Undeterred by his illness, Lorentz organized and led the South New Guinea Expedition in 1904. This venture aimed to penetrate the interior of the island via the rivers. It was during this expedition that Lorentz made history. On February 24, 1905, he and his team reached the snow line of the Wilhelmina Peak (now known as Puncak Trikora). He became the first European to achieve this feat, proving that the island's central mountain range supported a true alpine ecosystem with permanent snow, a discovery that captivated the scientific world. He collected vast numbers of plant specimens, many of which were new to science, and documented the indigenous peoples and their environments.
Today, Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz is remembered as a pioneering figure in the exploration of New Guinea. His name is permanently etched into the geography of the region through the (now the Sungai Lorentz ) and, most notably, Lorentz National Park . Established in 1997 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park is the largest protected area in Southeast Asia, preserving the diverse ecosystems from glaciers to tropical rainforests that Lorentz was the first to document scientifically. hendrikus albertus lorentz