Strzelecki received his education in Poland. Failling to
        matriculate he briefly joined the Prussian Army. He left Poznan after
        an attempt to elope with a young neighbour, Aleksandryna Turno, to
        whom he wrote for many years. He subsequently travelled extensively in
        Europe before moving to England in 1830. In 1833 he travelled to the
        United States where he worked as a geologist until 1836 when he
        travelled down the western coast of the Americas studying mining.
              He joined the HMS "Fly" and travelled across the Pacific
        studying many of the Island groups before arriving in Sydney in April
        1839. Strzelecki lived in Australia between 1839 and 1843 carrying out
        extensive geological surveys in New South Wales, ascending and naming
        Australia's highest peak, Mt.Kosciusko, travelling through Victoria 
        and Van Diemen's Land, and doing analyses of Van Diemen's Land's coal 
        supplies.
             In 1843 he travelled to London where, in 1845, "Physical
        Descriptions of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land" was published.
        He was awarded a founder's medal by the Royal Geographical Society
        and, in 1845, became a British subject.
             In later life Strzelecki was active in Irish famine relief,
        established his claim as one of Australia's first gold discoverers,
        was an active advocate of emigration to Australia, and was knighted in
        1869. He died in London in October 1873.
 

Sources: The A to Z of Who is Who in Australia's History, Bruce Elder (compiling Editor) 1987.
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2 1788-1850 I-Z, general editor Douglas Pike.