Ludwig Leichhardt’s “Great Overland Expedition” was a ground-breaking 14-month journey from October 1844 to December 1845, where the Prussian naturalist and explorer led a small team across 4,800km from the Darling Downs to Port Essington — near perishing until arriving, fortuitously, at the settlement of Victoria, writes historian Matt Tesch. “During 2013–2015, I spearheaded a multi-agency, community-driven project to mark the Bicentenary of Leichhardt’s birth (23 October 2013) as well as the 170th anniversary of his expedition,” recalls Matt, “including building a lively website rich in multimedia resources. “So it was with envious surprise that I read Quentin and Lalapanzi had reached this remote bit of the Cobourg Peninsula (Garig Gunak Barlu National Park).” Founded in October 1838, Victoria was intended to be a strategic British military outpost and trading hub, but suffered from extreme isolation, tropical diseases (malaria), a lack of fresh food, and a cyclone the year after its founding; it was ultimately abandoned in 1849. Port Essington and “Victoria” (as the shortlived settlement was known) are not only a cruiser’s remote destination dream but are also steeped in significant yet little-known history of European discoveries. wallacebishop.com.au /wallacebishop /wallacebishop PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE ROYAL QUEENSLAND YACHT SQUADRON FOR OVER 50 YEARS. Admiralty Chart of Port Essington from 1840:the incredible details will be visible as a high-resolution pop-up image in the online edition of Mainsheet. Visit the fascinating archived LeichhardtLand website by either clicking the homepage thumbnail (online edition) or type t.ly/E3tip into your browser. Mainsheet 2026 Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Yearbook 64 Lalapanzi: a postscript
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