Legend of Lasseter's Reef

by Mark Greenwood

This engaging, accessible and atmospheric book tells a children's version of the famous legend of Harold Lasseter who found a fabulous reef of gold in the desert. He almost died on the return trek with his gold samples, and was rescued and nursed back to health by an Afghan cameleer and a surveyor. Years later, Lasseter returned to the interior with companions, confident he would be able to locate the site of his original find. But the expedition proved a disaster, and after weeks of searching the men lost confidence in their leader and abandoned him. Lasseter continued on with a team of camels, and he finally found the reef, and pegged it. But his camels escaped leaving him to struggle on alone. Despite the help of a family of desert nomads, he never made it back to civilization, leaving behind only a handful of clues that have tantalized treasure hunters ever since.

Genres: History

32 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Mark Greenwood is a history hunter. His award-winning books include The Legend of Lasseter’s Reef and The Legend of Moondyne Joe, both winners of the West Australian Premier’s Book Award.

Mark often teams with his wife, illustrator Frané Lessac, to produce titles such as Midnight – the story of a light horse, Ned Kelly & The Green Sash and Simpson and His Donkey, a CBCA Honour Book and a USBBY Outstanding International Book.

Jandamarra, illustrated by Terry Denton, was shortlisted for the CBCA Eve Pownall Award, the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature and the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Awards.

The Happiness Box, illustrated by Andrew McLean, was a 2019 CBCA Honour book.

Reviews

[Jack Kirby and the X-man · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tells the story of Harold Lasseter who claimed to have found an incredibly rich source of gold in the deserts of central Australia. This story of lost gold is still a strong myth/folk tale in Central Australia - in fact the casino in Alice Springs is named after Lasseter, and strange people are still searching the desert for their fortune.

The book portrays Lasseter in a reasonably positive light - I just think he was a misguided fool.

In all this book highlights the importance of surveying skills in exploration...