Heritage 0306_Ludwig Becker.pdf - Australian Heritage Magazine

The sufferings to which the
unhappy men are exposed will be
understood from Mr Wright’s report
of what befel the men under his
charge. They were prostrated by
scurvy, as well as being additionally
enfeebled by the irregular supply of
water. And at length four of their
number, worn out by their sufferings,
perished by a wretched lingering
death in the wilderness. There is
something deeply melancholy in such
a fact. Poor Becker! He had scarcely
the physique for encountering the
toils of such an expedition.
The Age, 1 July 1861
In spite of all the hardship he
endured throughout the expedition,
Becker produced a series of perceptive
watercolours and sketches. He
delicately painted botanical and
zoological watercolours such as
“Gullomalla” pigeon and described his
subjects in field notes. Becker’s last
drawing of a desolate camp and a
camel train in the distance was
completed at Poria Creek at the
beginning of March 1861 when
Becker was already suffering terribly
from malnutrition and exhaustion.
The historical importance of
Becker’s works of art, depicting events
happening during this ill-fated
expedition and recording nature in
the days before photography cannot
be overestimated. Ludwig Becker was
a gentle man whose death was
lamented by those who knew him
best. The epitaph by contemporary
painter, William Strutt, in his
Australian Journal summed up Becker’s
character, disposition and lack of luck
in life. He wrote that Becker’s “work
was carried on without much noise,
nevertheless, with much devotion and
ability which was not, I think,
suitably acknowledged.”
The Author
Dr Eva Meidl lectures in German
language and literature at the
University of Tasmania. She is also
the Honorary Consul for Austria in
Tasmania.
Further Reading
Meidl, Eva, A Donation to the Colony, The
epic voyage on the Hannah of German
and British free settlers and their
contribution to Van Diemen’s Land, 40
Degrees South, 2004
Moorehead, Alan, Cooper’s Creek, The
Macmillan Company of Australia Pty
Ltd, 1963
Murgatroyd, Sarah, The Dig Tree, Text
Publishing Melbourne Australia, 2002
Tipping, Marjorie, Ludwig Becker, Artist &
Naturalist with the Burke & Wills
Expedition, Melbourne University
Press, 1979.
Sayers, Andrew, Australian Art, Oxford
University Press, UK, 2001. ◆
‘Gullomälla’ pigeon, Jan. 15, 1861, drawing: watercolour and ink. Reproduction rights owned by the State Library of Victoria.
66 Australian Heritage