During his exploration of the Brisbane River with surveyor John Oxley in 1824, explorer Allan Cunningham had observed the Dividing Range to the south-west. In 1827, Cunningham led a party to explore the land beyond this range, approaching from the south and inland, from New England. Leaving the Hunter River in April 1827, Cunningham made the first recorded European discovery of the Darling Downs, along Glengallen Creek, on 5 June 1827.