project, [[Charles Throsby]] learned of a nearby lake and river from the local Indigenous peoples and he accordingly sent Wild to lead a small party to investigate the site. The search was unsuccessful, but they did discover the [[Yass River]], and it is surmised that they would have set foot on part of the future territory.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |title=Old Canberra and the search for a capital |last=Fitzhardinge |first=L. F. |publisher=Canberra & District Historical Society |year=1975 |isbn=0-909655-02-2 |pages=1–3, 31–32}}</ref>

A second expedition was mounted shortly thereafter, and they became the first Europeans to camp at the [[Molonglo River|Molonglo]] (Ngambri) and [[Queanbeyan River|Queanbeyan]] (Jullergung) Rivers.<ref name=":2" /> However, they failed to find the [[Murrumbidgee River]].<ref name=":4" /> The issue of the Murrumbidgee was solved in 1821 when Throsby mounted a third expedition and successfully reached the watercourse, on the way providing the first detailed account of the land that now comprises the territory.<ref name=":4" /> The last expedition in the region before settlement was undertaken by [[Allan Cunningham (botanist)|Allan Cunningham]] in 1824.<ref name=":2" /> He reported that the region was suitable for grazing and the settlement of the Limestone Plains followed immediately thereafter.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Watson |first=F. |date=1931 |title=Special Article: Canberra Past and Present |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/4e782ee652d0db0aca2569de001fb2dd?OpenDocument |journal=Year Book Australia |access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref>