Michael James Leahy

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(26 February 1901 – 7 March 1979) was an Australian explorer and gold prospector, famed for his exploration of the Highlands area of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. He photographed, filmed and published many of his explorations widely.

Biography

Early life

Leahy was born in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, the fourth of nine children of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

migrants Daniel Leahy, a railway guard, and his wife Ellen, née Stone. After an education at the Christian Brothers' College in Toowoomba, Leahy initially worked as a railway clerk before leaving to become a freelance timber cutter. He abandoned this in 1926 upon hearing about the

Edie Creek Mining in Papua New Guinea is an important part of the Papua New Guinea economy. History Up until 1970, there was little mineral extraction in Papua New Guinea. Since the 1970s, mineral extraction has dominated the national economy. With th ...

gold strike in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. He was soon followed to New Guinea by his brothers Paddy, Jim and Danny, while another brother, Tom, remained in Toowoomba. After suffering from an almost fatal bout of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

upon trying to reach the gold fields, Leahy instead took a construction and labour management job.

Explorer

200px, Michael Leahy filming the exploration party to the Wahgi Valley Mick Leahy with Mick Dwyer walked across New Guinea in 1930 and disproved the prevailing opinion that the interior of the island was unpopulated. In 1931, together with his brother Patrick, he explored the

Kukukuku The Angu or Änga people, also called Kukukuku (pronounced "cookah-cookah") are a small and previously violent and cannibal group speaking a number of related languagesEthnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth Edition, M. Paul Lewis, editor ...

land. Mick and his brother Danny were leaders of the 1933 expedition into the Western Highlands. He also made two pioneering airplane flights into the western highlands, discovering the

Wahgi Valley Waghi (also spelled Wahgi) may refer to: Geography *North Waghi Rural LLG *South Waghi Rural LLG *North Waghi District *Anglimp-South Waghi District *Waghi River Languages *Wahgi language *Chimbu–Wahgi languages The Chimbu–Wahgi languages a ...

, taking thousands of photographs and movie film. He was one of the first Europeans to reach and climb the country's second tallest mountain –

Mount Giluwe Mount Giluwe is the second highest mountain in Papua New Guinea at ( Mount Wilhelm being the highest), and the fifth highest peak on the island of New Guinea. It is located in the Southern Highlands province and is an old shield volcano with v ...

(1934). However,

Jack Hides Jack Gordon Hides (24 June 1906 – 19 June 1938) was an explorer of the then-Australian-controlled territories of Papua and New Guinea, now modern Papua New Guinea. He served as a Patrol Officer from 1931 to 1936, and led several expeditions in ...

had also laid claim to be the first to discover Mount Giluwe, so Leahy went to England in 1935 and forced the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

to set up a hearing into the two opposing claims. The following year Leahy was awarded the

Murchison Award The Murchison Award, also referred to as the Murchison Grant, was first given by the Royal Geographical Society in 1882 for publications judged to have contributed most to geographical science in preceding recent years. Recipients Source (1882–1 ...

by the Society and published his discoveries in their journal. Leahy believed in his right to go anywhere in New Guinea, in pursuit of gold, and he was accorded the right to penetrate the Highlands by the Administration. His diaries record that he and his party were responsible for 41 deaths between 1930 and 1934.'Middle Kingdom' by James Sinclair, 2016, p. 85 In 1936, revelations of these deaths led to an inquiry, led by ADO (''Assistant District Officer'') Jim Taylor. He concluded that Leahy had acted in self-defence, and viewed such deaths as inevitable if prospectors were afforded the right to explore territories beyond the control of the colonial authorities. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he joined the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

as a flight lieutenant and was assigned to the US chief engineer to build an airstrip in

Telefomin Telefomin is a station town on the border of Sandaun and Western Provinces in Papua New Guinea. The town started during the Second World War after Mick Leahy was assigned to engineer an air-strip in 1944 for the United States for use against the ...

. For his services during the war Leahy was awarded the US Medal of Freedom with bronze palm in 1948, appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) in 1952 and made an honorary member of the

Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

in 1959. The 1983 award-winning documentary film ' First Contact' is about the exploration of the Wahgi Valley and

Mount Hagen Mount Hagen ( tpi, Maun Hagen) is the third largest city in Papua New Guinea, with a population of 46,250. It is the capital of the Western Highlands Province and is located in the large fertile Wahgi Valley in central mainland Papua New Guinea, ...

in Papua New Guinea based on much of Leahy's footage. He died at Zenag in

Morobe Province Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands P ...

, in 1979.

Bibliography

Books and papers authored or coauthored by Leahy include: * Leahy, Michael. (1936). ''The Central Highlands of New Guinea''. Royal Geographical Society: London. (pp. 229–262 in the ''Geographical Journal''). * Leahy, Michael J. (Ed: Douglas E. Jones). (1994). ''Explorations into Highland New Guinea, 1930-1935''. Crawford House Press: Bathurst. * Leahy, Michael J.; & Crain, Maurice. (1937). ''The Land That Time Forgot. Adventure and Discoveries in New Guinea''. Funk & Wagnalls: New York.

References

Bright Sparcs Biographical entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leahy, Mick 1901 births 1979 deaths People from Toowoomba Australian people of Irish descent History of Papua New Guinea Explorers of Papua New Guinea Australian explorers 20th-century explorers Royal Australian Air Force officers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Territory of New Guinea people Territory of Papua people