Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (; 23 October 1813 – ), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.
Early life
Leichhardt was born on 23 October 1813 in the hamlet of Sabrodt near the village of Trebatsch, today part of Tauche, in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg (now within the Federal Republic of Germany). He was the fourth son and sixth of the eight children of Christian Hieronymus Matthias Leichhardt, farmer and royal inspector and his wife Charlotte Sophie, née Strählow. Between 1831 and 1836 Leichhardt studied philosophy, language, and natural sciences at the Universities of Göttingen and Berlin but never received a university degree. He moved to England in 1837, continued his study of the natural sciences at various places, including the British Museum, London, and the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, and undertook field work in several European countries, including France, Italy and Switzerland.
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. In September 1842 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, New South Wales, to Moreton Bay in Queensland. On 23 September 1842 he arrived at Ash Island where he spent 2–3 days there after being invited by Alexander Walker Scott.
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 Port Essington north of Darwin. When plans for this expedition fell through Leichhardt decided to mount the expedition himself, accompanied by volunteers and supported by private funding. His party left Sydney in August 1844 to sail to Moreton Bay, where four more joined the group. The expedition departed on 1 October 1844 from Jimbour Homestead, the farthest outpost of settlement on the Queensland Darling Downs. During this trip, Leichhardt named Seven Emu Creek, after shooting a mob of emus nearby, a name later taken on by a large cattle station still in existence, Seven Emu Station.
After a nearly 4,800 kilometres (3,000 miles) overland journey, and having long been given up for dead, Leichhardt arrived in Port Essington on 17 December 1845. He returned to Sydney by boat, arriving on 25 March 1846 to a hero's welcome. 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.
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.
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 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. Faced with failure, Leichhardt seems to have suffered a nervous breakdown, and Aboriginal guide Harry Brown effectively took over as leader of the party, returning them successfully back to the Darling Downs.
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 .