On the trail of the Port Essington Expedition: Ludwig Leichhardt’s legacy in northern Australia

In this chapter of the virtual exhibition “Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia,” cultural studies researcher Heike Hartmann writes about the legacy of Dr. Leichhardt and his expeditions in Australia.

Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia

Seventeen letters sent by Ludwig Leichhardt from 1842–48 vividly depict his stay in Australia. In this exhibition curated by historian Heike Hartmann, we are introducing a brand new English translation of the letters and a timeline tool with which to view those, this virtual exhibition documents Leichhardt’s adventurous stay in Australia and opens up new perspectives for the environmental history of the land, Europeans’ engagement with its indigenous population, and international scientific networks at the time.

Heike Hartmann

About the author

Hartmann, Heike

Deutsches Historisches Museum, Germany

Heike Hartmann is a museum curator and researcher in the field of cultural studies with a focus on visual culture, postcolonial criticism, and the transcultural history of science and archives. She was a member of the ATN-DAAD research project “Leichhardt’s Legacies: Locating the Disappeared,” curator of the exhibition “‘Gut möglich, dass meine Knochen für immer auf den Ebenen dieser Kolonie bleichen werden’: Der Australienforscher Ludwig Leichhardt” (Marstall Schloss Branitz, Cottbus, 2013), and editor of the accompanying volume Ludwig Leichhardt: Spuren eines Verschollenen.

Heike Hartmann is currently curating an exhibition on German colonialism at Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. She has contributed to a number of exhibitions, including Bilder verkehren: Postkarten in der visuellen Kultur des deutschen Kolonialismus (2005) and Karl May—Imaginary Journeys (2007), and she is coeditor of the volume Menschen—Orte—Zeiten: Fotografie am Deutschen Historischen Museum (2009).

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Travel and reception of Leichhardt’s letters to his family

In this chapter of the virtual exhibition “Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia,” cultural studies researcher Heike Hartmann presents the traveps of Dr. Leichhardt’s letters—from the unexplored expanses of Australia to the archives of the Deutsches Museum.

Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia

Seventeen letters sent by Ludwig Leichhardt from 1842–48 vividly depict his stay in Australia. In this exhibition curated by historian Heike Hartmann, we are introducing a brand new English translation of the letters and a timeline tool with which to view those, this virtual exhibition documents Leichhardt’s adventurous stay in Australia and opens up new perspectives for the environmental history of the land, Europeans’ engagement with its indigenous population, and international scientific networks at the time.

Heike Hartmann

About the author

Hartmann, Heike

Deutsches Historisches Museum, Germany

Heike Hartmann is a museum curator and researcher in the field of cultural studies with a focus on visual culture, postcolonial criticism, and the transcultural history of science and archives. She was a member of the ATN-DAAD research project “Leichhardt’s Legacies: Locating the Disappeared,” curator of the exhibition “‘Gut möglich, dass meine Knochen für immer auf den Ebenen dieser Kolonie bleichen werden’: Der Australienforscher Ludwig Leichhardt” (Marstall Schloss Branitz, Cottbus, 2013), and editor of the accompanying volume Ludwig Leichhardt: Spuren eines Verschollenen.

Heike Hartmann is currently curating an exhibition on German colonialism at Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. She has contributed to a number of exhibitions, including Bilder verkehren: Postkarten in der visuellen Kultur des deutschen Kolonialismus (2005) and Karl May—Imaginary Journeys (2007), and she is coeditor of the volume Menschen—Orte—Zeiten: Fotografie am Deutschen Historischen Museum (2009).

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Colonial and indigenous knowledge of trees

In this chapter of the virtual exhibition “Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia,” cultural studies researcher Heike Hartmann writes about the influence of indigenous knowledge on Dr. Leichhardt’s environmental observations.

Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia

Seventeen letters sent by Ludwig Leichhardt from 1842–48 vividly depict his stay in Australia. In this exhibition curated by historian Heike Hartmann, we are introducing a brand new English translation of the letters and a timeline tool with which to view those, this virtual exhibition documents Leichhardt’s adventurous stay in Australia and opens up new perspectives for the environmental history of the land, Europeans’ engagement with its indigenous population, and international scientific networks at the time.

Heike Hartmann

About the author

Hartmann, Heike

Deutsches Historisches Museum, Germany

Heike Hartmann is a museum curator and researcher in the field of cultural studies with a focus on visual culture, postcolonial criticism, and the transcultural history of science and archives. She was a member of the ATN-DAAD research project “Leichhardt’s Legacies: Locating the Disappeared,” curator of the exhibition “‘Gut möglich, dass meine Knochen für immer auf den Ebenen dieser Kolonie bleichen werden’: Der Australienforscher Ludwig Leichhardt” (Marstall Schloss Branitz, Cottbus, 2013), and editor of the accompanying volume Ludwig Leichhardt: Spuren eines Verschollenen.

Heike Hartmann is currently curating an exhibition on German colonialism at Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. She has contributed to a number of exhibitions, including Bilder verkehren: Postkarten in der visuellen Kultur des deutschen Kolonialismus (2005) and Karl May—Imaginary Journeys (2007), and she is coeditor of the volume Menschen—Orte—Zeiten: Fotografie am Deutschen Historischen Museum (2009).

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Through the unknown reaches of Australia

In this chapter of the virtual exhibition “Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia,” museum curator and cultural studies researcher Heike Hartmann presents the life and deeds of Dr. Leichhardt.

Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia

Seventeen letters sent by Ludwig Leichhardt from 1842–48 vividly depict his stay in Australia. In this exhibition curated by historian Heike Hartmann, we are introducing a brand new English translation of the letters and a timeline tool with which to view those, this virtual exhibition documents Leichhardt’s adventurous stay in Australia and opens up new perspectives for the environmental history of the land, Europeans’ engagement with its indigenous population, and international scientific networks at the time.

Heike Hartmann

About the author

Hartmann, Heike

Deutsches Historisches Museum, Germany

Heike Hartmann is a museum curator and researcher in the field of cultural studies with a focus on visual culture, postcolonial criticism, and the transcultural history of science and archives. She was a member of the ATN-DAAD research project “Leichhardt’s Legacies: Locating the Disappeared,” curator of the exhibition “‘Gut möglich, dass meine Knochen für immer auf den Ebenen dieser Kolonie bleichen werden’: Der Australienforscher Ludwig Leichhardt” (Marstall Schloss Branitz, Cottbus, 2013), and editor of the accompanying volume Ludwig Leichhardt: Spuren eines Verschollenen.

Heike Hartmann is currently curating an exhibition on German colonialism at Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. She has contributed to a number of exhibitions, including Bilder verkehren: Postkarten in der visuellen Kultur des deutschen Kolonialismus (2005) and Karl May—Imaginary Journeys (2007), and she is coeditor of the volume Menschen—Orte—Zeiten: Fotografie am Deutschen Historischen Museum (2009).

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Introduction

This is the introduction of the virtual exhibition “Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia”—written and curated by cultural studies researcher Heike Hartmann.

Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia

Seventeen letters sent by Ludwig Leichhardt from 1842–48 vividly depict his stay in Australia. In this exhibition curated by historian Heike Hartmann, we are introducing a brand new English translation of the letters and a timeline tool with which to view those, this virtual exhibition documents Leichhardt’s adventurous stay in Australia and opens up new perspectives for the environmental history of the land, Europeans’ engagement with its indigenous population, and international scientific networks at the time.

Heike Hartmann

About the author

Hartmann, Heike

Deutsches Historisches Museum, Germany

Heike Hartmann is a museum curator and researcher in the field of cultural studies with a focus on visual culture, postcolonial criticism, and the transcultural history of science and archives. She was a member of the ATN-DAAD research project “Leichhardt’s Legacies: Locating the Disappeared,” curator of the exhibition “‘Gut möglich, dass meine Knochen für immer auf den Ebenen dieser Kolonie bleichen werden’: Der Australienforscher Ludwig Leichhardt” (Marstall Schloss Branitz, Cottbus, 2013), and editor of the accompanying volume Ludwig Leichhardt: Spuren eines Verschollenen.

Heike Hartmann is currently curating an exhibition on German colonialism at Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. She has contributed to a number of exhibitions, including Bilder verkehren: Postkarten in der visuellen Kultur des deutschen Kolonialismus (2005) and Karl May—Imaginary Journeys (2007), and she is coeditor of the volume Menschen—Orte—Zeiten: Fotografie am Deutschen Historischen Museum (2009).

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California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush begins in 1848 when gold is discovered in Coloma, California. The promise of gold lures around 300,000 people to California and has a huge effect on the natural environment and the development of San Francisco as a world city and California as a state.

Tags:

explorations

gold

mining

Themes:

Landscape Transformation

Population

Resources

Regions:

California

What Would Indigenous Taxonomy Look Like? The Case of Blandowski's Australia

by Khadija von Zinnenburg Carroll

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Arcadia, 2014, no. 12

Read more about What Would Indigenous Taxonomy Look Like? The Case of Blandowski's Australia

Mandy Martin’s Artistic Explorations

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Perspectives Issue 2014/1

In this article, Jane Carruthers outline the merits of Mandy Martin’s artwork and the nature of her projects.

Visions of the Land: Science, Literature, and the American Environment from the Era of Exploration to the Age of Ecology

The work of John Charles Fremont, Richard Byrd, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, John Wesley Powell, Susan Cooper, Rachel Carson, and Loren Eiseley represents a widely divergent body of writing. Michael A. Bryson provides a thoughtful examination of these authors, their work, and the ways in which science and nature unite them.

Read more about Visions of the Land: Science, Literature, and the American Environment from the Era of Exploration to the Age of Ecology

explorations

Further reading

Further reading

Ludwig Leichhardt: A German Explorer’s Letters Home from Australia

About the author

Browse the exhibition