IN 1840 the Polish explorer and geologist Paul Edmund Strzelecki climbed the Snowy Mountains ascending from the Murray River. He was aiming towards a small snowy peak a little higher than the surrounding craggy mountains. With him were two British explorers and two Aboriginal guides leading them into their sacred lands.
They reached the summit of Australia’s highest mountain on 15 February 1840.
Strzelecki noted the peak had a striking resemblance to mound over the tomb of General Tadeuss Kosciuszko back home in Krakow. He therefore named it Mount Kosciuszko. |
