What on earth happened to pioneer Percy?

IT'S 100 years tomorrow since British explorer Percy Fawcett mysteriously disappeared in the Amazon jungle on a quest to find a lost ancient city.

- Here, JAMES MOORE

The ex-army Colonel was an experienced surveyor who'd made numerous trips to unexplored regions of South America. He was also a colourful character, having once claimed to have shot a 62ft anaconda.

In April 1925, the 57-year-old set off in search of what he dubbed the "lost city of Z" in the remote Mato Grosso jungle of Brazil.

He'd been inspired by finding shards of pottery and talk of fabulous ruins in an 18th Century Portuguese document known as Manuscript 512.

LOST OR STARVED?

PERHAPS the party simply got lost in the vast and dense jungle, running out of supplies and dying of starvation or illness.

This was the view of a fellow explorer at the time, Henry Costin, who believed Fawcett's previously good relations with natives would have protected him from attack by them.

Fawcett had been travelling successfully in South America since 1906. He also usually made sure he was well equipped with everything from animals and canned foods to flares and navigational tools.

But, by 1925, he was short of funds and was known to be travelling light. Had his passion to find Z led to him setting off unprepared?