|
First
published
on
Thursday
12
February
2004:
Richard
Lander
remembered
Few
people
visiting
Truro
may
realize
that
a
tall
monument
overlooking
Lemon
Street
commemorates
the
life
of
a
Cornish
explorer
who
discovered
the
termination
point
of
the
River
Niger
in
1830
or
that
a
nearby
school
is
named
after
him.
But
to
the
city,
the
adventures
of
Richard
Lander
in
the
early
1800s
form
an
important
part
of
the
city's
history
and
it
was
fitting
that
local
businessman
Simon
Hendra
organized
events
at
the
weekend
which
formed
part
of
a
program
marking
the
explorer's
200th
birthday
and
at
the
same
time
seeking
to
raise
his
profile.
Lemon
Gallery
Exhibition
Mr
Hendra's
family
owns
the
Lemon
Street
Market
and
it
was
there
on
Saturday
that
people
were
able
to
see
a
presentation
from
the
Police
Expeditionary
Team
who
are
planning
to
retrace
Lander's
footsteps
in
Africa
for
the
second
time
in
November.
Also
present
were
Lander's
great-great-great
nieces
as
well
as
Sybil
Rabey
who
had
with
her
a
celebratory
mug
issued
in
1934
with
the
inscription
"Richard
Lander,
died
1834,
Centenary
Celebrations,
Truro
1934.
Signed
F.R.
Pascoe,
mayor."
The
exhibition
in
the
market
certainly
caused
a
lot
of
interest
and
Mr
Hendra
was
delighted
with
the
reaction.
The
expeditionary
team
also
showed
photographs
of
their
last
journey
down
the
River
Niger.
It
is
now
hoped
that
the
monument
at
the
top
of
Lemon
Street
can
also
be
restored
and
that
more
interest
might
be
taken
in
Truro's
famous
explorer.
Mr
Hendra
told
the
Packet
that
he
was
concerned
about
the
state
of
the
statue
at
the
top
of
Lemon
Street.
He
and
his
brother
Viv,
who
runs
the
Lander
gallery
in
the
Lemon
Street
Market,
used
to
live
near
to
the
monument
and
had
always
been
fascinated
by
the
story
of
Lander's
expedition
to
Africa.
"Pollution
has
been
the
main
cause
of
the
deterioration
of
the
stone,"
he
said.
He
thought
it
had
been
built
with
similar
stone
to
that
used
in
Truro
Cathedral.
The
monument
was
also
struck
by
lightening
a
few
years
ago,
he
added.
"In
an
ideal
world,
if
it
could
be
restored
that
would
be
great.
If
it
can't
be
restored,
perhaps
we
could
have
a
modern
tribute
to
Richard
Lander,
maybe
on
the
piazza
at
Lemon
Quay."
Truro
Cathedral
He
said
Richard
Lander
"was
such
a
significant
figure
of
his
generation.
My
concern
was
that
his
200th
anniversary
was
upon
us
and
there
were
on
official
celebrations
scheduled."
Mr
Hendra
has
been
invited
to
take
part
in
the
anniversary
expedition
and
is
seriously
considering
taking
up
the
offer.
"It
would
be
a
once-in-a-lifetime
experience,"
he
said.
In
Africa,
Lander
was
known
as
"Nasarah
Curramee"
or
"Little
Christian".
There
is
also
an
island
in
the
River
Niger
called
Truro
and
a
hill
known
as
Cornwall
Mountain.
It
is
to
mark
the
anniversary
of
his
birth
in
1804
and
to
celebrate
his
achievements
that
the
Metropolitan
Police
Expedition
Society
will
trace
his
800-kilometre
(497-mile)
route
along
the
River
Niger
in
November.
"He
was
a
fantastic
man,"
said
Megan
Lander,
one
of
his
great,
great,
great
granddaughters.
"The
achievements
of
him
and
his
brother
John
are
quite
amazing.
So
many
people
have
forgotten
who
he
was
and
what
he
did
and
yet
he
is
a
household
name
in
Nigeria."
The
expedition
later
this
year
will
be
accompanied
by
one
of
Lander's
direct
descendants
and
their
journey
will
conclude
with
a
visit
to
his
grave.
"It
seems
ironic
that
his
story
is
part
of
the
education
in
Nigeria,"
said
Steve
Dunstone,
of
the
Metropolitan
Police
Expedition
Society.
It
was
an
anomaly
that
he
was
not
better
known
in
the
United
Kingdom.
Richard
Lemon
Lander
was
born
in
1804
and
made
three
trips
to
West
Africa.
He
and
his
brother
John
were
the
first
Europeans
to
canoe
down
the
lower
Niger
River
to
its
delta
estuary.
Born,
it
is
claimed,
in
the
Fighting
Cocks
Inn,
Truro,
Richard
Lander
had
no
formal
education,
but
went
on
an
extended
trip
to
the
West
Indies
as
a
child.
As
a
young
man,
he
worked
for
the
Scottish
explorer
Hugh
Clapperton
and
went
with
him
on
a
trip
to
West
Africa.
The
expedition
in
1825
was
designed
to
travel
down
the
Niger
River,
but
it
was
unsuccessful
due
to
illness
and
deaths.
Lander
and
Clapperton
both
had
bouts
of
illness.
Clapperton
died,
as
did
other
companions
on
the
trip.
African
tribesmen
later
accused
Lander
of
witchcraft,
forcing
him
to
drink
poison
to
determine
whether
or
not
he
was
a
witch.
By
surviving
the
charges
were
rescinded
and
Lander
returned
to
England
in
1828.
He
returned
to
West
Africa
with
his
brother
John
in
1830.
They
followed
the
lower
Niger
River
from
Bussa
to
the
sea,
travelling
in
leaky
canoes.
He
later
published
his
"Journal
of
an
Expedition
to
Explore
the
Course
and
Termination
of
the
Niger"
(1832).
Richard
Lander
died
on
his
third
West
African
trip,
1833-1834,
when
he
was
killed
along
the
Niger
River
by
African
tribesmen
on
February
6,
1834. |
|
|
