Burke and Wills

2011-11-02
 |  Science
Burke and Wills

Author: EB Joyce

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

ISBN: 9780643103344

Category: Science

Page: 368

View: 171

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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.

The Aboriginal Story of Burke and Wills

2013-07-22
 |  Science
The Aboriginal Story of Burke and Wills

Author: Ian Clark

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

ISBN: 9780643108103

Category: Science

Page: 336

View: 732

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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.

Burke and Wills

2018-04-05
 |  History
Burke and Wills

Author: Peter FitzSimons

Publisher: Hachette UK

ISBN: 9781472128980

Category: History

Page: 736

View: 423

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'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 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 Australia's history - and their story remains immediate and compelling.

Following Burke and Wills Across Australia

2015-06-01
 |  Science
Following Burke and Wills Across Australia

Author: Dave Phoenix

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

ISBN: 9781486301607

Category: Science

Page: 416

View: 440

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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

2011-11-02
 |  History
Burke and Wills

Author: Edmund Bernard Joyce

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

ISBN: 9780643103320

Category: History

Page: 369

View: 683

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

Australia

2003
 |  Australia
Australia

Author: Margo Daly

Publisher: Rough Guides

ISBN: 1843530902

Category: Australia

Page: 1280

View: 396

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With fresh journalistic writing and reams of information on what to see and do, this guide takes readers from the big cities to the countryside. Includes candid reviews on restaurants and accommodations for all budgets. 83 maps. Full-color insert. Two-color throughout.

Burke and Wills

1985
 |  Australia
Burke and Wills

Author: Roland Harvey

Publisher:

ISBN: PSU:000033394213

Category: Australia

Page: 29

View: 845

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Describes the 1860 expedition led by Roland Burke and William Wills to explore inland Australia and to find an overland route for the telegraph line.

William John Wills

2011-10-21
 |  History
William John Wills

Author: John Van der Kiste

Publisher: The History Press

ISBN: 9780752472508

Category: History

Page: 160

View: 641

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In 1860 the Australian interior was unmapped and unknown to European settlers. When the Victorian Exploring Expedition tasked Robert O’Hara Burke, William John Wills and a party of nineteen men with crossing the country from South to North, this was soon to change. Following their slow and arduous journey from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria, John Van der Kiste gets to the heart of the expedition and the men involved. This book explores the way in which poor leadership skills, explosive characters and limited rations pushed the explorers to the limits of human capability. By 1861 the crossing had been declared a success, but only one man returned from the Gulf of Carpentaria. For the first time, William John Wills’ short life is examined in its entirety. In doing so, Van der Kiste details the character and motivations behind the man whose meticulous diaries secured the Wills name for posterity. Now 150 years on, Wills’ biography is a gripping tale of human endeavour.