Into the Unknown

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19989, 4 November 1927, Page 3

Into the Unknown

ADVENTUROUS JOURNEYS 5 BURKE’S TRANS-AUSTRA-LIAN EXPEDITION Robert O ’Hara Burke was ActingInspector of the Melbourne Police Force when he was placed in command of his successful, but ill-fated, expedition which had for its main object the discovery of a road across Australia from south to north. Shortly after leaving Melbourne on the 30th August, 1860, he divided his force into two sections, with one of which he proceeded in advance to Cooper’s Creek, which is situated about midway across the continent, and where he had decided to establish a depot before venturing into the unknown northern territory. An old settler named Wright was given the leadership of the second section, which had charge of the bulk of Burke’s supplies, and he was instructed to follow the adavnee party as speedily as possible.

Burke waited at Cooper’s Creek for several weeks, but Wright failed to arrive as expected, and finally Burke decided to again divide his party and start on the second stage of his journey. The depot was placed in charge of a man named Brahe, who was given definite instructions that he must not leave his post until Burke’s return, except under circumstances of absolute necessity, and, on the 16th December, Burke commenced his trip into the unknown wilds, being accompanied by William John Wills, whose name will ever be associated with his own, and two other men—Gray and King—with a horse and six camels.

The party made its way slowly but surely across a series of salt marshes and arid deserts for over a month, when a succession of heavy rain storms rendered the ground unsuitable for the further progress of the camels, and the animals had to be left behind with Gray and King, while Burke and Wills with the horse made a dash for the northern coast. The Gulf of Carpentaria was reached on the 11th February, and the two men rested for a few days at a spot close to the site of the present town of Normanton. Burke and Wills, who were the first white men to traverse the Island Continent from south to north, anticipated very little trouble on their return trip, for they knew all the bad spots on the road and thought they would be able to make a rapid journey back to their depot at Cooper’s Creek. After they had rejoined Gray and King, they encountered a long series of unexpected accidents and difficulties, and their progress was delayed by heavy rains. The deaths of the horse and four camels forced them to abandon most of their supplies, and in a short time the four men were reduced to starvation rations. Gray died on the Bth April, but thirteen days later the three emaciated survivors succeeded in reaching Cooper’s Creek, where a terrible disappointment awaited them.

The depot was deserted, for Brahe had started south a few hours before their arrival, leaving behind a note to the effect that he had seen nothing of the second section in charge of Wright. Some food left at the depot provided the starving men with their first satisfying meal for three weeks, but they were too weak and exhausted to hope to overtake Brahe’s party, and, after a brief rest, they made a futile attempt to reach the nearest settlement. The two camels died and supplies of food came to an end before the three men had covered half their journey, and Burke and Wills perished from starvation and exposure, but King was saved from death by a wandering band of natives.

When Brahe reached home he stated that he had met Wright soon after he had started on his journey south, and that they had returned together to Cooper’s Creek, where they had failed to find any titlee of the return of Burke and his companions. The negligence and disobedience of Brahe and Wright was mainly responsible for the disasters which overtook their leaders, and if they had made a careful search at Cooper’s Creek they would have found the letters and documents left there by Burke and Wills. These records were easily found and brought back by a subsequent relief expedition, which also rescued King from the natives, and thus the world learned the full story of Burke’s great achievement and the terrible sufferings of the intrepid explorer and his three companions.—(Copyrighted.)