25
Leichhardt's 1844-45 route
X
PROVIDENCE AT
THE GULF
July 1845
The wounded party, now down to seven
men, finally smelt salt water at the Gulf of
Carpentaria. Leichhardt wrote that the first sight
of the salt water of the Gulf was welcomed
by all of them and they rejoiced at the
'green
feed by lagoons'
. Near today’s Normanton they
enjoyed local food, plants, birds, fish and other
marine life. Magpie geese were in abundance.
Despite severe injuries that had been sustained
by John Roper and John Calvert, they travelled
steadily on in a south-westerly direction
around the Gulf.
120 x 80 cm
oil on board
2013
