Explorer: Harold Lasseter claimed to have found an El Dorado in Australia in 1911 . Explorers are restarting an extraordinary hunt for an Australian El Dorado that a gold-seeker first claimed to have found in 1911 - after using Google Earth to plot where they believe it stands. The men from Tamworth, New South Wales, have made five trips to an area near the border of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, where it was first claimed that a gold reef was found. Harold Bell Lasseter said in 1929 that 18 years ago he had discovered a reef buried under sand hills in the remote Gibson Desert - and received backing from Sydney financiers to find it again. He was deserted by his companions and . camels during the mission and eventually died of exhaustion and . malnutrition - but still found the reef, according to his diary which . was later found. It was . discovered in a cave in the Petermann Ranges, south-west of Alice . Springs, and a series of expeditions in the next few years failed in . their attempts to find the gold, reported The Independent. But . eight decades later there are still faint hopes that the treasure could . still be located - by a team involving friends Jeff Harris and Brendan . Elliott, who have wanted to find it since they were children. They . have been through Mr Lasseter's diary, which includes sketches and . accounts of his last journey, and traced this by matching landmarks with . features on the Google Earth maps software. Gold? Harold Bell Lasseter said in 1929 that 18 years ago he had discovered a reef buried under sand hills in the remote Gibson Desert (pictured) - and received backing from Sydney financiers to find it again . Remembered: Harold Bell Lasseter's grave at the Alice Springs Cemetery in the Northern Territory, Australia. He was deserted by his companions and camels during a mission and died of exhaustion and malnutrition . ‘Every mark he put in his diary, I followed it,’ Mr Harris told The Independent. ‘Every picture in the diary, I matched on Google Earth. I drove my missus nuts once I started working it out. One year later he found what he thought was a huge quartz outcrop. Quartz often suggests that gold is present - and he has since made five trips to the area, convinced he has found the reef. They will go out again in the next few months, and are convinced - despite the doubts of the government, local people and mining companies - that they will find the gold this time. ‘We've not found any gold yet, but we're sure there's gold there,’ he told the newspaper. ‘We've got no backers - it's just me and eight or nine mates.’ Discovery: His diary was discovered in a cave in the Petermann Ranges (pictured) in Australia and a series of expeditions in the next few years failed in their attempts to find the gold . The area where the gold is believed to stand is a four-hour helicopter flight from the Aboriginal community of Warburton, the nearest inhabited area, and is 22 miles off a rough track. Mr Lasseter's son Bob, 88, has travelled to the desert more than 10 times to search for the landmarks identified by his father - and also believes the gold exists. ‘I've found the cave where he sheltered for a month or so, and the sand hill where the camels bolted,’ he told The Independent. ‘I'd like somebody to find it before I die. To me, it's real.’
Men have been five times to area in remote Gibson Desert, Australia .
Harold Bell Lasseter said in 1929 that he had discovered reef in 1911 .
Received backing to find the gold again - but died 'after he located it'
His diary was found in cave and it showed route he took to get there .
Jeff Harris and Brendan Elliott have tracked journey on Google Earth .
Explorer: Harold Lasseter claimed to have found an El Dorado in Australia in 1911 . Explorers are restarting an extraordinary hunt for an Australian El Dorado that a gold-seeker first claimed to have found in 1911 - after using Google Earth to plot where they believe it stands. The men from Tamworth, New South Wales, have made five trips to an area near the border of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, where it was first claimed that a gold reef was found. Harold Bell Lasseter said in 1929 that 18 years ago he had discovered a reef buried under sand hills in the remote Gibson Desert - and received backing from Sydney financiers to find it again. He was deserted by his companions and . camels during the mission and eventually died of exhaustion and . malnutrition - but still found the reef, according to his diary which . was later found. It was . discovered in a cave in the Petermann Ranges, south-west of Alice . Springs, and a series of expeditions in the next few years failed in . their attempts to find the gold, reported The Independent. But . eight decades later there are still faint hopes that the treasure could . still be located - by a team involving friends Jeff Harris and Brendan . Elliott, who have wanted to find it since they were children. They . have been through Mr Lasseter's diary, which includes sketches and . accounts of his last journey, and traced this by matching landmarks with . features on the Google Earth maps software. Gold? Harold Bell Lasseter said in 1929 that 18 years ago he had discovered a reef buried under sand hills in the remote Gibson Desert (pictured) - and received backing from Sydney financiers to find it again . Remembered: Harold Bell Lasseter's grave at the Alice Springs Cemetery in the Northern Territory, Australia. He was deserted by his companions and camels during a mission and died of exhaustion and malnutrition . ‘Every mark he put in his diary, I followed it,’ Mr Harris told The Independent. ‘Every picture in the diary, I matched on Google Earth. I drove my missus nuts once I started working it out. One year later he found what he thought was a huge quartz outcrop. Quartz often suggests that gold is present - and he has since made five trips to the area, convinced he has found the reef. They will go out again in the next few months, and are convinced - despite the doubts of the government, local people and mining companies - that they will find the gold this time. ‘We've not found any gold yet, but we're sure there's gold there,’ he told the newspaper. ‘We've got no backers - it's just me and eight or nine mates.’ Discovery: His diary was discovered in a cave in the Petermann Ranges (pictured) in Australia and a series of expeditions in the next few years failed in their attempts to find the gold . The area where the gold is believed to stand is a four-hour helicopter flight from the Aboriginal community of Warburton, the nearest inhabited area, and is 22 miles off a rough track. Mr Lasseter's son Bob, 88, has travelled to the desert more than 10 times to search for the landmarks identified by his father - and also believes the gold exists. ‘I've found the cave where he sheltered for a month or so, and the sand hill where the camels bolted,’ he told The Independent. ‘I'd like somebody to find it before I die. To me, it's real.’
claimed to have found in 1911 - after using Google Earth to plot where they believe it found. Harold Bell Lasseter said in 1929 that 18 sand hills in the remote Gibson Desert - and the reef, according to his diary which . was involving friends Jeff Harris and Brendan . said in 1929 that 18 years ago he had discovered attempts to find the gold . The area where the