of the expedition. One member of the party, a boy of 16, was too young to be of much use and the leader's treatment of the two Aboriginal members of the party was lacking in tact and consideration. A good deal of responsibility therefore fell upon Gilbert, who was the best bushman of a very mixed company. The progress made for several months was much less than was anticipated and, by May 1845, supplies of food were running very short. Death On 28 June 1845 at the Mitchell River near Dunbar, Queensland on the Cape York Peninsula near the Gulf of Carpentaria, Gilbert was killed by a flying spear when natives made a night attack on the expedition's camp, because some of their women had been molested by the two Aboriginal members of the Leichhardt party. There still exists some controversy over his death – the wound was apparently smaller than a spear, and some suggest he died from accidental shooting by one of his companions. He was buried on the spot, a tree nearby was marked, and a fire was lit over the disturbed earth to screen the grave; this, although much searched for, has not since been found. Aftermath Other members of the expedition received several spear thrusts but recovered. Leichhardt then turned south-westerly, skirting the gulf for a while, and reached Port Essington almost exhausted in December 1845. Leichhardt preserved Gilbert's papers and his diary, which, however, was lost for nearly 100 years before its discovery by A. H. Chisholm. Almost everything known about Gilbert is owed to Chisholm's research, which shows Gilbert as a man of much ability and fine character who had a great respect for the Aboriginal peoples. Legacy There is a memorial to John Gilbert in St James' Church, Sydney. John Gilbert's memorial at St James' church is inscribed with the Latin phrase Dulce et decorum est pro scientia mori, which may be translated as "it is sweet and fitting to die for science." There is also a memorial to Gilbert at Gilbert's Lookout at Taroom. Various geographic features have been named after him, including: Gilbert River, flowing into the Gulf of Carpentaria Gilberton, on the Gilbert River headwaters Gilbert River Telegraph Station, between Croydon and Georgetown Gilbert Range, near the Dawson Valley Gilbert's Dome, in the Peak Range in Central Queensland Gilbert's potoroo (Potorous gilbertii ), a species of mammal, was named