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Peach’s Explorers – South to North (1984)

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The first Victorian expedition

Original classification rating: G. This clip chosen to be G

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.

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This clip is available for download for the limited purpose of criticism and review in an educational context. You must obtain permission from editorial@aso.gov.au for all other purposes for use of this material.

Terms & Conditions

australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described here and elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions. ALL rights are reserved.

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When you access ABC materials on australianscreen you agree that:

  1. You may download this clip to assist your information, criticism and review purposes in conjunction with viewing this website only;
  2. Downloading this clip for purposes other than criticism and review is Prohibited;
  3. Downloading for purposes other than non-commercial educational uses is Prohibited;
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