50 Treasures: Landsberg's map of Kennedy

Our thirty-first treasure is a precious, linen-mounted folding map from 1860 orginally created to assist settlers and pastoralists in their explorations of north Queensland. From the Rare Book Collection comes the Map of Queensland, northern portion, District of Kennedy compiled from the explorations of Dr. Leichhardt, Sir T.L. Mitchell & A.C. Gregory Esq. and other authentic sources by Leopold Franz Landsberg.

Ron Store answers the question "why is this significant?"

The map created by Leopold Franz Landsberg held in Special Collections at the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library was purchased with the financial assistance of the Landsberg family in 1992. The late Gordon Landsberg, of Trafalgar Station, was the grandson of Leopold.

Cover and box of the Map of Queensland, northern portion, District of Kennedy compiled from the explorations of Dr. Leichhardt, Sir T.L. Mitchell & A.C. Gregory Esq. and other authentic sources. Photograph by Michael Marzik.

The map measures 67.9 x 85.5 cm when opened and 18.8 x 12 cm when folded with a scale ca. 1:900 000. It is dissected, mounted on linen and folded with leather covers. The map is based on the explorations of Leichhardt, Mitchell and Gregory and covers the area of Queensland from latitude 23° to latitude 18°. It gives detailed descriptions of land quality along the explorers’ routes which are marked. Land relief is shown by finely detailed hachures. Comments such as ‘marshy land‘, ’a large body of water seen from the hills at Cape Cleveland‘ are noted on the map.

Map of Queensland, northern portion, District of Kennedy compiled from the explorations of Dr. Leichhardt, Sir T.L. Mitchell & A.C. Gregory Esq. and other authentic sources. Photograph by Michael Marzik.

This type of folded map was conveniently small for travellers and settlers and could be stored in a saddle bag or pocket. Folding maps mounted on linen or some other material also avoided the usual wear and tear of standard paper maps.

Landsberg’s motivation for producing this map and two others in 1860 was probably to assist settlers and pastoralists. The previous owner of this map has made some hand annotations on it, suggesting it was possibly used by a pastoralist.

A section of the Map showing hand written annotations. Photograph (detail) by Michael Marzik

In a letter held at John Oxley Library, dated 23 April1860, to Colin Archer of Gracemere, Rockhampton, Landsberg writes that Gregory, then Surveyor-General, ‘asked me if I would undertake to publish a map of the Burdekin country if he would furnish me with his survey he made on his expedition out there.’ He noted that ‘Gregory’s work is the most reliable source for information of that part of the colony, especially as Leichardt’s map for that part of the country is not very reliable’. The map was almost certainly engraved and printed in Sydney.

Photographic portrait of Leopold Franz Landsberg.  Source: The History of Queensland, its people and industries: an historical and commercial review, descriptive adn biographical facts and figures and illustrations, an epitome of progress / compiled by Matt. J. Fox, Adelaide : States Publishing Co., 1919 - 1923.

Leopold Franz (Francis) Landsberg emerges as a very able and interesting person. He was born at Gdansk in 1832 and emigrated to Australia in 1855. Records indicate that he was the son of Philip Wilhelm Baron Landsberg and Caroline Juliane Francke. The family lost its entitlement when Poland was partitioned by more powerful neighbours. Perhaps he saw in Australia a freedom he was denied in Europe. By the time Landsberg left, Gdansk (formerly a Polish city) was part of Prussia.

Surveyors, one on a sandy bank beside a river, one in the water, dated between 1904 - 1909. [NQID1164] Photographer: Reverend Frederic Charles Hall.

His descendants believe, and some sources suggest, that he trained for the medical profession in Poland but was unable to practise in Australia. He turned to drafting and surveying, believing that this profession would provide ample employment in the new colony. By 1860 he was in Queensland, working as a surveyor, and is credited with creating the first map of the new colony of Queensland. As well as his mapping work he also practiced as a surveyor. He was physically fit and painstaking in his work. Surveying was not easy as he dealt with extremes of weather and transporting himself and his equipment to such difficult-to-access places as the Darling Downs. In a letter to his friend, Colin Archer, he describes some of these hardships.

"I started for the Downs … I had to drive my own team … The roads were in a frightful state, as you may judge from my having been nearly 3 weeks on the road between Brisbane and Toowoomba, every alternate day be a rainy one, etc.etc At Dalrymple Creek about 15 miles from Warwick I was so successful as to capsize the dray into a deep waterhole, and had everything submerged under the water."

A surviving diary from 1861 also records some surveying work on the Darling Downs. As a relatively recent immigrant, his written English was exceptionally good.

Ludwig Leichhardt, 1844. One of the explorers whose work Landsberg's map is based on [NQID20882].

Leopold Landsberg’s first marriage was to Maria Justina Watermeyer (born in 1832 in Hamburg, Germany) in 1862. She died ’after a few hours’ illness‘ as recorded in The Courier in June 1863. Following Maria’s death, he married Emily Wright from Cornwall, England. They had five children: Laura Justina Frances, Louis James, Emily Caroline Gertrude, Leopold Philip, and Frederick William.

Leopold Landsberg was a Primitive Methodist with an intense spiritual life, a teetotaller, and had Central Queensland grazing and mining interests. He was an activist with involvement in farming associations. He ran unsuccessfully as municipal auditor in 1882 and as an Independent for the Rockhampton electorate in the following year.

He eventually settled in Rockhampton where he died in October 1888 aged 55.

Over the course of 2020, JCU Library's Special Collections will be unveiling 50 Treasures from the collections to celebrate 50 years of James Cook University.


Author Biography
Ron Store OAM has had a long association with the Library's Special Collections beginning when he was a Graduate Library Assistant at the then University College. After a period away from the University during which time he was the College Librarian at the Townsville CAE, he returned to the University following the amalgamation of the University and College. His portfolio of responsibilities included Special Collections. In 1992 he became aware that an 1860 map of Queensland by Leopold Franz Landsberg was available for purchase and knowing that it would make an excellent addition to the North Queensland Collection, he invited the Landsberg family from the Charters Towers region to contribute funds towards its acquisition. Happily, they did, thus enabling the Library to purchase the map, one of only a few in Australian libraries.