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Clip description
The expedition of Burke (played here by Martin Shaw) and Wills (John Bell) is made ready to leave from Royal Park in Melbourne with all the pomp and hullabaloo befitting those wild gold rush days of the 1860s. They set out with camels from India, rockets and the latest colt revolvers, and a former police officer as leader with absolutely no experience of exploring the continent or of leading an expedition.
Curator’s notes
The program captures the festive nature of the launch of the expedition that was to finish in such tragedy. The program cleverly uses quotes from newspapers of the day to capture the atmosphere. There’s also a terrific animation from the ABC graphics department of a 'Melbourne Punch’ cartoon of the time which poked fun at the competition between the two expeditions from the rival colonies of Victoria and South Australia, with Burke astride one of his camels racing to catch Stuart on one of his trusty horses.
Bill Peach develops a convincing thesis that events that culminated in the fateful misunderstanding at the 'dig’ tree at Cooper Creek began with the inappropriate materials for the journey and the complete inexperience of an impatient and hyperactive leader.
