Description

In 1813, Ludwig Leichhardt was born in Trebatsch, in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg. Between 1831 and 1836, Leichhardt studied philosophy, language, and natural sciences at the Universities of Gottingen and Berlin. He moved to England in 1837, where he continued his study of the natural sciences. As an explorer and keen natural scientist, Ludwig Leichhardt moved to Sydney, Australia, in February 1842, intending to explore inland Australia and hopeful of a government appointment in his fields of interest. 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 that took him from Newcastle, in New South Wales, to Moreton Bay, in Queensland. Leichhardt was also determined to be the first to cross the Australian continent from east to west. His personality, dauntless courage, cultivated manners, appreciation of nature and of the unfamiliar culture of the Aboriginals, and his love for his adopted country, made him a 'hero of romance' and the 'Prince of Explorers.' This book on Leichhardt's life - drawn from his letters, journals, log books, and personal diaries (about 1,900 pages of previously unpublished text) - also describe his years in Europe. The book contains maps, photographs, and illustrations, including many by the explorer and surveyor John Frederick Mann.