150 years ago today, at around 4pm on August the 20th 1860, the “Victorian Exploring Expedition”, (later to be known as the Burke & Wills Expedition), departed on their ill-fated journey from Royal Park in Melbourne to the sound of cheering from thousands of people.
The Victorian Exploring Expedition left Royal Park, Melbourne on Monday 20th August 1860. Originally intending to leave at 1.00 pm, it was 4.00 pm before the party got away. Dr Eades, Mayor of Melbourne, mounted one of the drays and made a speech.
“Mr Burke, I am fully aware that the grand assemblage, this day, while it has impeded your movements in starting, is at the same time a source of much gratification to you. It assures you of the most sincere sympathy of the citizens. (Hear hear), I will not detain you; but for this great crowd, and on behalf of the colony at large, I say – God speed you ! (Cheers).”
His worship the Mayor then called for three cheers for Burke, then three cheers for Mr Landells and then three cheers for the party as a whole. Mr Eades then said ;
“God speed and bless you !”
…to which Burke replied;
“Mr Mayor, On behalf of myself and the expedition, I beg to return to you my most sincere thanks. No expedition has ever started under such favourable circumstances as this. The people, the Government, the Committee – all have done heartily what they could do. It is now our turn, and we shall never do well until we entirely justify what you have done in showing what we can do (Cheers).”
The band struck up “CHEER BOYS, CHEER” and the party headed northwards in the direction of the Sarah Sands Hotel before turning and traversing the whole length of the Park to the south gate and passing then round the cattle yards, the camels’ manure pile and then past the swamp and out of the South Gate onto Flemington Road then Mount Alexander Road towards Essendon.
While it is without a doubt one of the most famous and talked about expedition’s undertaken on the Australian mainland, it was also possibly one of the most badly organised expedition’s as well.
In 1860-61 Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills led an expedition of 19 men with the intention of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around 2,800 kilometres (1,750 miles). At that time most of the inland of Australia had not been explored by non-indigenous people and was completely unknown to the European settlers.
The south-north leg was successfully completed (except they were stopped by swampland 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the northern coastline) but owing to poor leadership and bad luck, both of the expedition’s leaders died on the return journey. All together, seven men lost their lives, and only one man, John King, travelled the entire expedition and returned alive to Melbourne.
Along with the Wikipedia entry, you can find a heap more information, photos, maps, and other things, at the links below.
Burke & Wills Web
Lots of info over at this website, including information on some of the festivities being held to commemorate their achievement.
The Burke and Wills Historical Society
A group of Burke and Wills enthusiasts who also run the Burke & Wills Conference every two years, with the next one being held at the Dig Tree (near Coopers Creek in Queensland) in 2011.
Memorials
A list of Burke and Wills memorials at White Hat.
In the Tracks of Burke and Wills
Follow Mike Wills (fourth cousin, four times removed of William John Wills) and friends as they trace the route of the Burke & Wills Expedition.
I would also recommend reading a book that was published in 2002 and written by Sarah Murgatroyd called, “The Dig Tree”, which is probably one of the better books about the expedition, and is available to buy online at Westprint.
On Friday 31st December 2010 it will be closing permanently and after that date, there will be no services or facilities available.
Until that time the services are available as follows:
Until Monday 1st November 2010 – open every day from 7am to 9pm (sometimes 7pm if no one is around)
From 2nd November 2010 to 31st December 2010 – they will revert to the “partial closures” as before. (Open Fri to Mon only for both fuel & camping)
They have EFTPOS and Credit Card facilities.
I travelled along the Tanami in 2002 and absolutely loved it. I spent a few days roaming around the area and stopped for a diesel topup at Rabbit Flat where i paid $1.50 a litre. When i left Sydney to start the trip i only paid $0.899 a litre. Being so remote I did expect it to be on the pricey side so it didn’t really worry me.
A – The start of the Tanami Track
B – The Rabbit Flat Roadhouse
C – The track ends at Halls Creek
I’ve been looking for a new light weight bushwalking stove for a while and i recently decided on picking up a Primus OmniFuel stove from Anaconda during a club sale.
The Omnifuel is a great idea as it allow you to use multiple types of fuel which includes the following:
LP / Butane / White gas
Diesel
Gasoline / petrol
Kerosene / paraffin
Jet fuel
Avgas and other petroleum based fuels
The stove, which is a refinement of the older Primus MultiFuel stove, uses very advanced materials to offer advanced functionality and the bellow features:
Brings one litre of water to boil in arround 3 minutes
A wind proof burner which adjusts to the wind conditions
Exchangeable jet nipples optimising the use of each particular fuel type
A self bleeding system for the fuel line
A steel sheathed fuel line
A pre-heating system
Valve control from gentle simmer to rolling boiling
Low center of gravity keeping the stove stable
Non-slip pot support grids
Importantly, the OmniFuel is designed to handle demanding conditions, extreme altitudes and both high and low temperatures, all of which i’m certainly looking forward to testing it in :)
“All things considered there are only two kinds of men in the world – those that stay at home and those that do not.” Rudyard Kipling – A British author and poet.
The team over at the great outdoor adventure magazine Outer Edge are running a competition where you can win $2,500 worth of Vaude adventure gear.
Oh yeah…i hear that an audio or video entry would be seen as favourable at the moment ;)
And while you are over at the site register for the forum and help grow what could turn out to be a great local resource for discussing adventure activities and products.
I recently picked up a copy of the great OziExplorer GPS mapping software, the OziExplorer3D add-on and a selection of maps.
I’ve always liked the capabilities of the OziExplorer software and the price point is pretty good…but the OziExplorer3D software is brilliant for trip planning.
I’ve thrown two screen shots of the Upper Yarra Valley around Warburton showing a section of the standard topo map and a 3D version of the same area.
If you are picking up a copy of OziExplorer i highly recommend that you grab OziExplorer3D as well :)
About a week ago i picked up a Silva Expedition 4 Compass and i’m looking forward to trying it out on the next walking expedition.
Silva Expedition 4 Compass, a great baseplate compass for experienced navigators from Silva with almost everything you would need from a compass. Magnifier, millimetre and inch scales. Romer scales: 1:63.360 1:50.000 1:25.000. A compass with extra functionality for GPS users.
Features:
Easy map/compass works with the Silva 1-2-3 System
Ergonomically shaped baseplate of scratch resistant acrylic
Three silicone feet prevent the compass from sliding off the map
Stencil holes in the base plate for exact position markings on the map
Luminous points for night navigation
Romer scales for plotting positions on maps
Patented red/black north/south lines in the capsule for quick and correct course setting
Accuracy max 1.0° from true course
Swedish quality steel compass needle
North indicator on the red end of the compass needle
Sapphire jewel bearing
Magnifying lens
It’s been a while since i’ve used a baseplate compass for navigation…but i’m sure it will all come back to me :)
For those of you that might be fans of one of the better outdoor / adventure magazines produced in Australia, like me, then you might be interested in checking out the website of Outer Edge magazine.
The site contains information on the latest issue of the magazine, news stories, event information, product reviews, podcasts and videos, competitions, links to other outdoor and adventure related sites and a community sections containing a blog and a forum.
