Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Sodwalls, Fish River Descent Precinct is a heritage-listed former colonial road and now road and access road at off Cuthill Road, Sodwalls in the City of Lithgow local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and built by William Cox from 1814 to 1815 with the support of a convict road party. It is also known as Coxs Road and Old Bathurst Road. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 25 March 2015. History The road from Emu Ford to Bathurst, a distance of was completed in only six months during 1814 and 1815 by a working party composed mostly of convicts. Governor Lachlan Macquarie decided to have a carriage road constructed across the Blue Mountains, to the country which had been "newly discovered" by Europeans in 1813. The so called "First Crossing" of 1813 took place on the traditional lands of the Dharug, Gundungurra and Wiradjuri people. Other routes through the ridges and valleys of the Blue Mountains had been used by Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years. Cox was born in Wimborne Minster, Dorset in 1764. He married Rebecca Upjohn at Clerkenwell, London in 1789. Cox arrived in NSW on board the "Minerva" in January 1800. Cox became Chief Magistrate at Windsor in 1810 and in July 1814 Governor Macquarie made William Cox the Superintendent of the works for a new road over the Blue Mountains. His first wife died in 1819 and Cox married Anna Blachford in 1821. He died on 15 March 1837. The Cox's Road Fish River Descent Precinct is situated about south of Sodwalls. Cox selected a line towards the Fish River around 18 December 1814 after having previously ridden over the country west of Mount Blaxland. His Journal records: On 24 December Cox "went forward this afternoon to ascertain if I could get my caravan with safety to the Fish River", and gave orders "to strike tents and pack up in the morning". On 25 December (Christmas Day) he "went forward to the Fish River and removed our caravan and one cartload there, where I pitched my tent leaving behind 3 bridges to make and five miles of road." As it was Christmas Day, Cox also issued the men in the road party with a gill of spirits each and a new shirt. By 29 December there