Patron

Harry Leaver, OAM made a generous donation towards the publication of this volume. A retired farmer, Harry is a resident of Moora, where he is well known for his enthusiasm for exploration history. His remark ‘Explorers are my hobby’ covers a very long interest in the identification of the places named and mapped by George Grey and Alexander Forrest and John Forrest in the 19th century.

Harry was a member of the ‘Follow Forrest 1974 Expedition’ undertaken by the Geraldton Historical Society, and took part in several expeditions with Dr William Peasley and Stan Gratte retracing the desert journeys of David Carnegie and the Calvert-sponsored expedition led by Lawrence Wells.

His painstaking research and field work has revealed the origin of place names and the precise location of some historical sites. Those discoveries have added information to Landgate’s Geonoma database and contributed to the historical record. Given Harry’s life-long association with exploration history, it is appropriate that a volume in the Western Australian Explorers’ Diaries will stand as his memorial.