The Burke and Wills Expedition - Part 4 - Cooper's Creek
Burke and Wills trek from Menindee to Cooper's Creek - then prepare to strike out for the north coast of Australia
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Show Notes
In part 4 of our series, Burke and Wills travel north to Cooper's Creek, where they establish a supply depot. Burke will spend a month scouting the area to the north, before finally departing for the north coast in mid-December. At Menindee, William Wright waits for money to buy more horses so he can haul all the supplies to Burke's new camp. Meanwhile, a policeman, Trooper Myles Lyons, strikes out for Cooper's Creek carrying dispatches for Burke.
People and Places
- Robert O’Hara Burke – Leader of the Victorian Exploring Expedition (VEE)
- William Wills – British surveyor and astronomer. 2nd-in-command of the expedition.
- Victoria Exploring Expedition (VEE) – The official name of the expedition led by Robert Burke to cross the Australian continent.
- John McDouall Stuart – Scottish explorer who was the chief competitor with the VEE to blaze a route across Australia.
- Hermann Beckler - German doctor and botanist.
- Ludwig Becker - German geologist and naturalist.
- William Wright - Bushman who joined the VEE at Menindee.
- John King - 22-year old ex-soldier. Selected by Burke to be part of the contingent going to the north coast.
- Trooper Myles Lyons - Policeman from Swan Hill bringing dispatches to Robert Burke.
- Alexander McPherson - Saddler who would join Lyons and Dick in an attempt to reach Burke at Cooper's Creek.
- William Hodgkinson - Journalist who joined the expedition at Swan Hill.
- Dick - Aboriginal Guide who accompanied Burke - and then Lyons - to the north.
- Peter - Aboriginal Guide who accompanied Hermann Beckler to rescue Lyons and MacPherson.
- Thomas McDonough - VEE member who accompanied Burke and Wills to Cooper's Creek.
- Charley Gray - VEE member who was selected to go with Burke and Wills to the north coast of Australia.
- Cooper’s Creek – River in central Australia. It is about halfway across the continent if someone is traveling between Melbourne and Gulf of Carpentaria in the north. About 750 miles from Melbourne.
- Menindee - Most northerly outpost on the route of the VEE in their trek across Australia. About 400 miles from Melbourne.
- Gulf of Carpentaria - The most direct route from Victoria to the northern coast of Australia - roughly a 1500 mile journey across the continent.
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