QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Translating the forgotten diaries

We find him occasionally in periods of depression and indecision, wrestling with his emotions and a developing philosophy. They are more personal than any other written record and give deep insight into Leichhardt’s character. More than anything else the diaries are a testament to a diligent and highly focussed student of nature. Stunning late afternoon view from the Blackdown Tableland, 580km northwest of Brisbane; Leichhardt’s expedition named Mount Nicholson and the Expedition Ranges, but skirted this 600m-high sandstone escarpment across the flat counrty to the west.

Amidst impressions of the people and events he encountered is an orderly array of observations and inquiries from a young scientist intent on assimilating the strange geography of his adopted homeland.

Rod Fensham’s and Tom Darragh’s journey to translate Ludwig Leichhardt’s diaries will come to fruition in 2013, the bicentenary of his birth, as the first volume of a two-part commemorative work to be published by the Queensland Museum. qm.qld.gov.au

meg forbes / shutterstock.com

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