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Leichhardt's 1844-45 route
XIII
LOSSES
October 1845
They were now one year into the journey and travelling beside today’s Roper River (named after John
Roper, who had mostly recovered after being given‘Dr’Leichhardt’s remedies) when a number of
serious losses occurred. The first was the death of the last and much-loved dog, Spring. Then came
the drowning of four horses, including that of the crucial pack horses. This was followed by the
spearing of another weak horse that had fallen and become impaled by a sharp tree. The disastrous
consequence for Leichhardt was the destruction of many containers of scientific specimens (mostly
plants, seeds and small animals) that both he and Gilbert had collected. This happened because the
specimen packs became soaked when the pack horses drowned. Leichhardt gathered into a pile what
remained of the wasted specimens and lit a fire. This would have been particularly devastating for
him because he was first and foremost a scientist; he saw his role as an explorer as secondary.
On 21st October he wrote
“…The fruit of many a day’s work was consigned to the fire; and tears
were in my eyes…”
80 x 120 cm
oil on board
2013
