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The famous Burke and Wills expedition between 1860 and 1861, from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria, was a tragic affair. Although they became the first men to cross Australia from south to north, both Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills died on the return journey.
The Burke and Wills expedition was led by Burke, who was an Irishman, and one of seven children. Burke had absolutely no previous skills in navigation or exploration. He was a soldier in the Irish army and a police officer both in Ireland, and later after he migrated, in Australia.
William John Wills was born in Devon, England, and was one of seven children. He was a surveyor and had trained as a surgeon. Wills was second in command on the Burke and Wills expedition.
In 1860, the Burke and Wills expedition, initially called the Victorian Exploration Expedition, set off from Melbourne with 19 people, 27 camels and 22 horses. It was one of the most expensive expeditions in Australian history, and was lavishly equipped. Among the items taken with the crew, according to the National Museum of Australia, were ‘50 gallons of rum to revive tired camels (there were 27 of them), and an oak table'.
Early Inland Explorers Burke and Wills Fact File
In the 1860s, much of the Australian interior remained uncharted. Some wealthy (gold rush) Victorians were ready to fund expeditions for the purposes of scientific discovery, finding new grazing land, and a place to route an overland telegraph line.
Funding the Victorian Exploration Expedition, was the Victorian Government and the Royal Society of Victoria, who wished to maintain Victoria’s status as the ‘most advanced’ colony.
The Burke and Wills story begins with their departure from the Royal Park in Melbourne on the 20th August 1860, aiming to cross the continent from north to south.
After departing from the Royal Park in Melbourne, the Burke and Wills expedition reached Menindee, near Broken Hill in New South Wales (NSW), on the 23rd September 1860.
As the group progressed northward, it became clear to Burke that the amount of equipment and provisions was overly burdening the expedition. Burke, Wills and two other men left the others and main supplies at the base camp and continued the expedition on their own, hoping to move more rapidly. They advanced to Cooper Creek in Western Queensland, where they established a ‘depot’.
Burke left a local Menindee named William Wright with supplies and instructions for transporting them to Cooper Creek. This took much longer than Burke had hoped for, with Wright not leaving Menindee for three months.
On the 11th November 1860, Burke’s party arrived in Cooper Creek. A month later, he decided to divide the party and set off for Carpentaria with Wills, King, and Gray. They decided to leave William Brahe at the depot with instructions to wait three months for their return.
By February 1861, the Burke and Wills expedition reached the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Track the route of the Burke and Wills expedition, along with many other famous Australian inland explorers, with our handy Australian Inland Explorers Resource Pack.
A heroic failure! Even though Burke and Wills, along with Charles Gray, died during the return of the expedition, Australians still to this day see this as a heroic failure. The expedition initiated the discovery of vast areas of grazing lands, which made possible further European settlement.
The Burke and Wills Australia expedition hit the history books because they were the first Europeans to cross Australia from south to north. They reached the Gulf of Carpentaria in February 1861.
The return journey for explorers Burke and Wills proved tragic. One of the men died on the way back. Burke, Wills and a third man, John King, finally made it back to the depot, but the main group, having waited nearly five months, had left only hours beforehand.
A Victorian relief party fronted by Alfred Howitt and Edwin Welch discovered the bodies of Burke and Wills, whose remains were later recovered and re-buried in Melbourne, Australia. They first found King on the 15th September 1861, who had been living with the Yandruwandha Peoples.
The funeral for Burke and Wills took place on the 21st Jan 1863.
Burke and Wills Proofreading Test
Malnutrition was the cause of death for both Burke and Wills. This was accelerated by the onset of beriberi, which is a thiamine deficiency, Vitamin B1. Burke and Wills had eaten nardoo, which is a clover-like plant, which contains an enzyme to break down thiamine. This plant was popular among the Yandruwandhu Peoples, who took care to prepare the plant while eliminating the enzyme before giving it to Burke and Wills. However, the explorers made the fatal mistake of eating it raw.
Although some food had been buried for the explorers, the men had been too weak from sickness and starvation to survive. Wills buried his notebooks at the depot, and the group left the camp to find their way to Mount Hopeless, but both Burke and Wills had died of starvation on route.
King was cared for by theYandruwandhu Peoples, and was the only one to have survived the expedition.
The legacy left by the explorers included valuable scientific achievements.
Crash Course Podcast Burke and Wills Explorers
Who are Burke and Wills the explorers? Use our teacher-made resources to learn all about these two famous European explorers who made some commendable Australian discoveries. These resources have been carefully crafted by expert teachers to help you cover a topic on Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) on navigators and explorers:
Early Inland Explorers Burke and Wills Fact File - Construct a Burke and Wills timeline using this handy resource containing key Burke and Wills facts, and a Burke and Wills route map. Children might like to use the map to trace the journey of the explorers.
Burke and Wills Proofreading Test - Suitable for Years 5-6. Use this proofreading test to challenge children’s ability to proofread a passage about the Burke and Wills expedition. The passage contains 25 errors for children to find.
Burke and Wills History Mystery Game - Ask your students to imagine they are the great historical detective Hannaford Harper! Their job is to research the clues and solve the History Mystery, of Burke and Wills! This resource aligns with the Australian Curriculum History topic (AC9HS5K03).
Australian Early Inland Explorers Lesson Pack - This interesting pack includes fact files of the Australian Early Inland Explorers and a display poster. It provides an introduction to Australia's significant explorers and details their historic contribution to shaping the country of Australia as we know it today.
Browse our collection of Australian Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) Resources for your Years 5–6 students. Where you can find a wealth of teaching materials covering other famous Australian inland explorers, and Australian expeditions.
When did the Burke and Will's expedition start?
The Burke and Wills Australian expedition story begins on the 20th August 1860, with their departure from Royal Park in Melbourne.
What happened to Burke and Wills?
Burke and Wills died of malnutrition and did not survive the return journey of the expedition. Their bodies were found just after a relief party discovered John King, another crew member, living with the Yandruwandha Peoples on the 15th September 1861. They had been on their way to Mount Hopeless.
What is the Burke and Wills memorial?
An obelisk can be found in Corella Creek, Queensland, which commemorates the Burke and Wills expedition of 1861. It’s a site that the explorers crossed on their journey across the Australian continent.
Where are Burke and Wills buried?
The remains of Burke and Wills were transported back to Melbourne, Australia, where the exploring duo were buried in Melbourne General Cemetery.
Download Burke and Wills resources today! Not a Twinkl user yet? No problem, you can Sign Up for a FREE Twinkl Account. And finally, why not catch our Home Education video below for some handy tips on how to teach kids about world explorers?
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