Lasseter's Reef

Lasseter's Reef refers to the purported discovery, in 1897, of a fabulously rich gold deposit in a remote and desolate corner of central Australia. The gold reef's location remains a mystery—if it exists.

Discovery

In 1929 and 1930 Harold Bell Lasseter claimed that in 1897, as a young man, he rode on horse from Queensland to the West Australian goldfields, during which he stumbled across a huge gold reef somewhere near the border between the Northern Territory and Western Australia. He also claimed that subsequent to this discovery he got into difficulties and was fortuitously rescued by a passing Afghan camel driver who took him to the camp of a surveyor named Harding. Harding and Lasseter were said to have later returned to the reef in the attempt to fix its location, but failed because their watches were inaccurate.

According to Lasseter, he spent the next three decades trying to raise sufficient interest to fund an expedition into the interior. But at the time the fortunes being made from the gold rush at Kalgoorlie in Western Australia meant that no-one was prepared to risk trekking into the uncharted desert wilderness of central Australia, even if the supposed discovery was as rich as he claimed.

The 1930 expedition

By 1930, when Australia was in the grip of the Great Depression, the attractions of desert gold were much greater, and Lasseter succeeded in securing approximately £50,000 in private funding towards an expedition to relocate the reef. Unusual for the time, this expedition included motorised vehicular transport and an aircraft. Accompanying Lasseter were experienced bushmen Fred Blakeley and Fred Colson as well as a prospector, an engineer, an explorer and a pilot.

Once they hit the trail, Lasseter proved to be a sullen companion and a vague guide. The group endured great logistical difficulties and physical hardships (including the loss of their plane), and on reaching Mount Marjorie (now Mount Leisler), Lasseter declared that they were, in fact, 150 miles too far north of the search zone. Exasperated, Blakeley declared Lasseter a charlatan, and decided to end the expedition. The expedition parted with Lasseter at Ilbilba; however, Lasseter insisted on continuing the trek. Accompanied by a dingo-shooter named Paul Johns, Lasseter, whose behaviour was later reported as becoming increasingly erratic, set off towards The Olgas.

One afternoon Lasseter returned to camp with some concealed rock samples and announced that he had relocated the gold reef. He refused, however, to reveal its location. Johns, who by now doubted Lasseter's sanity, accused him of being a liar. A fight ensued, and Johns left Lasseter to his own devices, returning to 'civilization'. Lasseter himself trudged off into the desert sands.

A search for Lasseter was conducted subsequently by a bushman named Bob Buck. Buck succeeded in finding Lasseter's emaciated body at Winter's Glen and, some way away, some personal effects in a cave at Hull's Creek. It later emerged from a "diary" Buck found buried inside the cave, that after Johns had left, Lasseter's camels bolted, leaving him alone in the desert without any means of sustaining himself or returning home. He had then encountered a group of nomadic Aborigines, who rendered him what assistance they could with food and shelter; but a weakened and blinded Lasseter eventually succumbed to malnutrition and exhaustion, having made a belated attempt to walk from the cave to Ayers Rock or the Olgas.

Later history

No maps showing the location of the fabled gold reef were ever found, and over subsequent decades the tale of the reef and its discoverer has assumed mythic proportions; it is perhaps the most famous lost mine legend in Australia, and remains a "holy grail" among Australian prospectors. Popular adventure-story author Ion Idriess, in his book 'Lasseter's Last Ride', gives a very detailed description of Lasseter's time with the Aborigines. His 'diary' notes were hidden under campfires to hide them from the Aborigines who tired of Lasseter after their 'witchdoctor' pointed the bone at him. Once that happened, he was condemned to die and was no longer cared for by the tribe, whose members refused him food and water.

See also

• Lost mines

External links

• Account of the possible rediscovery of the reef
• LASSETERIA. The Lasseter Encyclopedia. http://www.lasseteria.com
• Reef Rediscovery & Planned Mining
• Newspaper Report - Replacement Aircraft flies Sydney to Central Australia [1]