Research Catalog

Burke & Wills : the triumph and tragedy of Australia's most famous explorers

Title: Burke & Wills : the triumph and tragedy of Australia's most famous explorers / Peter Fitzsimons.
Author: FitzSimons, Peter
Publication: London : Constable, 2018.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

1 Item

Item details
Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	JFE 18-4238	Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description

xix, 700 pages illustrations, maps; 24 cm

Summary

'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 our nation's history - and their story remains immediate and compelling.

Alternative Title

Burke and Wills

Subjects

Note

Published in Australia, 2017.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 673-679) and index.

Call Number

JFE 18-4238

ISBN

1472128990
9781472128997

OCLC

1012763401

Author

FitzSimons, Peter, author.

Title

Burke & Wills : the triumph and tragedy of Australia's most famous explorers / Peter Fitzsimons.

Publisher

London : Constable, 2018.

Type of Content

text

still image

cartographic image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 673-679) and index.

Research Call Number

JFE 18-4238

View in Legacy Catalog