How did Ludwig Leichhardt disappear?

Answer 1

Ludwig Leichhardt was on his third and final expedition when he disappeared. Leichhardt's final expedition began in March 1848. The last sighting of Leichhardt, six other men, fifty bullocks, twenty mules and seven horses was made as they departed Roma, Queensland, on 4 April 1848. Somewhere in Australia's vast outback, the entire party vanished.

Many theories have abounded as to what happened, and many claim to have found evidence of the remains of the expedition, but what really happened remains one of Australia's enduring mysteries. The strongest evidence, which has recently come to light and been thoroughly investigated, is that the party was killed by hostile natives one night as they slept around their campfire.

Several expeditions were mounted in an attempt to determine Leichhardt's fate. In 1852, Hovenden Hely and a party of seven white men set out north, then west from Leichhardt's starting point. Hely located trees that had been marked, as well as camp sites, and encountered natives who had seen Leichhardt. These aboriginal men told stories of white people being killed in the night, as reprisal for ill-treating some native women. Hely developed the theory that Leichhardt was killed in a massacre.

In 1871, JM Gilmour headed up an expedition to follow up on claims that Leichhardt's party was murdered. At Cooper Creek, they met an Aborigine who claimed a party of white men were killed at Wantata waterhole. When Gilmour found the location, he noted unburied skeletons, indicating high likelihood that they were the remains of white men. He also found other evidence of the party that confirmed the finding.