Where Dead Men Lie by Mike and Mal Leyland

Where Dead Men Lie

by Mike and Mal Leyland

Ure Smith, Walkabout Pocketbooks, 1970, colour photographic plates, paperback

Very Good Condition, a little edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges, and corners, some markings to front endpapers (see photographs)

“Four young men and a girl set out to drive across a desert in one of the most lonely and brutally harsh regions on earth.  Ahead of them lay 111 days of searing heat, chilling cold and torrential rain – 4,000 miles of muscle-wrenching travel through the un-tracked wilderness of the Australian Outback.  Mike and Mal Leyland and their three companions were attempting to become the first people to drive motor vehicles from the western to the eastern-most extremity of the Australian continent.  Their journey took them across the paths of many who had perished in the wilderness; the paths of unsuccessful explorers and murdered Aboriginies – a route where dead men still lie.
This is a story with high points of excitement and humour, as fie city-bred young people meet the challenges and unforgettable people of the “Dead Heart”.  The Leylands were told they were mad to attempt the crossing.  Never before had motor vehicles made the treacherous journey across the ”killer” Simpson Desert which lay in their path.  But the expedition confounded its critics.  Not only was the crossing completed but the Leyland brothers shot film for 1 ½ hour colour documentary film and Keith Davey, the expedition naturalist, collected a unique array of rare reptile, insect and bird specimens.  Here is a story which proves that the spirit of adventure that sparked the early exploration of Australia still lives today.”