Expedition 2008: Burke & Wills Victorian Exploring Expedition

On August 20, 1860, an Australian police officer of Irish descent set out from Melbourne at the head of an expedition attempting to cross the continent of Australia for the first time. Along with his team of eighteen men, Robert O'Hara Burke took along an incredible amount of baggage. Besides the supporting livestock - including bullocks horses and camels - The Victorian Exploration Expedition (VEE) sponsored by the Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) - was burdened with many tons of unneeded supplies and the expectations of a young nation and the prospect for glory that would attend the first crossing of what we now call "the Outback". As Australian explorer Charles Sturt wrote in 1840:

"Let any man lay the map of Australia before him, and regard the blank upon its surfaced, and then let me ask him if it would not be an honourable achievement to be the first to place foot in its centre."

There appear to be many reasons why it was felt that the Continent needed to be crossed: establishing a route for telegraph communication from the south to the north coast and on through the Dutch East Indies; examination of the mineral, botanical and zoological resources of the interior and pastoral (grazing) potential for expansion of a coast-bound population. One of the members of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery wrote grandly to his mother that all of his comrades hoped to achieve the first crossing of the North American continent "or perish in the attempt". Personal achievement and recognition has been the motivation behind many expeditions in the past.

However, when one reads the instructions handed to Mr. Burke from the sponsoring Royal Society of Victoria, it seems very apparent that there was more of a priority for scientific investigation than even existed in President Thomas Jefferson's instructions to Meriwether Lewis. In the end, it was left to only one member of the VEE to carryout these observations and collections, a young scientist named William John Wills, whom history has forever tied to Robert Burke so that today, every school-aged child in Australia knows of the ill-fated expedition of Burke and Wills.

From strictly an American point of view, there are any number of parallels between the Lewis and Clark and Burke and Wills expeditions. But rather than summarize those similarities here, the Flight of Discovery suggests that anyone interested in comparing the two extraordinary efforts refer to a few of the available references on Burke & Wills:

Moorehead, Alan, Cooper's Creek, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1963

Murgatroyd, Sarah, The Dig Tree, Bloomsbury Publishing 2002. ISBN 0 7475 6298 9

Bergin, Tom, In the Steps of Burke and Wills, ABC/Griffin Press, Ltd., Sydney, 1981.

Bonyhady, Tim, Burke and Wills: From Melbourne to Myth, David Ell Press, Sydney, 1991.

The Royal Society of Victoria's website is www.sciencevictoria.org.au and Camilla van Megen, Executive Officer can be contacted by email at admin@scienceVictoria.org.au.

It is fascinating and instructional to learn about Australian exploration prior to Burke and Wills. To do so, one should study the literature concerning Augustus Gregory, William Landsborough, Ludwig Leichardt, Charles Sturt and John McDouall Stuart.

In May of 2005, Flight of Discovery Expedition Leader Mike Harding and Logistics Director Carol Forrest traveled to Melbourne, Australia to meet with staff and members of the Royal Society of Victoria, the sponsoring organization of what is commonly referred to now as the Burke and Wills Expedition. Mike and Carol were greeted warmly by the Executive, Camilla van Megen and Officers of the RSV at their headquarters on Victoria Street and were given a tour of the historic building. Mike was allowed to examine the book of instructions given to Mr. Burke by the RSV during a pre-lecture reception in the Library where Robert Burke interviewed potential members for the 1860 expedition.

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Following Mike's presentation of the FOD's 2004 expedition along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, a reception was held in the room where Burke and Wills' bodies lay in state following the tragic end of their expedition. Mike was nominated for membership in the Royal Society of Victoria by the current President of the RSV, Dr. Bruce Livett and the nomination was seconded by the Secretary McCauley. Mike was asked to sign the member ledger where he observed the signatures of Robert O' Hara Burke, William J. Wills and a pantheon of distinguished Australian scientists and citizens. It is a great honor that Mike feels has been extended by the RSV to all crew members of the Flight of Discovery and their supporters.

Plans call for close coordination with the Royal Society of Victoria and their members to establish a Flight of Discovery expedition in Australia along the route of Burke and Wills. The expedition, tentatively planned for 2008 or 2009 will be a decidedly Australian (not American) effort with American FOD members participating in the planning and execution of a joint exercise. To this end, RSV members have been invited to participate in the FOD's "Return" expedition along the Lewis and Clark Trail in August of 2006.

The scientific and educational goals of the proposed Australian expedition are the same as all FOD activities: to acquire the requisite knowledge so that informed decisions can be made concerning future conservation, preservation or protection of the natural and cultural resources along our routes of flight. It is hoped that data derived from the 2008-2009 flight will be available for interpretation, publishing and distribution prior to the 150th anniversary of the Victorian Exploration Expedition in 2010.