Why is Edmund Kennedy famous?

Answer 1

Edmund Kennedy was a young and promising explorer who was famous more for his death than for what he achieved in life.

Kennedy first joined Major Thomas Mitchell's 1845-46 expedition to the interior of Queensland, where he gained considerable exploration experience. In 1847, Kennedy led another expedition to follow the Barcoo River in south-western Queensland to see if it would lead to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Although Kennedy discovered this was not the case, he did continue southwest, discovering the Thomson River.

Of more fame was Kennedy's ill-fated expedition to Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland. In 1848 Kennedy departed Rockingham Bay near Townsville, for the purpose of mapping the eastern coast of north Queensland. A ship was to meet him at the Cape after his journey. By the time Kennedy's party reached Weymouth Bay in November, they were starving and exhausted from the difficult trek through dense rainforest and the difficulty of crossing the Great Dividing Range. Because of illness among the party, Kennedy continued on alone with a loyal Aborigine named Jackey-Jackey. He was close to reaching his rendezvous with the ship when he found himself surrounded by hostile aborigines. Despite Jackey-Jackey trying to hold off the Aborigines with gunfire, Kennedy was speared to death, dying in the arms of his Aboriginal companion.