Ludwig Leichhardt Dig Tree - QLD

The Dig Tree, marked in 1847 during explorer Ludwig Leichhardt’s travel along the river, is now a tourist attraction in the township of Comet. A diary and papers belonging to Leichhardt were buried in a canister at the base of the famous coolabah tree.

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 - c.1848) was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.

On 14 February 1842 Leichhardt arrived in Sydney, Australia. His aim was to explore inland Australia and he was hopeful of a government appointment in his fields of interest. In September 1842 Leichhardt went to the Hunter River valley north of Sydney to study the geology, flora and fauna of the region, and to observe farming methods. He then set out on his own on a specimen-collecting journey that took him from Newcastle, New South Wales, to Moreton Bay in Queensland.

After returning to Sydney early in 1844, Leichhardt hoped to take part in a proposed government-sponsored expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington (300 km north of Darwin, Northern Territory). When plans for this expedition fell through Leichhardt decided to mount the expedition himself, accompanied by volunteers and supported by private funding. His party left Sydney in August 1844 to sail to Moreton Bay, where four more joined the group. The expedition departed on 1 October 1844 from Jimbour, the farthest outpost of settlement on the Queensland Darling Downs.

After a nearly 4,800 km (3,000 mi) overland journey, and having long been given up for dead, Leichhardt arrived in Port Essington on 17 December 1845. He returned to Sydney by boat, arriving on 25 March 1846 to a hero's welcome. The Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia, from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a Distance of Upwards of 3000 Miles, During the Years 1844 and 1845 by Leichhardt describes this expedition.

In 1848 Leichhardt again set out from the Condamine River (in the east) to cross the vast continent of Australia and reach the Swan River on the western side. He was last seen on 3 April 1848 at McPherson's Station, Coogoon, on the Darling Downs. His disappearance after moving inland, although investigated by many, remains a mystery. The expedition had been expected to take two to three years, but after no sign or word was received from Leichhardt it was assumed that he and the others in the party had died. The latest evidence suggests that they may have perished somewhere in the Great Sandy Desert of the Australian interior.