19
Leichhardt's 1844-45 route
IV
HEAT AND DISORIENTATION
January 1845
By early 1845 they had moved directly north from the Comet River, crossing the Mackenzie River and
on to the flat lands around the visually intriguing Peak Ranges. It was now summer and extremely
hot. In mid-January, Leichhardt and Brown wandered alone through the
'most wretched country'
until Brown declared
“…we are lost, we are lost…”,
but they eventually returned safely to the main
group. Soon afterwards Leichhardt and John Calvert set off to look for water and a good passage
through or around the Ranges but became disorientated. The varied landscape features simply caused
confusion and the exhausting heat and haze had a debilitating effect on them. Leichhardt wrote
“… [we were] lost from our camp with thirst and speech unintelligible under the Peak Ranges…”
.
80 x 120 cm
oil on board
2013
