Ludwig Leichhardt
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 - c.1848) was a Prussia
n explorer and naturalist
, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia
.
, the fourth son and sixth of the eight children of Christian Hieronymus Matthias Leichhardt, farmer and royal inspector and his wife Charlotte Sophie, née Strählow. Between 1831 and 1836 Leichhardt studied philosophy, language, and natural sciences at the Universities of Göttingen and Berlin but never received a university degree. He moved to England in 1837 where he continued his study of natural sciences at various places, including the British Museum
, London and the Jardin des Plantes
, Paris, and undertook field work in several European countries including France, Italy and Switzerland.
On 14 February 1842 Leichhardt arrived in Sydney, Australia. His aim was to explore inland Australia and he was hopeful of a government appointment in his fields of interest. In September 1842, Leichhardt went to the Hunter River valley north of Sydney to study the geology, flora and fauna of the region and to observe farming methods. He then set out on his own on a specimen collecting journey which took him from Newcastle
, New South Wales, to Moreton Bay
in Queensland.
After returning to Sydney early in 1844, Leichhardt hoped to take part in a proposed government-sponsored expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington
(300 km north of Darwin, Northern Territory). When plans for this expedition fell through, Leichhardt decided to mount the expedition himself with private funding and accompanied by volunteers. The party left Sydney in August 1844 to sail to Moreton Bay where four more joined the group. The expedition departed on 1 October 1844 from Jimbour, the farthest outpost of settlement on the Queensland Darling Downs.
After a nearly 4800 km (2,982.6 mi) overland journey, and having long been given up for dead, Leichhardt arrived in Port Essington on 17 December 1845. He returned to Sydney by boat, arriving on 25 March 1846 to a hero's welcome. The Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia, from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a Distance of Upwards of 3000 Miles, During the Years 1844-1845 by Leichhardt describes this expedition.
Leichhardt's second expedition, now with the assistance of a government grant and substantial private subscriptions, started in December 1846 and was supposed to take him from the Darling Downs to the west coast of Australia and ultimately to the Swan River
and Perth
. After covering only 800 km the expedition team was forced to return in June 1847 due to heavy rain, malarial fever and famine. After recovering, Leichhardt spent six weeks in 1847 examining the course of the Condamine River
, southern Queensland, and the country between the route of another expedition led by Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1846 and his own route, covering nearly 1000 km.
In April 1847 Leichhardt shared the annual prize of the Paris Geographical Society, for the most important geographic discovery with French explorer Rochet d'Héricourt. Soon afterward, on 24 May, the Royal Geographical Society
, London, awarded Leichhardt its Patron's Medal as recognition of 'the increased knowledge of the great continent of Australia' gained by his Moreton Bay-Port Essington journey.
In March 1848 Leichhardt again set out from the Condamine River to reach the Swan River. He was last seen on 3 April 1848 at McPherson's Station, Coogoon on the Darling Downs. His disappearance after moving inland, although investigated by many, remains a mystery. The expedition had been expected to take two to three years, but after no sign or word from Leichhardt, it was gradually assumed the party had died. The latest evidence suggests his expedition may have perished somewhere in the Great Sandy Desert
of the Australian interior.
sent out a search expedition under Hovenden Hely
. The expedition found nothing but a single campsite with a tree marked "L" over "XVA". In 1858, another search expedition was sent out, this time under Augustus Gregory
. This expedition found only a couple of trees marked "L".
In 1864, Duncan McIntyre
discovered two trees marked with "L" on the Flinders River
near the Gulf of Carpentaria
. On his return to Victoria, McIntyre telegraphed the Royal Society on 15 December 1864 that he had found "two trees marked L about 15 years old", and was subsequently appointed leader of a search expedition. This expedition found no further trace of Leichhardt.
In 1869, the Government of Western Australia
heard rumours of a place where the remains of horses and men killed by indigenous Australians
could be seen. A search expedition was sent out under John Forrest
, but nothing was found, and it was decided that the story might refer to the bones of horses left for dead at Poison Rock during Robert Austin
's expedition of 1854
.
The mystery of Leichhardt's fate remained in the minds of explorers for many years. During David Carnegie's 1896 expedition through the Gibson
and Great Sandy
Deserts, he encountered some Aborigines who had amongst their possessions an iron tent peg, the lid of a tin matchbox, and part of the ironwork of a saddle
. Carnegie speculated that these were originally from Leichhardt's expedition. Until research in 2006 into a small brass plate bearing Leichhardt's name, 'no artefacts with corroborated provenance have been able to shed light on Leichhardt's final expedition'.
and Great Sandy deserts, just inside Western Australia from the Northern Territory border. When found, the plate was attached to a partially burnt shotgun slung in a boab tree which was engraved with the initial "L". The plate is now part of the National Museum of Australia
collection.
Until authentication of the nameplate, historians could only speculate on the route Leichhardt had taken and how far he had journeyed before perishing. The location of the plate proved that he made it at least two-thirds of the way across the continent during his east-west crossing attempt. It also suggested that he was following a northern arc from Moreton Bay in Queensland to the Swan River in Western Australia, following the headwaters of rivers, rather than heading straight through the desert interior.
, awarded its annual prize for geographic discovery equally to Leichhardt and a French explorer, Rochet d'Héricourt; also in 1847, the Royal Geographical Society
in London awarded Leichhardt its Patron's Medal; and Prussia
recognised his achievement by granting him a king's pardon for having failed to return to Prussia when due to serve a period of compulsory military training. The Port Essington expedition was one of the longest land exploration journeys in Australia, and a useful one in the discovery of excellent pastoral country.
Harsh criticism of Leichhardt’s character was published some time after his disappearance and his reputation suffered badly. The fairness of this criticism continues to be debated. Nevertheless, Leichhardt's accounts and collections were valued, and his observations considered accurate. He is remembered as one of the most authoritative early recorders of Australia’s environment and the best trained natural scientist to explore Australia to that time. Leichhardt left a record of his observations in Australia from 1842 to 1848 in diaries, letters, notebooks, sketch-books, maps, and in his published works.
Leichhardt’s failed attempt to make the first east–west crossing of the Australian continent may be compared with the tragic 1860-61 Burke and Wills expedition
which succeeded in crossing from south to north, but failed to return. However, his success in making it to Port Essington in 1845 was a major achievement which ranks him with other successful European explorers of Australia
.
Australia has commemorated Ludwig Leichhardt through use of his name. The Inner Western Sydney suburb
of Leichhardt
and the surrounding Municipality of Leichhardt
are named for him, as is the Ipswich
suburb of Leichhardt
, the Leichhardt Highway
and the Leichhardt River in Queensland, and the Division of Leichhardt
in the Australian Parliament. A species of Eucalyptus
tree bears Leichhardt's name and the Petasida ephippigera
insect is commonly known as Leichardt's grasshopper.
Leichhardt's last expedition was the inspiration for the novel Voss
by Patrick White
and he inspired a range of "Lemurian" novels, named after George Firth Scott's 1898 book The Last Lemurian.
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n explorer and naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Early life
Leichhardt was born in Trebatsch, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the fourth son and sixth of the eight children of Christian Hieronymus Matthias Leichhardt, farmer and royal inspector and his wife Charlotte Sophie, née Strählow. Between 1831 and 1836 Leichhardt studied philosophy, language, and natural sciences at the Universities of Göttingen and Berlin but never received a university degree. He moved to England in 1837 where he continued his study of natural sciences at various places, including the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, London and the Jardin des Plantes
Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...
, Paris, and undertook field work in several European countries including France, Italy and Switzerland.
Explorer
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, New South Wales, to Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
in Queensland.
After returning to Sydney early in 1844, Leichhardt hoped to take part in a proposed government-sponsored expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington
Port Essington
Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory...
(300 km north of Darwin, Northern Territory). When plans for this expedition fell through, Leichhardt decided to mount the expedition himself with private funding and accompanied by volunteers. The party left Sydney in August 1844 to sail to Moreton Bay where four more joined the group. The expedition departed on 1 October 1844 from Jimbour, the farthest outpost of settlement on the Queensland Darling Downs.
After a nearly 4800 km (2,982.6 mi) overland journey, and having long been given up for dead, Leichhardt arrived in Port Essington on 17 December 1845. He returned to Sydney by boat, arriving on 25 March 1846 to a hero's welcome. The Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia, from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a Distance of Upwards of 3000 Miles, During the Years 1844-1845 by Leichhardt describes this expedition.
Leichhardt's second expedition, now with the assistance of a government grant and substantial private subscriptions, started in December 1846 and was supposed to take him from the Darling Downs to the west coast of Australia and ultimately to the Swan River
Swan River (Western Australia)
The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Its lower reaches are relatively wide and deep, with few constrictions, while the upper reaches are usually quite narrow and shallow....
and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. After covering only 800 km the expedition team was forced to return in June 1847 due to heavy rain, malarial fever and famine. After recovering, Leichhardt spent six weeks in 1847 examining the course of the Condamine River
Condamine River
The Condamine River, part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia...
, southern Queensland, and the country between the route of another expedition led by Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1846 and his own route, covering nearly 1000 km.
In April 1847 Leichhardt shared the annual prize of the Paris Geographical Society, for the most important geographic discovery with French explorer Rochet d'Héricourt. Soon afterward, on 24 May, the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, London, awarded Leichhardt its Patron's Medal as recognition of 'the increased knowledge of the great continent of Australia' gained by his Moreton Bay-Port Essington journey.
In March 1848 Leichhardt again set out from the Condamine River to reach the Swan River. He was last seen on 3 April 1848 at McPherson's Station, Coogoon on the Darling Downs. His disappearance after moving inland, although investigated by many, remains a mystery. The expedition had been expected to take two to three years, but after no sign or word from Leichhardt, it was gradually assumed the party had died. The latest evidence suggests his expedition may have perished somewhere in the Great Sandy Desert
Great Sandy Desert
The Great Sandy Desert is a desert located in the North West of Western Australia straddling the Pilbara and southern Kimberley regions. It is the second largest desert in Australia after the Great Victoria Desert and encompasses an area of...
of the Australian interior.
Searches for Leichhardt
Four years after Leichhardt's disappearance, the Government of New South WalesGovernment of New South Wales
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
sent out a search expedition under Hovenden Hely
Hovenden Hely
Hovenden Hely was an Australian explorer and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for one term between 1856 and 1857.-Early life:...
. The expedition found nothing but a single campsite with a tree marked "L" over "XVA". In 1858, another search expedition was sent out, this time under Augustus Gregory
Augustus Gregory
Sir Augustus Charles Gregory KCMG. was an English-born Australian explorer. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions.-Early years:...
. This expedition found only a couple of trees marked "L".
In 1864, Duncan McIntyre
Duncan McIntyre (explorer)
Duncan McIntyre was an Australian explorer who followed in the tracks of Burke and Wills. In 1864 he laid claim to the property now called Dalgonally in North-West Queensland, and found evidence of Ludwig Leichhardt's final expedition. He subsequently led a party in search of Leichhardt, but died...
discovered two trees marked with "L" on the Flinders River
Flinders River
The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia at about . The river rises in the Burra Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, 110 km northeast of Hughenden and flows in a westerly direction past Hughenden, Richmond and Julia Creek then northwest to the Gulf of Carpentaria...
near the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
. On his return to Victoria, McIntyre telegraphed the Royal Society on 15 December 1864 that he had found "two trees marked L about 15 years old", and was subsequently appointed leader of a search expedition. This expedition found no further trace of Leichhardt.
In 1869, the Government of Western Australia
Government of Western Australia
The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1890, although it has been amended many times since then...
heard rumours of a place where the remains of horses and men killed by indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
could be seen. A search expedition was sent out under John Forrest
John Forrest
Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
, but nothing was found, and it was decided that the story might refer to the bones of horses left for dead at Poison Rock during Robert Austin
Robert Austin
Robert Austin led the Austin expedition of 1854, one of the first European inland explanations of Western Australia with Kenneth Brown. They explored Geraldton, Mount Magnet, and the Murchison River area.-References:...
's expedition of 1854
Austin expedition of 1854
The Austin expedition of 1854 was an exploring expedition undertaken in Western Australia by Robert Austin in 1854. Other members of the party included Kenneth Brown....
.
The mystery of Leichhardt's fate remained in the minds of explorers for many years. During David Carnegie's 1896 expedition through the Gibson
Gibson Desert
The Gibson Desert covers a large dry area in the state of Western Australia and is still largely in an almost "pristine" state. It is about in size, making it the 5th largest desert in Australia, after the Great Sandy, Great Victoria, Tanami and Simpson deserts.-Location and description:The Gibson...
and Great Sandy
Great Sandy Desert
The Great Sandy Desert is a desert located in the North West of Western Australia straddling the Pilbara and southern Kimberley regions. It is the second largest desert in Australia after the Great Victoria Desert and encompasses an area of...
Deserts, he encountered some Aborigines who had amongst their possessions an iron tent peg, the lid of a tin matchbox, and part of the ironwork of a saddle
Saddle
A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...
. Carnegie speculated that these were originally from Leichhardt's expedition. Until research in 2006 into a small brass plate bearing Leichhardt's name, 'no artefacts with corroborated provenance have been able to shed light on Leichhardt's final expedition'.
The Leichhardt nameplate
In 2006, Australian historians and scientists authenticated a tiny brass plate (15 cm x 2 cm) marked "LUDWIG LEICHHARDT 1848", originally discovered around 1900 by an Aboriginal stockman near Sturt Creek between the TanamiTanami Desert
The Tanami Desert is a desert in northern Australia situated in the Northern Territory. It has a rocky terrain with small hills. The Tanami was the Northern Territory's final frontier and was not fully explored until well into the twentieth century...
and Great Sandy deserts, just inside Western Australia from the Northern Territory border. When found, the plate was attached to a partially burnt shotgun slung in a boab tree which was engraved with the initial "L". The plate is now part of the National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
collection.
Until authentication of the nameplate, historians could only speculate on the route Leichhardt had taken and how far he had journeyed before perishing. The location of the plate proved that he made it at least two-thirds of the way across the continent during his east-west crossing attempt. It also suggested that he was following a northern arc from Moreton Bay in Queensland to the Swan River in Western Australia, following the headwaters of rivers, rather than heading straight through the desert interior.
Legacy
Leichhardt’s contribution to science, especially his successful expedition to Port Essington in 1845, has been officially recognised: in 1847, the Geographical Society, ParisSociété de Géographie
The Société de Géographie , is the world's oldest geographical society. It was founded in 1821 . Since 1878, its headquarters has been at 184 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris. The entrance is marked by two gigantic caryatids representing Land and Sea...
, awarded its annual prize for geographic discovery equally to Leichhardt and a French explorer, Rochet d'Héricourt; also in 1847, the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
in London awarded Leichhardt its Patron's Medal; and Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
recognised his achievement by granting him a king's pardon for having failed to return to Prussia when due to serve a period of compulsory military training. The Port Essington expedition was one of the longest land exploration journeys in Australia, and a useful one in the discovery of excellent pastoral country.
Harsh criticism of Leichhardt’s character was published some time after his disappearance and his reputation suffered badly. The fairness of this criticism continues to be debated. Nevertheless, Leichhardt's accounts and collections were valued, and his observations considered accurate. He is remembered as one of the most authoritative early recorders of Australia’s environment and the best trained natural scientist to explore Australia to that time. Leichhardt left a record of his observations in Australia from 1842 to 1848 in diaries, letters, notebooks, sketch-books, maps, and in his published works.
Leichhardt’s failed attempt to make the first east–west crossing of the Australian continent may be compared with the tragic 1860-61 Burke and Wills expedition
Burke and Wills expedition
In 1860–61, Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills led an expedition of 19 men with the intention of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around 3,250 kilometres...
which succeeded in crossing from south to north, but failed to return. However, his success in making it to Port Essington in 1845 was a major achievement which ranks him with other successful European explorers of Australia
European exploration of Australia
The European exploration of Australia encompasses several waves of seafarers and land explorers. Although Australia is often loosely said to have been discovered by Royal Navy Lieutenant James Cook in 1770, he was merely one of a number of European explorers to have sighted and landed on the...
.
Australia has commemorated Ludwig Leichhardt through use of his name. The Inner Western Sydney suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Leichhardt
Leichhardt, New South Wales
Leichhardt is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Leichhardt is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt...
and the surrounding Municipality of Leichhardt
Municipality of Leichhardt
The Municipality of Leichhardt is a Local Government Area in the inner-west of Sydney, in state of New South Wales, Australia.-History:The Municipality of Leichhardt stands on land that traditionally belonged to the Gadigal and Wangal people, of the Eora nation...
are named for him, as is the Ipswich
Ipswich, Queensland
Ipswich is a city in South-East Queensland, Australia. Situated along the Bremer River Valley approximately 40 kilometres away from the state's capital Brisbane. The suburb by the same name forms the city's Central Business District and administrative centre...
suburb of Leichhardt
Leichhardt, Queensland
Leichhardt is a suburb of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.The origin of the suburb name is from Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, an explorer and naturalist from Prussia . He led major expeditions throughout Australia. The suburb name was implemented after a request by local residents to the City...
, the Leichhardt Highway
Leichhardt Highway
The Leichhardt Highway is a major transport route in Queensland, Australia. It is a continuation northward from Goondiwindi of the Newell Highway....
and the Leichhardt River in Queensland, and the Division of Leichhardt
Division of Leichhardt
The Division of Leichhardt is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was first proclaimed in 1949. It is one of Australia's largest electorates, covering an area stretching from Cairns to Cape York and the Torres Strait, including the Torres Strait Islands.-About the...
in the Australian Parliament. A species of Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
tree bears Leichhardt's name and the Petasida ephippigera
Petasida ephippigera
Petasida ephippigera is a pyrgomorph native to tropical northern Australia in the order Orthoptera . The species is named after Ludwig Leichhardt....
insect is commonly known as Leichardt's grasshopper.
Leichhardt's last expedition was the inspiration for the novel Voss
Voss (novel)
Voss is the fifth published novel of Patrick White. It is based upon the life of the nineteenth-century Prussian explorer and naturalist Ludwig Leichhardt who disappeared whilst on an expedition into the Australian outback.-Plot summary:...
by Patrick White
Patrick White
Patrick Victor Martindale White , an Australian author, is widely regarded as an important English-language novelist of the 20th century. From 1935 until his death, he published 12 novels, two short-story collections and eight plays.White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, shifting narrative...
and he inspired a range of "Lemurian" novels, named after George Firth Scott's 1898 book The Last Lemurian.
External links
- Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
e-text of Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia - Entry for Ludwig Leichhardt in The Project Gutenberg Library of Australiana
- Ludwig Leichhardt online collection - State Library of NSW
- Leichhardt plate at the National Museum of Australia
- Ludwig Leichhardt series, National Museum of Australia Audio on Demand: Papers presented to the Leichhardt symposium, National Museum of Australia, 15 June 2007