Patrick Leslie (1815–1881)
A gentleman formerly engaged in squatting pursuits draws attention (says the S. M. Herald) to the death of Mr. Patrick Leslie, "the founder of Queensland." "While the greedy crowd now scramble over the virgin soil where Patrick Leslie, first of white men, planted his foot, for the fruit, not one of the well-filled stays his appetite to ask who grafted the tree from which the fruit has fallen. Putting aside with reverence the official journey which ended at the 'Gap' which bears the name of the explorer Cunningham, some years before, Leslie may with undeniable right be claimed to be the real builder of the Queensland edifice. Breaking away from the ruck, this Bayard among bushmen took a line for himself across country, and, accompanied by but one man, whose name in his simple diary appears far oftener than his own, reached at length that delectable expanse of Darling Downs to which every expectant eye was soon after turned, and towards which every effort became directed from the southern and more confined pastures. The labour, harass, and anxieties of those times can be appreciated by few now living, and cannot by any scale be rated by the new men who have ousted the old race."
Original publication
Additional Resources
- Trove search
- marriage notice, Sydney Herald, 14 September 1840, p 4
- Patrick Leslie Memorial Presbyterian Church opens at Pratten, Queenslander, 30 September 1905, p 29
- article about Patrick Leslie, Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 3 September 1938, p 10
- a poster has been designed, showing Leslie arriving on horseback on the Darling Downs, to commemorate the centenary of the event, Courier-Mail (Qld), 14 July 1939, p 3
- Pittsworth Shire Council is to erect a memorial cairn where Leslie crossed the Condamine River in March 1840, Courier-Mail (Qld), 22 May 1954, p 8
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Leslie, Patrick
- Macarthur, Hannibal Hawkins (father-in-law)
- Leslie, George Farquhar (brother)
- King, Elizabeth (sister-in-law)
- Wickham, Anna (sister-in-law)
- Macarthur, Emmeline Helen (sister-in-law)
- Wickham, John Clements (brother-in-law)
- Macarthur, James Campbell (brother-in-law)
- King, Philip Gidley (brother-in-law)
- Macarthur, Charles (brother-in-law)
- Macarthur, George Fairfowl (brother-in-law)
- Macarthur, John Alexander (brother-in-law)
- Macarthur, Arthur Hannibal (brother-in-law)
- Davidson, Walter Stevenson (uncle)
- McArthur, John (uncle by marriage)
- Brown, Margaret Isabella (niece by marriage)
- King, Agnes Barbara (niece by marriage)
- King, Mabella Winton (niece by marriage)
- Bracker, Annie Mary (niece by marriage)
- Goldfinch, Elizabeth Maria (niece by marriage)
- Gordon, William Forbes (nephew by marriage)
- King, Phillip Parker Macarthur (nephew by marriage)
- Gordon, James (nephew by marriage)
- Macarthur, Edward Hannibal (nephew by marriage)
- Brown, Walter Sigismund (nephew by marriage)
- Deuchar, John (employee)
- Willett, George (employee)
- Hodgson, Arthur (acquaintance)
- Lang, John Dunmore (political adversary)
- Murphy, Peter (assigned convict)
Citation details
'Leslie, Patrick (1815–1881)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/leslie-patrick-2351/text25526, accessed 8 October 2024.
Patrick Leslie, n.d.
State Library of Queensland, 196524
Life Summary [details]
Birth
25 September,
1815
Warthill,
Aberdeenshire,
Scotland
Death
12 August,
1881
(aged 65)
Milsons Point, Sydney,
New South Wales,
Australia
Cultural Heritage
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.