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Issue Details: First known date: 1846... 1846 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
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

The explorer's journals of the expedition to Port Essington, 1844-45.

Exhibitions

Affiliation Notes

  • 19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

    Prussian Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (1813-1848) was a naturalist and explorer. Leichhardt was noted for his explorations of northern and central Australia; in 1842 he undertook a collecting expedition between Sydney, the Hunter River, and Moreton Bay and in 1844 he led a privately funded expedition from the Darling Downs to Port Essington; in 1846 he undertook a government funded expedition from Moreton Bay to Perth, however the team was turned back 800kms into their journey. Journal of an Overland Expedition is based on his 1844 journey from the Darling Downs to Port Essington, with the diary written at the time of his exploration. The diary was a detailed and particular account of the stores brought, the journey, the Aboriginal peoples encountered, and featured descriptions of the geography, flora and fauna. During the party's travels they collected specimens of 'natural history'. The work concludes with an account of the successful party's return home. Leichardt's later expedition in 1848, also crossing central Australia from the Condamine River to the Swan River, ended with the disappearance of the exploring party. Despite many investigations, the disappearance remains a mystery.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: William Baker , 1846 .
      Alternative title: Journal of Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt's Overland Expedition to Port Essington, in the Years 1844-45
      Extent: 32p., [1] leaf of platesp.
      Description: map, port.
      Note/s:
      • 'Revised by the explorer and published with his sanction.'

      Holdings

      Held at: National Library of Australia
      Local Id: FC F4327
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      T. and W. Boone ,
      1847 .
      image of person or book cover 6509252023548183647.png
      'Journal of an Overland Expedition' title page
      Link: 22906873Full text document Sighted: 03/09/2021
      Extent: xx, 544p., [7] leaves of plates (1 folded)p.
      Description: illus., ports

      Holdings

      Held at: Australian National University Australian National University Library
      Location: Menzies rare book
      Local Id: KXL4 L526

      Holdings

      Held at: University of New South Wales Australian Defence Force Academy Australian Defence Force Academy Library
      Local Id: DU101 .L52

      Holdings

      Held at: Australian Museum Australian Museum Research Library
      Local Id: RB D919.402/LEI/RARE BOOKS

      Holdings

      Held at: Adelaide University Barr Smith Library
      Local Id: 919.4 L52

      Holdings

      Held at: Flinders University of South Australia
      Location: TC Borrow Collection
      Local Id: 919.4 L526j

      Holdings

      Held at: Monash University Monash University Library Sir Louis Matheson Library
      Local Id: 919.4 L526J

      Holdings

      Held at: Newcastle Region Libraries Newcastle Library
      Local Id: RS994.02/LEI/1.1A

      Holdings

      Held at: Prahran Mechanics' Institute Inc. - Prahran Mechanics Institute
      Local Id: 919.4 LEI

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of Victoria
      Local Id: RARELT 919.4 L53

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of New South Wales
      Local Id: DSM/984/32A6

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of South Australia State Library of SA
      Location: Special Collection
      Local Id: 919.43 L526

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of Queensland State Library of QLD
      Local Id: RBJ 919.43 LEI

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of Western Australia
      Local Id: Heritage Review Stack (919.4 LEI)

      Holdings

      Held at: Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Inc Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Library
      Local Id: rga 919.4042 L526

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Melbourne The University Library
      Location: UniM Bail SpC/AX
      Local Id: 919.4 L526

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Newcastle Auchmuty Library
      Location: Cultural Coll/RB
      Local Id: 994.02 LEIC-1

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Western Australia Library
      Location: Reid Library Special Collections
      Local Id: Rare 994 1847 JOU

      Holdings

      Held at: Catholic Institute of Sydney Veech Library
      Location: CIS Stack - Australiana
      Local Id: CAU 919.4302/LEI

      Holdings

      Held at: Association of Franciscan Order of Friars Minor St Paschal Library
      Local Id: 910.8 L526 J

      Holdings

      Held at: Library & Archives NT (Northern Territory)
      Local Id: NTC SP COLL 919.429 LEI

      Holdings

      Held at: Macquarie University Macquarie University Library
      Local Id: DU101 .L52 1847

      Holdings

      Held at: National Gallery of Victoria - The Shaw Research Library
      Location: Rare Books
      Local Id: RB 994 LEICHHAR

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Tasmania Morris Miller Library
      Location: Steps Store - Book
      Local Id: DU 101 .L52 1847b

Works about this Work

Whistling the Death March? Listening in to the Acoustics of Ludwig Leichhardt's Australian Exploration Andrew W. Hurley , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 50 no. 2 2019; (p. 155-170)

'Scholars considering the acoustics of exploration have focused on how explorers heard Australian space in terms of silence, to argue this silenced Indigenous presence, or that stillness, was incongruous with how a place to be colonised should sound. I focus on the acoustically attuned Ludwig Leichhardt, a science-poet indebted to the Enlightenment, but also engaged with the German Romantic legacy. The manifold acoustic dimensions of expeditioning – including music – were important to him in different ways. The acoustic world could be assayed and harnessed in ways that were often consistent with colonialism. But there was also something fugitive about acoustics. They could mark a site for emotional engagement with place, and sometimes embryonic cross-cultural dialogue. Yet the possibilities were not always heard and, in line with Romanticism, the acoustic could drag down expeditioners’ spirits just as it could buoy them up. It could baffle or be a site for Indigenous resistance.'  (Publication abstract)

Leichhardt's Story Russell Wenholz , 2007 single work column
— Appears in: Sunday Canberra Times , 17 February 2007; (p. 21)
y separately published work icon George Elphinstone Dalrymple : The Member for Kennedy Gordon Damien Smith , Greenslopes : Gordon Damien Smith , 2006 Z1340620 2006 single work novel historical fiction Follows the life and adventures of George Dalrymple from the time he arrived in southern Queensland, just before venturing to the unexplored north, until his departure for England several years later.
Interkulturelle Begegnungen : Kommunikationsformen zwischen Aborigines und Weissen am Beispiel von Patrick white's Voss und Ludwig Leichhardts Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia from Moreton Bay to Port Essington Volker Raddatz , 1990 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australienstudien in Deutschland : Grundlagen und Perspektiven 1990; (p. 147-161)
Untitled 1848 single work review
— Appears in: The Atlas , 5 February vol. 4 no. 167 1848; (p. 66-67)

— Review of 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 Ludwig Leichhardt , 1846 single work diary
Untitled 1848 single work review
— Appears in: The Atlas , 5 February vol. 4 no. 167 1848; (p. 66-67)

— Review of 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 Ludwig Leichhardt , 1846 single work diary
Dr Leichardt's Journal 1846 single work review
— Appears in: The Morning Chronicle , 2 May vol. 3 no. 269 1846; (p. 3)

— Review of 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 Ludwig Leichhardt , 1846 single work diary
y separately published work icon George Elphinstone Dalrymple : The Member for Kennedy Gordon Damien Smith , Greenslopes : Gordon Damien Smith , 2006 Z1340620 2006 single work novel historical fiction Follows the life and adventures of George Dalrymple from the time he arrived in southern Queensland, just before venturing to the unexplored north, until his departure for England several years later.
Leichhardt's Story Russell Wenholz , 2007 single work column
— Appears in: Sunday Canberra Times , 17 February 2007; (p. 21)
Interkulturelle Begegnungen : Kommunikationsformen zwischen Aborigines und Weissen am Beispiel von Patrick white's Voss und Ludwig Leichhardts Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia from Moreton Bay to Port Essington Volker Raddatz , 1990 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australienstudien in Deutschland : Grundlagen und Perspektiven 1990; (p. 147-161)
Whistling the Death March? Listening in to the Acoustics of Ludwig Leichhardt's Australian Exploration Andrew W. Hurley , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 50 no. 2 2019; (p. 155-170)

'Scholars considering the acoustics of exploration have focused on how explorers heard Australian space in terms of silence, to argue this silenced Indigenous presence, or that stillness, was incongruous with how a place to be colonised should sound. I focus on the acoustically attuned Ludwig Leichhardt, a science-poet indebted to the Enlightenment, but also engaged with the German Romantic legacy. The manifold acoustic dimensions of expeditioning – including music – were important to him in different ways. The acoustic world could be assayed and harnessed in ways that were often consistent with colonialism. But there was also something fugitive about acoustics. They could mark a site for emotional engagement with place, and sometimes embryonic cross-cultural dialogue. Yet the possibilities were not always heard and, in line with Romanticism, the acoustic could drag down expeditioners’ spirits just as it could buoy them up. It could baffle or be a site for Indigenous resistance.'  (Publication abstract)

Last amended 3 Sep 2021 15:38:40
Subjects:
  • Moreton Bay, Brisbane - South East, Brisbane, Queensland,
  • Port Essington, Cobourg Peninsula, West Arnhem Land, Arnhem Land, Top End, Northern Territory,
  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland,
  • 1844-1845
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