Ludwig Leichhardt's Final Expedition
German explorer Ludwig Leichhardt and his companions headed west from the Darling Downs in 1848 and were never seen again - the disappearance of their expedition remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of Australian exploration.
Profile of the German explorer Frederich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (1840-01-01/1840-12-31) by Premier and Chief Secretary's DepartmentQueensland State Archives
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichardt
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt was born in Prussia in October 1813 and became fascinated with exploration at an early age. After some study in languages and science, Leichhardt emigrated to Sydney in February 1842 and later that year began making field observations of the Hunter region in New South Wales.
Detailed map of Ludwig Leichhardt's route in Australia from Moreton Bay to Port Essington (1847-01-01/1847-12-31) by Moreton Bay District Survey Office, New South WalesQueensland State Archives
In 1844, he began an unprecedented horseback expedition across Australia, travelling from the Darling Downs to Port Essington, north of Darwin. He was accompanied by nine volunteers, including two Aboriginal guides.
The party departed on 1 October 1844 from Jimba Station (now known as Jimbour).
They arrived on 17 December 1845 at Port Essington, having travelled nearly 4,800 kilometres. They were celebrated as heroes when they returned to Sydney.
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The route of the search party looking for the missing Leichhardt expedition (1858-01-01/1858-12-31) by Moreton Bay District Survey Office, New South WalesQueensland State Archives
Undaunted, Leichhardt prepared to reattempt the crossing, setting off on 3 April 1848. Allan Macpherson, owner of Cogoon Station, and several of his workers farewelled the party as they headed towards the sunset. They were the last people reported to have seen the group.
Despite attempts to find the expedition, little evidence of the cause of their mysterious disappearance was ever found. A brass plate and a burned gun were discovered by an Aboriginal stockman around 1900 in the Sturt Creek region.
The Leichardt tree at Dawsom River, Taroom (1914-01-01/1914-12-31) by Chief Secretary's DepartmentQueensland State Archives
They were wedged into a bottle tree on which the letter ‘L’ had been carved. This suggests that Leichhardt’s party made it as far as Western Australia.
Leichhardt marked multiple trees such as the one pictured. A species of tree, Nauclea orientalis, is now named after him.
Before he left, Leichhardt was awarded the London Royal Geographical Society’s Patron’s Medal in recognition of the ‘increased knowledge of the great continent of Australia’ he had gained by his first expedition. He was celebrated as the nation’s most daring young explorer and honoured posthumously. He was only 35 at the time of his disappearance.
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