On 14 February 1842 Leichhardt arrived in Sydney, Australia. His aim was to explore inland Australia and he was hopeful of a government appointment in his fields of interest. In 1848 Ludwig Leichhardt and his companions vanished during his second attempt at crossing Australia from east to west. No trace of his expedition has been found. Nine separate extensive but unsuccessful searches were conducted over the next century. With no evidence whatsoever of Leichhardt's fate, his disappearance created heroic mythology and resulted in a number of poems and novels (in German also), including Nobel Prize winner Patrick White's Voss of 1957. Leichhardt left extensive and well-regarded records and publications about his travels. This is a sensitive and detailed account drawing on Leichhardt's letters, journals, log books and personal diaries and covers his early years in Europe and his incredibly broad university education.