Across the Australian Desert

Robert O'Hara Burke (1821-1861) was one of the great Victorian explorers. In 1860 he was appointed to lead the Victorian Exploring Expedition, which aimed to cross the Australian continent from south to north. The expedition left Melbourne on Monday, 20 August 1860 with a total of 19 men, 27 (rum fuelled) camels, and 23 horses. The expedition was dogged by disputes and poor leadership decisions from the start. Even at the first staging post the second in command and the medical officer resigned. Burke left groups of men, horses and camels at staging posts along the way to provide a supply chain of provisions for the return journey. However the supply chain was poorly managed and provisions ran low.The small team of Burke, William Wills, John King, and Charley Gray set off on an impetuous dash for the northern coast and reached the mangroves on the estuary of the Flinders River, near where the town of Normanton now stands, on the 9th of February 1861. Weakened by starvation and exposure