In part 4 of our series, Burke and Wills travel north to Cooper’s Creek, where they establish a supply depot. Burke will spend a month scouting the area, before finally departing for the north coast in mid-December. At Menindee, William Wright waits for money to buy more horses so he can haul all the supplies to Burke’s new camp. Meanwhile, a policeman, Trooper Myles Lyons, strikes out for Cooper’s Creek carrying dispatches for Burke.

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Maps

People and Places

• Robert O’Hara Burke – Leader of the Victorian Exploring Expedition (VEE)
• William Wills – British surveyor and astronomer. 2nd-in-command of the expedition.
• Victoria Exploring Expedition (VEE) – The official name of the expedition led by Robert Burke to cross the Australian continent.
• John McDouall Stuart – Scottish explorer who was the chief competitor with the VEE to blaze a route across Australia.
• Hermann Beckler – German doctor and botanist.
• Ludwig Becker – German geologist and naturalist.
• William Wright – Bushman who joined the VEE at Menindee.
• John King – 22-year old ex-soldier. Selected by Burke to be part of the contingent going to the north coast.
• Trooper Myles Lyons – Policeman from Swan Hill bringing dispatches to Robert Burke.
• Alexander McPherson – Saddler who would join Lyons and Dick in an attempt to reach Burke at Cooper’s Creek.
• William Hodgkinson – Journalist who joined the expedition at Swan Hill.
• Dick – Aboriginal Guide who accompanied Burke – and then Lyons – to the north.
• Peter – Aboriginal Guide who accompanied Hermann Beckler to rescue Lyons and MacPherson.
• Thomas McDonough – VEE member who accompanied Burke and Wills to Cooper’s Creek.
• Charley Gray – VEE member who was selected to go with Burke and Wills to the north coast of Australia.
• Cooper’s Creek – River in central Australia. It is about halfway across the continent if someone is traveling between Melbourne and Gulf of Carpentaria in the north. About 750 miles from Melbourne.
• Menindee – Most northerly outpost on the route of the VEE in their trek across Australia. About 400 miles from Melbourne.
• Gulf of Carpentaria – The most direct route from Victoria to the northern coast of Australia – roughly a 1500 mile journey across the continent.