Audio on demand

Alice Springs historian Dick Kimber proposes an alternative theory for the fate of Ludwig Leichhardt’s expedition, arguing that it was lost in the Simpson Desert, in a closing discussion with earlier symposium speakers.

Conservator David Hallam outlines the metal and corrosion analysis which helped to authenticate the Leichhardt nameplate. The plate is the only known artefact from Ludwig Leichhardt’s lost 1848 Australian expedition with a corroborated provenance.

Curator Martin Woods examines a rare map drawn by Ludwig Leichhardt. Woods says the map of the Balonne and Condamine rivers in Queensland raised hopes of an expanded Darling Downs farming district and funded Leichhardt’s final journey.

Curator Matthew Higgins outlines the work undertaken to establish the authenticity of a small brass nameplate, the first object with a corroborated provenance from explorer Ludwig Leichhardt’s lost 1848 expedition.

Historian Rod Home looks at Ludwig Leichhardt’s family background, financial situation and formal scientific training to argue the explorer was also a perceptive naturalist with a well defined research agenda in Australia. NOTE: audio loops from 18:40 on.

Historian Greg Dening examines the cultural achievements of the Sea of Islands or Pacific peoples with a particular focus on Tupaia, a priest of Oro, who joined Captain James Cook on the Endeavour.

Curator Nigel Erskine discusses the official account of Captain James Cook’s third Pacific voyage, particularly the introductory essay by German naturalist and fellow voyager Georg Forster.

Anthropologist Adrienne Kaeppler outlines the research that has gone into reconstructing the ethnographic collections from Captain James Cook’s three Pacific voyages.

Curator Doreen Mellor examines the life-changing consequences for Australian Indigenous peoples of Captain James Cook’s first Pacific journey, and subsequent European settlement, as the background to the story of the Stolen Generations.