In 1860, Robert O’Hara Burke would lead an expedition into the Australian outback in an attempt to be the first to cross the continent. The resulting endeavor would become one of the great stories of exploration (and not always for the right reasons). The expedition is a grand tale of adventure, death, triumph and tragedy.
Episodes
The first episode in the Burke and Wills Expedition series provides background to the endeavor – which was an expedition to cross Australia in 1860-61. We are introduced to the organizers of the expedition – Royal Society of Victoria – and its eventual leader, Robert Burke.
The Burke and Wills Expedition – Part 1 – Australia, the Royal Society of Victoria and Robert Burke
The first episode in the series provides background to the endeavor – which was an expedition to cross Australia in 1860-61. We are introduced to the organizers of the expedition – Royal Society of Victoria – and its eventual leader, Robert Burke.
Download this episode or listen online.
The Burke and Wills Expedition – Part 2 – Preparation and Departure
Robert Burke and the Exploration Committee hire men for the Victorian Exploring Expedition (VEE), including William Wills – who will serve the expedition’s surveyor, meteorologist, and astronomer. The VEE, consisting of 19 men, 26 camels, 23 horse, six wagons, and 200 tons of supplies, then prepares to depart Melbourne in August of 1860. The goal is to be the first men to cross the Australian continent.
Download this episode or listen online.
The Burke and Wills Expedition – Part 3 – Menindee
The first episode in the series provides background to the endeavor – which was an expedition to cross Australia in 1860-61. We are introduced to the organizers of the expedition – Royal Society of Victoria – and its eventual leader, Robert Burke.
Download this episode or listen online.
The Burke and Wills Expedition – Part 4 – Cooper’s Creek
The first episode in the series provides background to the endeavor – which was an expedition to cross Australia in 1860-61. We are introduced to the organizers of the expedition – Royal Society of Victoria – and its eventual leader, Robert Burke.
Download this episode or listen online.
The Burke and Wills Expedition – Part 5 – Across Australia
The first episode in the series provides background to the endeavor – which was an expedition to cross Australia in 1860-61. We are introduced to the organizers of the expedition – Royal Society of Victoria – and its eventual leader, Robert Burke.
Download this episode or listen online.
The Burke and Wills Expedition – Part 6 – The Return
The first episode in the series provides background to the endeavor – which was an expedition to cross Australia in 1860-61. We are introduced to the organizers of the expedition – Royal Society of Victoria – and its eventual leader, Robert Burke.
Download this episode or listen online.
The Burke and Wills Expedition – Part 7 – The Mount Hopeless Gambit
The first episode in the series provides background to the endeavor – which was an expedition to cross Australia in 1860-61. We are introduced to the organizers of the expedition – Royal Society of Victoria – and its eventual leader, Robert Burke.
Download this episode or listen online.
The Burke and Wills Expedition – Part 8 – The Fate of John King and the Legacy of the VEE
The first episode in the series provides background to the endeavor – which was an expedition to cross Australia in 1860-61. We are introduced to the organizers of the expedition – Royal Society of Victoria – and its eventual leader, Robert Burke.
Download this episode or listen online.
Maps
The map includes the modern borders of of most of the states of Australia, however, in 1860, the interior borders were not yet established. Most of the settlements were on the coast of the continent – even in the most populated areas (in the south and east).
Map source: By Rocketfrog at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4173494
People and Places
Institutions and Organizations
- Royal Society of Victoria – aka The Society. Scientific society based in Melbourne. The Society will organize the expedition.
- Exploration Committee – The committee of the Society which oversaw the Burke and Wills Expedition.
- Victoria Exploring Expedition (VEE) – The official name of the expedition led by Robert Burke to cross the Australian continent.
Members of the Royal Society of Victoria and/or the Exploration Committee
- Sir William Stawell – Important member of the Society, and Chief Justice of Victoria.
- John Macadam – Secretary of the Exploration Committee.
- John Bruce – Wealthy Australian businessman who supported Robert Burke’s bid to lead the expedition.
- Georg von Neumayer – Professor and member of the Exploration Committee.
- Captain Francis Cadell – Steamship owner and member of the Exploration Committee. Offered to take the company’s supplies by boat to Menindee.
Members of the Victorian Exploring Expedition
- Robert O’Hara Burke – Irish police superintendent from Castlemaine. Leader of the expedition.
- William Wills – British surveyor and astronomer who will eventually become the second-in-command of the VEE.
- William Wright – Bushman who would join Burke at Menindee as a guide, and then hired on to lead the relief expedition to Cooper’s Creek.
- George Landells – Horse trader who brought 25 camels to Australia, and second-in-command of the VEE.
- Hermann Beckler – German doctor and botanist of the expedition.
- Ludwig Becker – German. Expedition’s geologist and naturalist.
- John King – 22-year old Irishman and ex-British soldier. Came from India with camels. He would accompany Burke and Wills to the north coast of the continent.
- William Hodgkinson – Journalist who joined expedition at Swan Hill.
- Alexander McPherson – Saddler who would join Lyons and Dick in an attempt to reach Burke at Cooper’s Creek.
- Charley Gray – VEE member who was selected to go with Burke and Wills to the north coast of Australia.
- Dick – Aboriginal Guide who accompanied Burke – and then Lyons – to the north.
- Peter – Aboriginal Guide who accompanied Hermann Beckler to rescue Lyons and MacPherson.
Others of Note
- Alfred Howitt – English explorer and naturalist who was hired by the Royal Society of Victoria to head north and find out what has happened to Robert Burke and his men.
- Julia Matthews – 18 year old actress who Burke had fallen in love with.
- Trooper Myles Lyons – Policeman from Swan Hill bringing dispatches to Robert Burke.
- Peter Edgerton Warburton – aka Major Warburton – Police Commissioner of South Australia and candidate to lead the VEE.
- Gustov von Tempsky – Prussian adventurer and candidate to lead the VEE.
- Charles Sturt – British soldier who had explored Australia – discovering Cooper’s Creek in 1844.
- John McDouall Stuart – Scottish explorer who would be the chief competitor with the VEE to blaze a route across Australia.
- Augustus Gregory – Explorer who had gone from Brisbane to Adelaide in 1858. He turned down the opportunity to lead the VEE, but recommended any expedition go to Cooper’s Creek and set up a depot – and use it as a base for striking out to the north.
Places
- Menindee – Most northerly outpost on the route of the VEE in their trek across Australia. About 400 miles from Melbourne.
- 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.
- Gulf of Carpentaria – The most direct route from Victoria to the northern coast of Australia – roughly a 1500 mile journey across the continent.
- Selwyn Range – Rugged mountain range in the interior of Australia that the expedition would need to cross.
Select Resources and Links
The following are some good books and links regarding the Burke and Wills Expedition.
The Dig Tree: A True Story of Bravery, Insanity, and the Race to Discover Australia’s Wild Frontier by Sarah Murgatroyd – Excellent book on the expedition.
Burke and Wills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Australia’s Most Famous by Peter FitzSimons – Another well done book on the expedition.
Cooper’s Creek: Tragedy and Adventure in the Australian Outback by Alan Moorehead is another good book, but it is dated (it was written in 1963).
Burke and Wills Digital Archive – Online collection of all the original source material – as well as links to other resources – for the expedition.
Sketches of Ludwig Becker – Becker’s wonderful sketches and drawings are in the State Library of Victoria.
Dig: The Burke & Wills Research Gateway – Great online resource from the State Library of Victoria.
Menindee – by Neil Murray – Cool song about the Burke and Wills Expedition.
Wikipedia links
Sketches of Ludwig Becker
Ludwig Becker, the expedition’s naturalist, was a talented artist. He would produce dozens of wonderful drawings and sketches during his time with the VEE. Below are a few of those. You can see all the drawings online at the State Library of Victoria.
Explorers Podcast 