Ludwig Leichhardt
Ludwig Leichhardt | |
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Born | Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt 23 October 1813 |
Disappeared | 3 April 1848 (aged 34) Mount Abundance, Colony of New South Wales |
Occupation | Explorer |
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (German pronunciation: [ˈfʁiːdʁɪç 'vɪlhɛlm 'lu:tvɪç 'laɪçhaːʁt]; 23 October 1813 – c. 1848), known as Ludwig Leichhardt,[1] was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.[2]
Early life
Leichhardt was born on 23 October 1813 in the hamlet of Sabrodt near the village of Trebatsch, today part of
Exploration
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. at the State Library of New South Wales.

The First Leichhardt Expedition (1844–1846)
After returning to Sydney early in 1844, Leichhardt hoped to take part in a proposed government-sponsored expedition from Moreton Bay to
After a nearly 4,800-kilometre (3,000-mile) overland journey, and having long been given up for dead, Leichhardt on 17 December 1845 arrived in Port Essington, where a company of Imperial marines was stationed.[8] He returned to Sydney by ship, arriving on 25 March 1846 to a hero's welcome.[9] 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 and 1845 by Leichhardt describes this expedition.[10] Leichhardt's diary from 9 September 1845-23 March 1846, is available on-line at the State Library of New South Wales.
A memorial to John Gilbert, one of Leichhardt's companions on this journey, can be found on the north wall of St James' Church, Sydney. Under the title Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Scientia Mori (a variation on the more commonly seen Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori) the inscription on the monument, which was "erected by the colonists of New South Wales" reads: "in memory of John Gilbert, Ornithologist, who was speared by the blacks on 29 June 1845 during the first overland expedition to Port Essington by Dr Ludwig Leichhardt and his intrepid companions". There is also a memorial to Gilbert at Gilbert's Lookout at Taroom.[11]
The Second Leichhardt Expedition (1846)
Leichhardt's second expedition, undertaken with a government grant and substantial private subscriptions, started in December 1846. It was supposed to take him from the Darling Downs to the west coast of Australia and ultimately to the Swan River and Perth. However, after covering only 800 kilometres (500 mi) the expedition team was forced to return in June 1847 due to heavy rain, malarial fever and famine. Members of the party nearly mutinied after learning that Leichhardt had failed to bring along a medical kit.[12] Faced with failure, Leichhardt seems to have suffered a nervous breakdown, and Aboriginal guide Harry Brown effectively took over as leader of the party, taking them successfully back to the Darling Downs.[12]
Leichhardt blamed failure of the expedition on his men's weakness. John Frederick Mann, his second-in-charge, published a rebuttal[13] 20 years later, and a book, Eight Months with Leichhardt, after 40 years.[14]
Subsequent activities
After recovering from malaria 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 1,000 kilometres (620 mi). Leichhardt's diary from 17 August 1847 to 14 September 1847, is available on-line at the State Library of New South Wales.
In April 1847 Leichhardt shared the annual prize of the
I've had the pleasure of hearing that the geographical society in London has awarded me one of its medals, and that the Parisian geographical society has conferred a similar honour upon me. Naturally I'm very pleased to think that such discerning authorities consider me worthy of such honour; but whatever I have done has never been for honour. I have worked for the sake of science, and for nothing else.
In 2012 the National Museum of Australia purchased the medal awarded to Leichhardt by London's Royal Geographical Society in 1847. It came directly from descendants of the Leichhardt family in Mexico.[4]
Disappearance

In 1848 Leichhardt again set out from the Condamine River to reach the Swan River. The expedition consisted of Leichhardt, four Europeans, two Aboriginal guides, seven horses, 20 mules and 50 bullocks. The Europeans were Adolph Classen, Arthur Hentig, Donald Stuart and Thomas Hands, a ticket of leave holder who replaced Kelly at Henry Stuart Russell's Cecil Plains station. The Aboriginal guides were Wommai and Billy Bombat, from Port Stephens.[16][17]
The party was last seen on 3 April 1848 at
Four years after Leichhardt's disappearance, the
In 1864
The mystery of Leichhardt's fate remained in the minds of explorers for many years. During David Carnegie's expedition through the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts in 1896 he encountered some Aborigines who had among 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 from Leichhardt's expedition. Except for a small brass plate that was found in 1900 bearing Leichhardt's name, "no artefacts with corroborated provenance have been able to shed light on Leichhardt's final expedition".[4]
In 1975, a ranger named Zac Mathias exhibited photographs in Darwin of Aboriginal cave paintings that showed white men with an animal.[21]
Leichhardt nameplate
In 2006 Australian historians and scientists authenticated a tiny brass plate (15 cm × 2 cm or 5.91 in × 0.79 in) marked "LUDWIG LEICHHARDT 1848",[22][23] discovered around 1900 by an Aboriginal stockman near Sturt Creek, between the Tanami and Great Sandy deserts, just inside Western Australia from the border with the Northern Territory. 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.[24]
Before the nameplate was authenticated, historians could only speculate on the route Leichhardt had taken and how far he had journeyed before perishing. The location of the plate indicated 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.[25][26]
For a speculative "ballistic" biography of the nameplate and its significance in Indigenous and non-Indigenous lifeworlds, see Andrew Hurley's article, "Reports, silences and repercussion: wondering about the ballistic biography of the Leichhardt gunplate."[27]
Aboriginal oral history
In 2003, a librarian found a letter in the NSW State Library that may shed light on Leichhardt's disappearance. Dated 2 April 1874, the letter, received by Sydney clergyman
Theories
The validity of all the claimed 'Leichhardt' relics and the various theories proposed is discussed in a 2013 book entitled Where is Dr Leichhardt?: the greatest mystery in Australian history.[29]
Legacy

Leichhardt's contribution to science, especially his successful expedition to Port Essington in 1845, was officially recognised. In 1847 the
Leichhardt's accounts and collections were valued, and his observations are generally considered to be 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.[2][30] 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.[1]
A detailed map of Ludwig Leichhardt's route in Australia from Moreton Bay to Port Essington (1844 & 1845), from his Original Map, adjusted and drawn... by John Arrowsmith[31][32] was ranked #8 in the 'Top 150: Documenting Queensland' exhibition when it toured to venues around Queensland from February 2009 to April 2010.[33] The exhibition was part of Queensland State Archives' events and exhibition program which contributed to the state's Q150 celebrations, marking the 150th anniversary of the separation of Queensland from New South Wales.[34]
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. Leichhardt's failed attempt to make the first east–west crossing of the Australian continent may be compared with the Burke and Wills expedition of 1860–61, which succeeded in crossing from south to north, but failed to return. However, Leichhardt's success in making it to Port Essington in 1845 was a major achievement, which ranks him with other successful European explorers of Australia.[4]
Australia has commemorated Ludwig Leichhardt through the use of his name in several places: Leichhardt, a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, and the surrounding Municipality of Leichhardt; Leichhardt, a suburb of Ipswich; the Leichhardt Highway and the Leichhardt River in Queensland; and the Division of Leichhardt in the Australian Parliament. The name of the eucalyptus tree species Corymbia leichhardtii commemorates Leichhardt.[35]
The insect
On 23 October 1988, a monument was erected beside
Andrew Hurley's 2018 ‚afterlife biography‘, Ludwig Leichhardt‘s Ghosts: The Strange Career of a Travelling Myth, documents many of the different ways Leichhardt has been remembered in Australia (by both non-Indigenous and Indigenous people) as well as in his native Germany.[38]
Scientific specimens collected by Leichhardt are cared for at institutions including the
In popular culture
Leichhardt's life inspired a range of "Lemurian" novels, starting with
He inspired the radio plays The Lost Leader (1934) and What Happened to Leichhardt? (1948).
In February 2013 the band Manilla Road released a song called "Mysterium", based on Leichhardt's explorations and disappearance.[41]
See also
- List of people who disappeared
Literary works
- Leichhardt, Ludwig (1847), 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, T. & W. Boone, available online
- Letters from Leichhardt to his fellow expedition team member Frederick Isaac are held in the State Library of New South Wales.[42][43]
- Ludwig Leichhardt correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1841-1847, are held at the State Library of New South Wales (MLMSS 683/Volume 2) and are available online
References
- ^ from the original on 12 June 2011.
- ^ a b c Ken Eastwood, ''Cold case: Leichhardt's disappearance', Australian Geographic Archived 7 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine, AG Online, accessed online 7 August 2010
- ^ "FINDING LEICHHARDT". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 12 September 1865. p. 8. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d e The Leichhardt nameplate and medal Archived 2012-07-28 at the Wayback Machine, National Museum of Australia, accessed online 18 March 2011
- ^ "Ludwig Leichardt in Newcastle". Hunter Living Histories. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ Hancock, David (April–May 2020). "Seven emu". Outback Magazine (130). R.M. Williams. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ "Encounter a strong, vibrant Indigenous heritage". Seven Emu Station. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- Wagga Wagga Express. Vol. XXXVI, no. 6446. New South Wales, Australia. 24 September 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 30 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Leichhardt". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. XXI, no. 2773. New South Wales, Australia. 1 April 1846. p. 2. Retrieved 11 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Leichhardt, Ludwig (1847). Journal of an overland expedition in Australia, from Moreton Bay to Port Essington during the years 1844-1845. London: T. & W. Boone.
- ^ "John Gilbert". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-674-07497-2.
- The Ballarat Star. Vol. XI, no. 36. Victoria, Australia. 10 February 1866. p. 4. Retrieved 29 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XLIV, no. 9, 415. Queensland, Australia. 19 March 1888. p. 3. Retrieved 29 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Ludwig Leichhardt's Australian letters". www.environmentandsociety.org. 22 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ Leichhardt, Ludwig (14 March 1848). "Autograph letter signed from Ludwig Leichhardt to ?". Ludwig Leichhardt Collection 1846-1850...compiled by W. R. A. Kilpatrick. Sydney: State Library of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ "Sir Augustus Charles Gregory". Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying. 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
- ^ Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, Vol 25, Part 1, Oct 1987, p9
- ^ Baitch, George. "Ludwig Leichhardt – the Life and the Legend" (PDF). International Federation of Surveyors. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
- ISBN 0-89577-146-2.
- ^ Scientific analysis of the Leichhardt nameplate Archived 12 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Paper presented by David Hallam, Senior Conservator, National Museum of Australia, Leichhardt symposium, 15 June 2007
- ^ "Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer's Letters Home from Australia: Introduction". www.environmentandsociety.org. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "Nameplate for Ludwig Leichhardt 1848, National Museum of Australia collection record". Nma.gov.au. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ "Small clue reveals explorer's huge endeavour". The Age – online. 24 September 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
- ^ He nearly made it: Leichhardt's 'grand plan' of 1848 Archived 17 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Paper presented by Dr Darrell Lewis, Australian National University, Leichhardt Symposium, National Museum of Australia, Canberra, Friday, 15 June 2007
- hdl:10453/144496.
- ^ Munro, Chris (19 March 2012). "The enduring mystery of Ludwig Leichhardt". Tracker (news service published by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council). Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-921867-76-7.
- ^ Leichhardt as scientist and diarist Archived 17 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Paper presented by Dr Tom Darragh, Museum Victoria, Leichhardt symposium, National Museum of Australia, 15 June 2007
- ^ Detailed map of Ludwig Leichhardt's route in Australia from Moreton Bay to Port Essington (1844 & 1845), from his Original Map, adjusted and drawn... by John Arrowsmith. (negative photostat, 12 parts), Queensland State Archives, 1840, Item ID ITM635667, retrieved 11 August 2020
- ^ Prescott, Dorothy (18 July 2011). "Arrowsmith's Australian Maps". p. Eastern Portion of Australia, East 1847/1. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ corporateName=Queensland State Archives (5 April 2015). "Number 8 - Map of Ludwig Leichhardt's expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington (1844-1845)". Number 8 - Map of Ludwig Leichhardt's expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington (1844-1845). Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ISSN 1448-8426, retrieved 4 August 2020
- ^ Corymbia leichhardtii Archived 5 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine, EUCLID: Eucalypts of Australia, Australian National Botanic Gardens, accessed online 15 March 2011
- ^ "Pristis pristis — Freshwater Sawfish, Largetooth Sawfish, River Sawfish, Leichhardt's Sawfish, Northern Sawfish". Department of the Environment and Energy. 2017. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "Leichhardt Tree (entry 600835)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ Andrew Wright Hurley, Ludwing Leichhardt‘s Ghosts: The Strange career of a Travelling Myth. Camden House, 2018.
- ^ "Specimens depisited at". Bionomia. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
- ^ Leichhardt in Australian literature Archived 17 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Paper presented by Dr Susan Martin, La Trobe University, Leichhardt symposium, National Museum of Australia, 15 June 2007
- ^ "Manilla Road – Mysterium – Encyclopaedia Metallum". The Metal Archives. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ Leichhardt, Ludwig (1844), Item 12: Autograph letter signed from Ludwig Leichhardt to Frederick Isaac, 3 June 1844, retrieved 5 April 2015
- ^ Leichhardt, Ludwig (1847), Item 14: Autograph letter signed from Ludwig Leichhardt to Frederick Isaac, 10 October 1847, retrieved 5 April 2015
Bibliography
- Serle, Percival (1949). "Leichhardt, Ludwig". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
- Stephens, Matthew (October 2007). "From Lost Property to Explorer's Relics: The Rediscovery of the Personal Library of Ludwig Leichhardt". Historical Records of Australian Science. 18 (2): 191–227. ISSN 0727-3061.
- Lewis, Darrell (2006). "The Fate of Leichhardt". Historical Records of Australian Science. 17 (1): 1–30. ISSN 0727-3061.
- ISBN 0-207-15171-7
- Nicholls, Angus (2011). Discussion of Leichhardt's influence on Patrick White's novel Voss, ABC Radio National Book Show, 25 January [1]
- Nicholls, Angus (2012). "The Core of this Dark Continent: Ludwig Leichhardt's Australian Explorations", in Transnational Networks: Germans in the British Empire 1670–1914, ed. John R. Davis, Stefan Manz and Margrit Schulte Beerbühl (Leiden: Brill).
- Nicholls, Angus (2013). "The Young Leichhardt's Diaries in the Context of his Australian Cultural Legacy", in Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Culture 7, no. 2, 541–59
- Nicholls, Angus (2015). "Leichhardt and Voss Revisited", in Patrick White Beyond the Grave: New Critical Perspectives, ed. Ian Henderson and Anouk Lang, London: Anthem Press, 35–66
- Andrew Wright Hurley, Ludwig Leichhardt‘s Ghosts: The Strange career of a Travelling Myth. Camden House, 2018.
- Boase, George Clement (1892). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 32. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
External links
- A complete written version of Leichhardt's expedition- [2]
- Works by Ludwig Leichhardt at Project Gutenberg
- Works by Ludwig Leichhardt at Project Gutenberg Australia
- Works by or about Ludwig Leichhardt at the Internet Archive
- Ludwig Leichhardt online collection – State Library of NSW
- Ludwig Leichhardt series, National Museum of Australia Audio on Demand: Papers presented to the Leichhardt symposium, National Museum of Australia, 15 June 2007
- New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
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- Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia
- "Ludwig Leichhardt's final expedition - Stories from the Archives". Blogs. Queensland State Archives. 6 April 2022. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024.