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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

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 30 March 2024.

© Copyright Obituaries Australia, 2010-2024

Patrick Leslie, n.d.

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.

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