88-591: The Burke and Wills expedition was organised by the Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) in Australia in 1860–61. It initially consisted of nineteen men led by Robert O'Hara Burke , with William John Wills being a deputy commander. Its objective was the crossing of Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around 3,250 kilometres (approximately 2,000 miles). At that time most of
176-568: A Chinese gong ; the equipment all together weighed as much as twenty tonnes. Committee member Captain Francis Cadell had offered to transport the equipment from Adelaide up the Murray River to the junction with the Darling River to be collected on the way. However, Burke declined his offer, possibly because Cadell had opposed Burke's appointment as leader of the expedition. Instead, all of
264-525: A depot camp at Cooper Creek, and Burke, Wills and two other men pushed on to the north coast (although dense swampland stopped them from reaching the northern coastline). The return journey was plagued by delays and monsoon rains, and when Burke's party reached the depot at Cooper Creek, they found it had been abandoned just hours earlier. Burke and Wills died on or about 30 June 1861. Several relief expeditions were sent out, all contributing new geographical findings. Altogether, seven men died, and only one man,
352-455: A good education in Tönning , Schleswig . Apprenticed to a chemist at the age of 15, he passed his pharmaceutical examinations and studied botany under Professor Ernst Ferdinand Nolte (1791–1875) at Kiel University . In 1847, he received his degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Kiel for a thesis on the plants of the southern regions of Schleswig. Mueller's sister Bertha had been advised to seek
440-683: A leading part in promoting Australian exploration, especially the Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first to cross the continent, and in the various attempts to unravel the mystery which attended the fate of his fellow countryman Ludwig Leichhardt (1813–1848). Mueller died in Melbourne and is buried in the St Kilda Cemetery . He was survived by his sister, Mrs. Clara Wehl, of Millicent, South Australia . His other sister, Mrs. Bertha Doughty of near Penola predeceased him. He never married. Mueller
528-408: A message on a tree to mark the spot. Brahe blazed two trees ( 27°37′26″S 141°04′33″E / 27.623902°S 141.075784°E / -27.623902; 141.075784 ) at Camp 65. Located on the banks of Cooper Creek, both are coolibahs ( Eucalyptus coolabah formerly Eucalyptus microtheca ) and both are estimated to be at least 250 years old. One tree has two blazes on it; one denoting
616-486: A painting of this skirmish. On 29 April, Brahe's group arrived at the Bulloo River after abandoning Camp 65 eight days previously. They united with Wright's group and started to head back to Menindee to try and save their remaining men. However, Wright and Brahe decided to make one last quick excursion to Camp 65 to see if Burke had returned. When the two men arrived on 8 May, Burke had already left for Mount Hopeless , and
704-576: A paper to the Linnean Society of London on "The Flora of South Australia", thus beginning to be well known in botanical circles. Mueller was appointed government botanist for Victoria by Governor Charles La Trobe in 1853, a post that was newly created for him. He examined its flora, especially the Alpine vegetation of Australia, which was previously unknown. He explored the Buffalo Ranges , then went to
792-465: A place called Yaenimemgi, his pistol loaded and capped in his hand. King stayed with his body for two days and then returned downstream to Breerily waterhole, where he found that Wills had died as well. The exact dates on which Burke and Wills died are unknown, and different dates are given on various memorials in Victoria. The Exploration Committee fixed 28 June 1861 as the date both explorers died. After
880-546: A reward of £2000 to encourage an expedition to find a route between South Australia and the north coast. In 1857 the Philosophical Institute formed an Exploration Committee with the aim of investigating the practicability of fitting out an expedition of the Australian interior. While interest in inland exploration was strong in the neighbouring colonies of New South Wales and South Australia, in Victoria enthusiasm
968-414: A stockade for protection. For the rest of April, Wright was stuck at the lagoon, unable to move due to his sick men. Eventually three of the men, Dr Ludwig Becker , Charles Stone and William Purcell, died. Toward the end of the month, a large group of Galali tried to take down the stockade, with Wright's group firing upon and dispersing them. A member of Wright's party, William Hodgkinson , later produced
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#17328486662681056-968: A warmer climate for her health, and the great botanist Ludwig Preiss , who had recently returned from Perth , recommended Australia, so in 1847, Mueller, Bertha, and their other surviving sister, Clara , sailed from Bremen . While still on the ship, he reportedly fished his first plants out of the water to analyse them. Ferdinand von Mueller was one of a number of influential German-speaking residents — such as Ludwig Becker , Hermann Beckler , William Blandowski , Amalie Dietrich , Wilhelm Haacke , Diedrich Henne , Gerard Krefft , Johann Luehmann , Johann Menge , Carl Mücke (a.k.a. Muecke) , Ludwig Preiss , Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker (a.k.a. Ruemker) , Moritz Richard Schomburgk , Richard Wolfgang Semon , Karl Theodor Staiger , George Ulrich , Eugene von Guérard , Robert von Lendenfeld , Georg von Neumayer , and Carl Wilhelmi — who brought their "epistemic traditions" to Australia, and not only became "deeply entangled with
1144-602: A week, Wills lived with them, sharing a gunyah with a man named Poko Tinnamira and learning some of their language. He became friends with another man called Pitchery, and was supplied with ample water and food. They even de-boned the fish for him before he ate it. By 5 June, Wills left this group to reunite with Burke and King. While Wills was away, Burke and King had also been well cared for by another group of Yandruwandha. However, when one of them took Burke's oilcloth after giving him some fish, Burke ran after him and shot over his head. King had also lined some Yandruwandha up outside
1232-602: Is named after Mueller. A number of geographical features were named after Mueller: the Mueller Ranges ( Western Australia ), Muellers Range ( Queensland ), Mount Mueller (in WA, Northern Territory , Tasmania and Victoria) and Mount von Mueller (WA), Muellers Peak ( New South Wales ), the Mueller River (NZ), Muellers Creek ( South Australia ) and Mueller Creek (NT) also Von Mueller Creek (Vic), Lake Mueller (Qld), and Mueller hut near
1320-457: Is now the town of Boulia ), Gray was caught stealing skilligolee (a type of watery porridge) and Burke beat him. By 8 April, Gray could not walk; he died on 17 April of dysentery at a place they called Polygonum Swamp. The location of his death is unknown, although it is generally believed to be Lake Massacre in South Australia . While the possibility that Burke killed Gray has been discounted,
1408-691: Is the oldest scientific society in Victoria, Australia . In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science (founded 15 June, 1854, inaugural president Justice Sir Redmond Barry ) and the Philosophical Society of Victoria (founded 12 August, 1854, inaugural president Andrew Clarke ). These two merged in July 1855 to form
1496-467: The Bugle Ranges , and had a cottage built there. He moved there with his sister Clara, intending to start a farm, but after a few months, he returned to his former employment. Mueller thought to open a chemist's shop in the gold diggings, so in 1851, he moved to Melbourne, capital of the new colony of Victoria. He had contributed a few papers on botanical subjects to German periodicals, and in 1852, sent
1584-840: The Burke & Wills expedition and established the Victorian Institute of Marine Sciences in 1978 (now the Marine and Freshwater Discovery Centre in Queenscliff ). Many long-standing community organisations concerned with nature and conservation have grown from an early association with the Royal Society of Victoria, such as the Victorian National Parks Association and the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria . Located in its heritage-listed headquarters at 8 La Trobe Street , in
1672-695: The Caryapundy floodplains to the Bulloo River , which was also known as Wright's Creek. At the Bulloo, they encountered around 120 Aboriginal residents and at times used their pathways to make their way to Cooper Creek, which they arrived at on 11 November. In 1860, Cooper Creek was the outer limit of the land that had been explored by Europeans, the river having been visited by Captain Charles Sturt in 1845 and Augustus Charles Gregory in 1858. Burke's party arrived at
1760-607: The Mueller Glacier in New Zealand. Mueller Park , Subiaco (WA) is also named after him. Species named to honour Mueller typically end in muelleri , muellerina or muelleriana . Examples include the genus, Muellerina ( Loranthaceae ), the taxa Callitris muelleri , Persoonia muelleri , and Verticordia muelleriana , Allocasuarina muelleriana and Eucalyptus muelleriana , and Terminalia ferdinandiana . Over 26,000 specimens collected by Mueller are held by
1848-510: The Philosophical Institute of Victoria , with Clarke as the inaugural president. The Philosophical Institute received Royal Charter in 1859, and the first president of the freshly renamed Royal Society of Victoria was Ferdinand von Mueller (later Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller), then Victoria's Government Botanist. In 1860 the RSV organised the ill-fated Burke & Wills expedition under
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#17328486662681936-506: The Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne , and not only introduced many plants into Victoria, but also made the excellent qualities of the blue gum ( Eucalyptus globulus ) known all over the world, and succeeded in introducing it into the south of Europe, North and South Africa, California, and the extratropical portions of South America. By 1873, influential Melburnians were critical of Mueller's scientific and educational approach with
2024-535: The South Australian government offered a reward of £2,000 (about A$ 289,000 in 2011 dollars) for the first successful south–north crossing of the continent west of the 143rd line of longitude . The experienced explorer John McDouall Stuart had taken up the challenge. Burke was concerned Stuart might beat him to the north coast and he soon grew impatient with the expedition's slow progress, often averaging only 2 mi (3.2 km) an hour. Burke therefore split
2112-518: The State Library of Victoria 's online catalogue, along with holdings of the Society's historical papers and archives. Issues published from 2009 are available online, open access through CSIRO Publishing . The Society confers prizes, awards and medals to recognise high-achievement throughout a scientist's various career stages. RSV bursaries are provided to school students through annual sponsorship of
2200-713: The University of Rostock ; in 1883, he was awarded the Clarke Medal by the Royal Society of New South Wales . Mueller was decorated by many foreign countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, and Portugal. He was appointed a fellow of the Royal Society in 1861, and knighted as Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1879. A list of his 'Orders, offices, affiliations and sundry honours' has been assembled. Many of his decorations were received in return for supplying zoological specimens to royal museums. He
2288-530: The Australian colonial project", but also were "intricately involved in imagining, knowing and shaping colonial Australia" (Barrett, et al., 2018, p.2). He arrived at Adelaide on 18 December 1847 and found employment as a chemist with Moritz J. Heuzenroeder , in Rundle Street . He was an inveterate explorer, walking alone to Mount Arden and Mount Brown during his first year. Shortly afterwards, he obtained 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land not far from Adelaide in
2376-492: The Cooper Creek depot deserted after Brahe's group had left earlier that day. They found the "Dig Tree" and dug up the cache of supplies together with Brahe's letter explaining that the party had given up waiting and left. Burke's party had missed them by only nine hours. The three men and two remaining camels were exhausted; they had no hope of catching up to Brahe's party. Burke's party rested at Camp 65 for two days, living off
2464-426: The Cooper Creek depot was again deserted. Burke and Wills were 35 miles (56 km) away by this point. As the mark and date on the tree were unaltered, Brahe and Wright assumed that Burke had not returned, and did not think to check whether the supplies were still buried. They left to rejoin the main party and return to Menindee. Burke, Wills and King arrived at Camp 65 in the evening of Sunday, 21 April 1861, finding
2552-463: The Cooper on 11 November and they formed a depot at Camp LXIII (Camp 63). While conducting a ninety-mile reconnaissance to the north of this camp, Wills lost three camels and had to walk back to the depot. A plague of rats forced the men to move camp, so they formed a second depot further downstream at a waterhole. This was Camp LXV (Camp 65), where they erected a stockade which they named Fort Wills. It
2640-550: The Darling, Landells resigned from the expedition, followed by the expedition's surgeon , Dr Hermann Beckler . Third-in-command Wills was promoted to second-in-command. They reached Menindee on 12 October, having taken two months to travel 750 km (470 mi) from Melbourne—the regular mail coach did the journey in little more than a week. By this time two of the expedition's five officers had resigned, thirteen members had been fired and eight new men had been hired. In July 1859
2728-601: The Exploration Committee purchased an additional six from George Coppin's Cremorne Gardens . The camels were initially housed in the stables at Parliament House and later moved to Royal Park . Twenty-six camels were taken on the expedition, with six (two females with their two young calves and two males) being left in Royal Park. The Burke and Wills expedition set off from Royal Park at about 4pm on 20 August 1860, watched by around 15,000 spectators. The nineteen men of
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2816-519: The Gulf with six camels, one horse and enough food for just three months. By now it was mid-summer and the daily temperature often reached 122 °F (50 °C) in the shade, and in the Strzelecki and Sturt Stony Deserts there was very little shade to be found. Brahe was ordered by Burke to wait for three months; however, the more conservative Wills had reviewed the maps and developed a more realistic view of
2904-526: The Inspiring Victoria program, a federally-funded initiative to engage communities with science and promote scientific literacy, including National Science Week. The Society edits and produces the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria , one of Australia's longest-running regional science journals. Back issues from the 19th century through to the early 21st century are digitised and accessible from
2992-524: The Irish soldier John King , crossed the continent with the expedition and returned alive to Melbourne. In 1851, gold was discovered in what was then the Colony of Victoria . The subsequent gold rush led to a huge influx of migrants, with the local population increasing from 29,000 in 1851 to 139,916 in 1861 ( Sydney had 93,686 at the time). As a result, Melbourne rapidly grew to become Australia's largest city and
3080-627: The Northern Territory, and encouraged settlers to send plants to him. Mueller published an educational exsiccata with the title Educational collections of Australian plants (1873–1876) and was able to distribute three fascicles in about 50 institutions. Women were key contributors to his collections. Two hundred and twenty-five women and girls, the youngest of which was six years of age, collected plant specimens and mailed them to Mueller for cataloging. These women included Louisa Atkinson , Sarah Brooks , and Flora Mary Campbell . He took
3168-647: The Presidency of Victorian Governor Sir Henry Barkly . The society has played an important role in the life of Melbourne and Victoria, including a foundational relationship with the Melbourne Museum , the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria , the Melbourne Observatory and Victoria's National Parks. The society convened the first Australian Antarctic Exploration Committee in 1885, commissioned
3256-564: The Royal Botanic Gardens. Development of the gardens with an eye to aesthetics was sought. Mueller was dismissed from his position as director of the Botanic Gardens on 31 May 1873. He had done much to develop the gardens with the scarce resources at hand. Though his pay was not affected and he still continued as the government botanist, he never lost his sense of grievance over losing the position. In April 1873, Mueller had created
3344-411: The Royal Society of Victoria are entitled to the use of the professional postnominal FRSV; subscribed members of the RSV are entitled to use of the professional postnominal MRSV. Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller , KCMG ( German : Müller ; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He
3432-903: The Science Talent Search run by the Science Teachers' Association of Victoria. Early career researchers are acknowledged annually through the Young Scientist Research Prizes and the Phillip Law Postdoctoral Award. Peak career achievements are recognised through the annual award of the RSV Medal for Excellence in Scientific Research. Distinguished lifetime contributions to science, in particular the public engagement with and understanding of science, are recognised through election as an RSV Fellow. Fellows of
3520-474: The cache under the marked tree in case a rescue party visited the area. Unfortunately, they did not change the mark on the tree or alter the date. On 23 April they set off, following Cooper Creek downstream and then heading out into the Strzelecki Desert towards Mount Hopeless. After leaving the "Dig Tree", Burke's party rarely travelled more than 5 mi (8.0 km) a day, mostly following paths used by
3608-443: The camp on the Cooper for thirteen weeks. The party had actually waited for eighteen weeks and was running low on supplies and starting to feel the effects of scurvy; they had come to believe that Burke would never return from the Gulf. After one of the men at the depot, Patton, had injured his leg from being thrown off a horse, Brahe decided to return to Menindee. Before leaving he buried some provisions in case Burke did return, carving
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3696-403: The centre of Melbourne, the Society's modern role is to communicate and advocate for the important role of science in society, providing public lectures about the latest scientific work and thinking underway in Victoria, and convening forums with government and community to explore an evidence-based approach to issues facing the state. The Society conducts a state-wide program through management of
3784-403: The cold. Wills' last entry in his journal was on 29 June, when King and Burke had decided to leave him to look for an Aboriginal camp. Wills had become too weak to continue. At his own insistence he was left behind at Breerily waterhole with some food, water and shelter. Burke and King continued upstream for another two days until Burke became too weak to continue. He died the following morning at
3872-546: The date of arrival and the date of departure "DEC-6-60" carved over "APR-21-61" and the other showing the initial "B" (for Burke) carved over the Roman numerals for (camp) 65; "B" over "LXV". The date blaze has grown closed and only the camp number blaze remains visible today. On an adjacent smaller tree, Brahe carved the instruction to "DIG". The exact inscription is not known, but is variously recalled to be "DIG", "DIG under", "DIG 3 FT N.W.", "DIG 3FT N.E." or "DIG 21 APR 61". Initially
3960-410: The deaths of Burke and Wills, King found a two-week supply of nardoo flour at an abandoned Aboriginal camp. He then came across a group of Yandruwandha willing to give him food and shelter, and in return he shot birds to contribute to their supplies. He became more closely united with this clan after he attempted to heal a skin sore on a woman named Carrawaw, and lived with them for around a month until he
4048-483: The discovery of camel bones in 2005. To extend their food supply, Burke's party ate portulaca , a flowering plant. Gray also caught an 11 lb (5.0 kg) python (probably Aspidites melanocephalus , a black-headed python), which they ate. Both Burke and Gray immediately came down with dysentery . Gray was ill, but Burke thought he was "gammoning" (pretending). On 25 March on the Burke River (just south of what
4136-518: The economic benefits that would result from becoming the centre of the telegraph network. A number of routes were considered including Ceylon to Albany in Western Australia , or Java to the north coast of Australia and then either onto east coast, or south through the centre of the continent to Adelaide . The Government of Victoria organised the Burke and Wills expedition to cross the continent in 1860. The Government of South Australia offered
4224-464: The expedition included six Irishmen, five Englishmen, three Germans, an American, and four camel drivers from South Asia . They took twenty-three horses, six wagons and twenty-six camels. The members of the expedition at the time of departure were: The expedition took a large amount of equipment, including enough food to last two years, a cedar-topped oak camp table with two chairs, pocket charcoal water filters, rifles , revolvers , rockets, flags and
4312-574: The expedition's route, but also gave Burke discretion depending on conditions and barriers he might encounter. The instructions were signed by the Honorary Secretary Dr John Macadam and in part advised: "The object of the Committee in directing you to Coopers Creek is that you should explore the country intervening between it and Ludwig Leichhardt 's track south of the Gulf of Carpentaria avoiding as far as practicable Sturt's route on
4400-411: The exploration of Australia, and as one of only two members of the Exploration Committee with any experience of exploration, he made several speeches to the society on the topic. He did not favour the selection of Burke as leader, but due to factionalism in the committee, he had little say in the establishment, provisioning, or composition of the exploration party. From 1857 to 1873, he was director of
4488-511: The explorers wouldn't get cold. However, by 10 May these Yandruwandha moved elsewhere, forcing the three men to fend for themselves. They were unable to locate other Aboriginal camps and had to make do for the next two weeks camping next to a nardoo patch, preparing this food themselves. At the end of May 1861, Burke ordered Wills to return to the "Dig Tree" to deposit some items for safekeeping. During this trip, Wills met with two more Yandruwandha clans who offered their hospitality to him. For about
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#17328486662684576-496: The following days trying to find another Aboriginal camp, but unsurprisingly the Yandruwandha had cleared out from the area. Over the next few weeks, the three men subsisted on leftover camel meat and nardoo they prepared themselves. The weather became rainy and cold, and they had little to protect themselves from exposure to the elements. Wills recorded that the nardoo agreed with King more, while he and Burke were starving and feeling
4664-401: The genus Guilfoylia and described William Guilfoyle as "distinguished as a collector [who] evidenced great ardour" and held high hopes for his collecting ability. Mueller's opinion changed when Guilfoyle was appointed to take his place as director of the Botanic Gardens in July 1873. He accused Guilfoyle of being a "nurseryman [with] no claims to scientific knowledge whatever" and of getting
4752-443: The group, taking fifteen horses, sixteen camels and the seven fittest men; Wills, Brahe, Patton, McDonough, King, Gray and Dost Mahomet. He also reduced the amount of equipment, with plans to push on quickly to Cooper Creek (then known as Cooper's Creek) and then wait for the others left behind at Menindee to catch up. They departed Menindee on 19 October, guided by a Paakantyi man named Dick Barkinji , William Wright (the manager of
4840-547: The gunyah they were staying in and fired over their heads after he felt threatened by their approach. Burke then went up to another group who had arrived with nets full of fish. He knocked the nets out of their hands and ordered King to fire over them. They ran away and Burke collected the fish left behind. While cooking this fish, Burke accidentally set fire to the gunyah they were in, destroying most of their remaining belongings except for Burke's pistol and another firearm. On 6 June, Wills had returned to Burke and King. They spent
4928-427: The inland of Australia had not been explored by non- Indigenous people and was largely unknown to European settlers. The expedition left Melbourne in winter. Very bad weather, poor roads and broken-down horse wagons meant they made slow progress at first. After dividing the party at Menindee on the Darling River , Burke made good progress, reaching Cooper Creek at the beginning of summer. The expedition established
5016-423: The job due to being related to the wife of the responsible minister. Mueller subsequently abolished Guilfoylia as part of the genus of Cadellia in his botanical census of 1882 (today the genus Guilfoylia is again accepted). Guilfoyle went on to landscape the gardens in an aesthetic and pleasing style welcomed by most Melburnians. In 1857, Mueller applied for and was granted the degree of Doctor of Medicine of
5104-588: The largest discretion as regards the forming of depots, and your movements generally…. The Exploration Committee of the Royal Society of Victoria included: Camels had been used successfully in desert exploration in other parts of the world, but by 1859 only seven camels had been imported into Australia . The Victorian government appointed George James Landells to purchase twenty-four camels in India for use in desert exploration. The animals arrived in Melbourne in June 1860, and
5192-463: The local Aboriginal residents. The region was well populated with Yandruwandha people and they were very courteous to the three explorers, giving them fish, beans called padlu and a type of damper made from the ground sporocarps of the ngardu (nardoo) plant ( Marsilea drummondii ) in exchange for sugar. One of the two remaining camels, Landa , was shot when he became bogged in Minkie waterhole and
5280-680: The natural history collections and institutions of Our Kingdom' He was then known as Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller. He published 11 volumes of Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae (1862–1881), two volumes of the Plants of Victoria (1860–1865), and other books on the Eucalyptus , Myoporaceae , Acacia , and Salsolaceae , all profusely illustrated. He also co-operated in the production of George Bentham 's Flora Australiensis . He described many novel plant species sent by botanists from other parts of Australia, notably Maurice William Holtze from
5368-468: The nearby Kinchega sheep station ) and another local Aboriginal man. Wright was appointed third-in-command and travel was relatively easy because recent rain made water abundant, and the unusually mild weather temperatures exceeded 90 °F (32 °C) only twice. Wright and Barkinji had also travelled the same way near to Cooper Creek a few months beforehand. Burke's party journeyed via waterholes at Bilpa, Langawirra, Mutawintiji and Wannaminta to
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#17328486662685456-483: The other, Rajah , later collapsed on 7 May. Without pack animals, it became impossible for Burke, Wills and King to leave Cooper Creek and cross the Strzelecki Desert. Over the next few days, the party encountered several Yandruwandha communities who gave them a variety of cooked foods, including fish, nardoo, native rats and padlu. They were also given gunyahs to sleep in and the stimulant pituri to chew. Some Yandruwandha even stayed attentive to their fire at night so
5544-445: The post of leader and the RSV held a range of meetings in early 1860. Robert O'Hara Burke was selected by committee ballot as the leader, and William John Wills was recommended as surveyor, navigator and third-in-command. Burke made for an unusual choice as he had no experience in exploration; he was an Irish-born ex-officer with the colonial forces , and later became police superintendent with virtually no skills in bushcraft . Wills
5632-451: The provisions onto the camels for the first time, and to lessen the burden on the horses he ordered the men to walk. He also ordered that personal luggage be restricted to 30 lb (14 kg). At Bilbarka on the Darling, Burke and his second-in-command, Landells, argued after Burke decided to dump the 60 gallons (≈270 litres) of rum that Landells had brought to feed to the camels in the belief that it prevented scurvy . At Kinchega on
5720-420: The sea must be close, but with the ground being boggy, Burke and Wills decided to leave the camels behind with King and Gray at Camp 119 and set off through the swamps to the coast. They followed a path which led to an Aboriginal community with a yam-field and a very large hut. Some of the resident Kukatj men pointed them in the best direction. It is assumed that on 11 February 1861 they may have reached or viewed
5808-490: The second largest city of the British Empire . The boom lasted forty years and ushered in the era known as " marvellous Melbourne ". The influx of educated gold seekers from England, Ireland and Germany led to rapid growth of schools, churches, learned societies, libraries and art galleries. The University of Melbourne was founded in 1855 and the State Library of Victoria in 1856. The Philosophical Institute of Victoria
5896-406: The severity of the beating Burke gave has been widely debated. The three surviving men stopped for a day to bury Gray, and to recover their strength – they were by this stage very weak from hunger and exhaustion. They finally reached Cooper Creek on 21 April, only to find that the depot in charge of Brahe had been abandoned several hours earlier. Burke had asked Brahe and the depot party to remain at
5984-447: The shores of the Gulf, but there is no documentary evidence of this. By this stage, they were desperately short of supplies. They had food left for twenty-seven days, but it had already taken them fifty-nine days to travel from Cooper Creek. Burke and Wills rejoined the others at Camp 119 and started the return journey on 13 February. On the way back, the wet season broke and the tropical monsoonal rains began. A camel named Golah Sing
6072-521: The supplies and men up to Camp 65 was having terrible problems. Wright's group had only departed Menindee at the end of January 1861 and made very slow progress due to hot weather and a lack of water availability. They arrived at the Bulloo River in early April with several men in poor health. Wright camped at a large lagoon populated with Galali people , who had made several 'ingeniously constructed fishing dams' nearby. The Galali made demonstrations for Wright's group to get off their campsite, and Wright built
6160-477: The supplies left in the cache. Wills and King wanted to follow their outward track back to Menindee, but Burke overruled them and decided to attempt to reach the furthest outpost of pastoral settlement in South Australia, a cattle station near Mount Hopeless. This would mean travelling southwest through the desert for 240 kilometres (150 mi). They wrote a letter explaining their intentions and reburied it in
6248-419: The supplies were loaded onto six wagons. One wagon broke down before it had even left Royal Park and by midnight of the first day the expedition had reached only Essendon , on the edge of Melbourne. There, two more wagons broke down. Heavy rains and bad roads made travelling through Victoria difficult and time-consuming. The party arrived at Lancefield on 23 August and set up their fourth camp. The first day off
6336-443: The swamp at Torowotto . At Torowotto, Wright, Barkinji and the other Aboriginal guide were sent back to Menindee to bring up the remainder of the men and supplies, while Burke's party continued on to Cooper Creek. Aborigines living at Torowotto told them they would meet with opposition from the inhabitants further north. Guided by another two Aboriginal men, Burke's party soon reached Lake Altiboulka (Altoka) and then travelled through
6424-597: The task ahead, and secretly instructed Brahe to wait for four months. The journey north to the Gulf of Carpentaria went smoothly, with recent rains making water easy to find and the Aborigines, contrary to expectations, being peaceful. Around 2 February 1861, the group formed Camp CXIX (Camp 119) on the banks of the Bynoe River , an arm of the Flinders River delta, which Wills had noticed to be salty and tidal. Knowing that
6512-474: The tree with the Date and Camp Number blaze was known as "Brahe's Tree" or the "Depot Tree", and the tree under which Burke died attracted most attention and interest. However, the tree at Camp 65 became known as the "Dig Tree" from at least 1912. In 1899, John Dick carved a likeness of Burke's face in a nearby tree along with his initials, his wife's initials and the date. Meanwhile, the mission led by Wright to bring
6600-591: The upper reaches of the Goulburn River and across Gippsland to the coast. The neighbourhoods of Port Albert and Wilsons Promontory were explored, and the journey of some 1,500 miles (2,400 km) was completed along the coast to Melbourne. In the same year, he established the National Herbarium of Victoria, which can still be visited today. It has many plants from Australia and abroad, many of which were collected by Mueller. Also, his large private library
6688-675: The west and Gregory's down the Victoria on the east….. should you determine the impracticability of this route you are desired to turn westward into the country recently discovered by Stuart and connect his furthest point north with Gregory's furthest southern exploration in 1856..... The Committee is fully aware of the difficulty of the Country you are called on to traverse and in giving you these instructions has placed these routes before you more as an indication of what it has been deemed desirable to have accomplished than as indicating an exact course for you to pursue. The Committee entrusts you with
6776-408: Was a member of the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science, which later became the Philosophical Institute of Victoria . He was president of the Philosophical Institute in 1859 when it received a royal charter and became the Royal Society of Victoria . He was an active member of the society's "Exploration Committee" which established the Burke and Wills expedition of 1860. Mueller promoted
6864-619: Was a theist who rejected Darwinism , but is said by historians to have misunderstood key aspects of Charles Darwin 's theory. Despite his differences he remained on friendly terms with Darwin. The Mueller Medal has been awarded since 1904 by the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science to "a scientist who is the author of important contributions to anthropological, botanical, geological or zoological science, preferably with special reference to Australia". A Victorian Railways S Class diesel-electric locomotive, S311,
6952-524: Was abandoned on 4 March when it was unable to continue. Three other camels were shot and eaten along the way and they shot their only horse, Billy , on 10 April on the Diamantina River , south of what is today the town of Birdsville . Equipment was abandoned at a number of locations as the number of pack animals was reduced. One of these locations, Return Camp 32, was relocated in 1994; the Burke and Wills Historical Society mounted an expedition to verify
7040-547: Was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria , Australia by Governor Charles La Trobe in 1853, and later director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. He also founded the National Herbarium of Victoria . He named many Australian plants. Mueller was born at Rostock , in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . After the early death of his parents, Frederick and Louisa, his grandparents gave him
7128-944: Was found on 15 September by the rescue expedition led by Alfred Howitt . In 1861, five expeditions were sent out to search for Burke and Wills; two commissioned by the Exploration Committee, one by the Victorian government, one by the government of Queensland and one by the government of South Australia. HMCSS Victoria was sent from Melbourne to search the Gulf of Carpentaria for the missing expedition, and SS Firefly sailed from Melbourne to Brisbane , where they picked up William Landsborough 's Queensland Relief Expedition. The other expeditions went overland, with Howitt's Victorian Contingent Party departing from Melbourne, John McKinlay 's South Australian Burke Relief Expedition departing from Adelaide and Frederick Walker 's Victorian Relief Expedition departing from Rockhampton . Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV)
7216-615: Was founded in 1854 and became the Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) after receiving a Royal Charter in 1859. By 1855 there was speculation about possible routes for the Australian Overland Telegraph Line to connect Australia to the new telegraph cable in Java , then part of the Dutch East Indies , and then Europe. There was fierce competition between the colonies over the hypothetical route, with governments recognising
7304-736: Was limited. Even the anonymous donation of £1,000 (later discovered to be from Ambrose Kyte ) to the Fund Raising Committee of the RSV failed to generate much interest and it wasn't until 1860 that sufficient money was raised and the expedition was assembled. The Exploration Committee called for offers of interest for a leader for the Victorian Exploring Expedition . Only two members of the committee, Ferdinand von Mueller and Wilhelm Blandowski , had any experience in exploration. However, due to factionalism , both men were consistently outvoted. Several people were considered for
7392-458: Was more adept than Burke at living in the wilderness, but it was Burke's leadership skills (or lack thereof) that was especially detrimental to the mission. Rather than take cattle to be slaughtered during the trip, the Exploration Committee decided to experiment with dried meat. The weight required three extra wagons and slowed the expedition down appreciably. The Exploration Committee gave Burke written instructions. These included suggestions for
7480-650: Was taken on Sunday 26 August at Camp VI in Mia Mia . The expedition reached Swan Hill on 6 September, where Charles Gray joined the expedition. They arrived in Balranald on 15 September. There, to lighten the load, the expedition left behind their sugar, lime juice and some of their guns and ammunition . Burke also dismissed several members of the expedition here, including the foreman Charles Ferguson, citing lack of funds. Ferguson later successfully sued for unfair dismissal. At Gambala on 24 September, Burke decided to load some of
7568-500: Was the benefactor of explorer Ernest Giles , who visited Lake Amadeus and Kata Tjuta . Giles had originally wanted to name these Lake Mueller and Mt Ferdinand, but Mueller prevailed upon Giles to name them Lake Amadeus, after King Amadeus of Spain , and Mt Olga, after Queen Olga of Württemberg ; both kings had granted him honours. In 1871, King Karl of Württemberg gave him the hereditary title of Freiherr , to mark his distinction in 'natural sciences generally and in particular for
7656-414: Was thought that Burke would wait at Cooper Creek until autumn (March the next year) so that they would avoid having to travel during the hot Australian summer. However, Burke waited only until 16 December before deciding to make a dash for the Gulf of Carpentaria . He split the group again, leaving Brahe in charge of the depot, with Dost Mahomet, Patton and McDonough. Burke, Wills, King and Gray set off for
7744-933: Was transferred to the government of Victoria in 1865 and is incorporated into the library of the herbarium in Melbourne. Mueller was then nominated as the botanist to accompany the North Australian Exploring Expedition (1855–1856) led by Augustus Gregory , and decided to join despite initial hesitations. He explored the Victoria River and other portions of North Australia, was one of the four who reached Termination Lake in 1856, and accompanied Gregory's expedition overland to Moreton Bay . Mueller, for his part, found nearly 800 species in Australia new to science, such as Macadamia ternifolia (named after his friend and colleague, John Macadam ). He published in this year his Definitions of Rare or Hitherto Undescribed Australian Plants . From 1854 to 1872, Mueller
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