Records of the Burke and Wills Expedition
Records of the Burke and Wills Expedition

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1857

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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The records of the expedition, including correspondence, despatches and reports; the field notes of William John Wills (second in command); the minutes of the Royal Society (1857-1862); sketches of Ludwig Becker. Other groups relating to the various relief expeditions include the diaries of A.W. Howitt, records of W. Landsborough's contingent party, and the expeditions of Captain Norman and F. Walker. Includes a testimonial to John King from East Collingwood Municipal Council, 16th December, 1861 and a certificate presented to John King, as the only survivor of the advanced party of the Victorian Exploration Expedition, also several other certificates (MC 5, DR 2) ; Agreements, dated 1860-1861 (MC 5, DR 6). Includes a contract drawn up between the R.S.V. Exploration Committee and Huxley, Parker and Co. for work required in the erection of a monument in the Melbourne General Cemetery. Dated 22 April, 1863 (MCFB 1). Includes: A letter, sent from Burke to Messrs. Milton and Wicks, ordering trousers, a shirt and boots. Undated. Mounted on cardboard ; Testimonials presented to John King by the Chairman and members of the municipal council of Amherst ; A testimonial to John King from the Mayor, Aldermen, Councillors and citizens of the City of Melbourne, dated 9th December 1861. Mounted on wood. (MCFB 7)

The Aboriginal Story of Burke and Wills
The Aboriginal Story of Burke and Wills

Author: Ian Clark

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2013-07-22

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 0643108106

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The Aboriginal Story of Burke and Wills is the first major study of Aboriginal associations with the Burke and Wills expedition of 1860–61. A main theme of the book is the contrast between the skills, perceptions and knowledge of the Indigenous people and those of the new arrivals, and the extent to which this affected the outcome of the expedition. The book offers a reinterpretation of the literature surrounding Burke and Wills, using official correspondence, expedition journals and diaries, visual art, and archaeological and linguistic research – and then complements this with references to Aboriginal oral histories and social memory. It highlights the interaction of expedition members with Aboriginal people and their subsequent contribution to Aboriginal studies. The book also considers contemporary and multi-disciplinary critiques that the expedition members were, on the whole, deficient in bush craft, especially in light of the expedition’s failure to use Aboriginal guides in any systematic way. Generously illustrated with historical photographs and line drawings, The Aboriginal Story of Burke and Wills is an important resource for Indigenous people, Burke and Wills history enthusiasts and the wider community. This book is the outcome of an Australian Research Council project.

Following Burke and Wills Across Australia
Following Burke and Wills Across Australia

Author: Dave Phoenix

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2015-06

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 1486301592

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Every Australian has heard of Burke and Wills but few have travelled in their footsteps. In 2008, historian Dave Phoenix decided to walk across Australia from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria, following the track taken by the ill-fated Burke and Wills Expedition. Now you can follow them too. Following Burke and Wills Across Australia guides you on a road trip that follows one of history’s great transcontinental journeys, sharing the explorers’ experiences on the way. Maps lay out a route that takes you as close as possible to the Expedition’s track. As you travel the outback roads, you can learn all the details of the day to day journey of the Expedition from the explorers’ own words, and compare what you see with their descriptions of the country in 1860–61. Each chapter provides information about what to see now: the location and descriptions of the markers and memorials placed along the route over the 150 years since the Expedition, and places where you can stand where the explorers stood and look out over prospects they drew and described. The book is a perfect companion for those wanting to see outback Australia, and at the same time understand a journey that has attained mythic status in the history of Australian exploration. Even if you want to follow only part of the track, this is the book for you.

Burke and Wills
Burke and Wills

Author: Edmund Bernard Joyce

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2011-11-02

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 0643103325

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Reveals for the first time the true extent and limits of the scientific achievements of the Burke and Wills Expedition.

Burke and Wills
Burke and Wills

Author: EB Joyce

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2011-11-02

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 0643103341

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This book challenges the common assumption that little or nothing of scientific value was achieved during the Burke and Wills expedition. The Royal Society of Victoria initiated the Victorian Exploring Expedition as a serious scientific exploration of hitherto unexplored regions of inland and northern Australia. Members of the expedition were issued with detailed instructions on scientific measurements and observations to be carried out, covering about a dozen areas of science. The tragic ending of the expedition meant that most of the results of the scientific investigations were not reported or published. Burke and Wills: The Scientific Legacy of the Victorian Exploring Expedition rectifies this historic omission. It includes the original instructions as well as numerous paintings and drawings, documents the actual science undertaken as recorded in notebooks and diaries, and analyses the outcomes. It reveals for the first time the true extent and limits of the scientific achievements of both the Burke and Wills expedition and the various relief expeditions which followed. Importantly, this new book has led to a re-appraisal of the shortcomings and the successes of the journey. It will be a compelling read for all those interested in the history of exploration, science and natural history, as well as Australian history and heritage.

Starvation in a Land of Plenty
Starvation in a Land of Plenty

Author: Michael Cathcart

Publisher: National Library Australia

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 0642277907

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When Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills set out on their fateful journey with the Victorian Exploring Expedition, Wills brought with him a diary in which to record his experiences. His entries would go on to help historians understand the circumstances that led to the tragic end of the expedition. Today, the diary is held by the National Library of Australia and forms the foundation of Starvation in a Land of Plenty. Between 23 April and 28 June 1861, Wills documented the torments and disappointments that led to his and Burke’s destruction. Surprising to many, though, Wills was not the second-in-command but, rather, the party’s ‘surveyor, astronomical and meteorological observer’. His resulting misfortune and the words he left behind have transformed the young English surveyor into both an Australian martyr and hero. Combined with images from the Library’s collection, this poignant and telling publication draws on Wills’ at times matter-of-fact account of his fatal weeks, revealing him to have been a man of great dignity and bravery.

The Expedition of Burke and Wills & the Search to Find Them (by Burke, Wills, King & Walker)
The Expedition of Burke and Wills & the Search to Find Them (by Burke, Wills, King & Walker)

Author: Robert O. Burke

Publisher: Oxford City Press

Published: 2011-08-01

Total Pages: 76

ISBN-13: 9781849023504

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British explorers Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills set out in 1860 to explore the Australian outback -- they never returned, but their journals tell their story. One year later, a search party led by Frederick Walker left to find them. Though unsuccessful, they discovered what had happened to the intrepid explorers.

Dig
Dig

Author: Craig Cormick

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 9781740271387

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Burke and Wills
Burke and Wills

Author: Peter FitzSimons

Publisher: Hachette Australia

Published: 2017-10-31

Total Pages: 702

ISBN-13: 0733634095

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The iconic Australian exploration story - brought to life by Peter FitzSimons, Australia's storyteller. 'They have left here today!' he calls to the others. When King puts his hand down above the ashes of the fire, it is to find it still hot. There is even a tiny flame flickering from the end of one log. They must have left just hours ago. MELBOURNE, 20 AUGUST 1860. In an ambitious quest to be the first Europeans to cross the harsh Australian continent, the Victorian Exploring Expedition sets off, farewelled by 15,000 cheering well-wishers. Led by Robert O'Hara Burke, a brave man totally lacking in the bush skills necessary for his task; surveyor and meteorologist William Wills; and 17 others, the expedition took 20 tons of equipment carried on six wagons, 23 horses and 26 camels. Almost immediately plagued by disputes and sackings, the expeditioners battled the extremes of the Australian landscape and weather: its deserts, the boggy mangrove swamps of the Gulf, the searing heat and flooding rains. Food ran short and, unable to live off the land, the men nevertheless mostly spurned the offers of help from the local Indigenous people. In desperation, leaving the rest of the party at the expedition's depot on Coopers Creek, Burke, Wills, Charley Gray and John King made a dash for the Gulf in December 1860. Bad luck and bad management would see them miss by just hours a rendezvous back at Coopers Creek, leaving them stranded in the wilderness with practically no supplies. Only King survived to tell the tale. Yet, despite their tragic fates, the names of Burke and Wills have become synonymous with perseverance and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. They live on in our nation's history - and their story remains immediate and compelling.