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Burke and Wills were exploring to cross Australia from south to north, starting in Melbourne, to demonstrate the viability of an Overland Telegraph Line to Australia's northern territories. Their expedition aimed to map unexplored areas, gather scientific data, and claim territory for the British Empire.
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Where were Burke and Wills born?
Robert O'Hara Burke was born at St Clerans, County Galway, Ireland. William Wills was born at Totnes, Devon, England.
What did Burke and wills find on there journey?
Burke and Wills led an expedition in 1860 to cross Australia from south to north. Along the way, they encountered challenging terrain, shortages of food and supplies, and harsh weather conditions. Ultimately, they reached the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, but both men died on the return journey due to starvation and exhaustion.
Who explored Australia?
Many people have explored Australia during its known history. All of them cannot be listed, but here is a reasonably comprehensive list of the main explorers.The Portuguese penetration to the east of the Indian Ocean culminated in their exploring the northern and eastern Australia in the 1520s. While no literary record remains due to the flooding of their archives in the 18th Century, illicit copies of their charts were incorporated in maps produced by the Dieppe mapmakers in th 1540s-1560s. One good representation of Australia was given to Henry VIII by Anne of Cleves as a wedding present.Dutch seafarers came in contact with the continent, beginning with Willem Jansz/Janszoon, a Dutchman who was seeking new trade routes and trade associates. He became the first recorded European to step foot on Australia's shores on the western shore of Cape York Peninsula, on 26 February 1606. In 1616, Dirk Hartog landed at Cape Inscription on 25 October 1616 where he left a pewter plate with an inscription recording his landing.On 24 November 1642, Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania, originally calling it "Antony Van Diemen's Land" in honour of the High Magistrate, or Governor-General of Batavia.The first Englishman to set foot on Australian soil was William Dampier. On 4 January 1688, his ship the 'Cygnet' was beached on the northwest coast of Australia, at King Sound near Buccaneer Archipelago on the north-west coast of Australia. While the ship was being repaired Dampier made notes on the fauna and flora he found there. He was unimpressed by the dry, barren landscape, the lack of water and what he described as the "miserablest people in the world" - the native population. His negative reports led to the delay of England's colonisation of what is now Australia.It was not until 1770 that Captain James Cook reported positively on the green, fertile countryside of New South Wales, and England sought to colonise the previously unknown continent.Following Cook's charting of the eastern coast in 1770 and the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, many more explorers sought to unravel the secrets of the continent: French explorers Marion du Fresne 1772, Bruno D'Entrecastaux 1792, Nicholas Baudin 1802-4, Jean-Claude de Freycinet 1818, were followed by others such as Matthew Flinders and George Bass in exploring the coastline. Bass was famous for proving that Van Diemen's land (now Tasmania) was from an island, whilst Flinders was famous for his two-year circumnavigation of the entire continent.Captain Arthur Phillip, Governor of the first colony, explored extensively around the Sydney/Parramatta area, but was unable to breach the Blue Mountains.Settlement did not extend beyond Sydney until 1813, when Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth climbed Mount York, at the western end of the Blue Mountains, from which they sighted the rich grasslands on the other side of the mountain barrier. George Evans continued on from Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth's expedition, finding the Macquarie River and surrounding fertile plains.After this, there were a number of other explorers who filled in the gaps.Captain John Oxley and Allan Cunningham explored inland and northern New South Wales and southern Queensland (c. 1823).James Kelly explored Tasmania (1816).Hamilton Hume and William Hovell explored overland between Sydney and Port Phillip Bay (1824).Charles Sturt followed Murrumbidgee River to the Murray River, and on to the southern coast. He also determined that the Darling River flowed into the Murray, thereby discovering Australia's biggest inland river system (1829-30).Major Mitchell contributed much to the discovery of good land in Victoria, although he spent much time trying to dispute Sturt's theory that the Darling flowed into the Murray. He found excellent fertile land in western Victoria (1836). He also explored in southern Queensland.Paul Edmund de Strzelecki was the first to climb and name Mt Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mountain (1840).Edward Eyre made numerous expeditions, exploring north of Adelaide, and later crossed the Nullarbor Plain from Streaky Bay to Albany (1839-41).Ludwig Leichhardt explored inland Queensland and up to the north coast, at Port Essington (1844-45).Edmund Kennedy explored the Queensland coast, tragically losing his life when almost within sight of the ship sent to meet him at the northern tip (1848).John MacDouall Stuart led a total of six expeditions into Australia's interior, with five of them being attempts to be the first to cross the continent from south to north, commencing from Adelaide. He succeeded on his fifth attempt, reaching the northern waters at Chambers Bay in July 1862.Burke and Wills led an unfortunate expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. While their expedition filled in gaps of knowledge, they also died during their attempt to return safely (1861).Ernest Giles made several expeditions in the Australian desert, through central and Western Australia (1872-1875).Peter Warburton undertook numerous smaller expeditions, but his goal was to complete the first crossing of the central Australian continent from east to west, a goal he achieved in 1873.The Forrest brothers of Western Australia explored much of the northwest regions in the 1870s.
How has the discovery of gold changed and developed Australia?
There are many ways in which the gold rush changed Australian culture and society, affected the direction of politics and helped to develop the country into what it is today. One of the ways it shaped Australian history was through immigration. The goldrush brought a large number of immigrants to Australia, all of whom contributed their own cultural influences. It was the beginning of multiculturalism in Australia. The Chinese in particular converged on Australia, and resentment against the Asian nationalities was a contributing factor to the introduction of the White Australia Policy in the twentieth century. Enormous numbers of immigrants, especially Chinese, brought their unique cultural influences to Australia, and many of the Chinese stayed on to build businesses in the towns once the main gold deposits were mined out. There were huge increases in the population. In 1851, Australia's population was 437,655. By the end of the gold rush, 1861, Australia's population had more than doubled and Victoria's, the site of the gold rush, had increased seven-fold. After the goldrush, many of the new towns shrank to just a fraction of their former size, resulting in ghost towns in many areas. The wealth of the newly-formed state of Victoria caused rivalry with New South Wales, and indirectly led to the most tragic of explorations - that of Burke and Wills. The Victorian government, fired up with zeal, confidence and wealth, commissioned an enormous exploration party that was doomed to failure by its hasty preparation, interesting choice of leader, and the Victorian desire to be the first to cross Australia from south to north. These factors all had a part in the failure of the expedition and the deaths of Burke and Wills. There was a new boom of Victorian architecture in cities such as Melbourne, and the richness of this architecture can still be seen today. Unfortunately, the bust that inevitably follows a boom contributed to the general deflation of prices from 1860-1900 which caused multiple depressions in Australia's economy. There was a huge influx of people to the Victorian goldfields, but businessmen, tradesmen, labourers - the very backbone of Australia - together with many of the state's own administrators, abandoned their work. This threatened the state's infrastructure and administration: vital jobs had no-one to do them. Nonetheless, the newfound wealth meant that Britain no longer had any reason to withhold self-government. New rules, policies and legislation were implemented, giving Australia more of an understanding of how to draft future legislation and, indeed, its own constitution. Because of the rivalry between Victoria and NSW, a new site was chosen for the Australian capital. Canberra lies where it is today because of this very rivalry brought on by the goldrush. Of course, there quite possibly wouldn't have been the need for a capital city were it not for the goldrush: Australia now had the confidence to "go it alone" - to break free from 'Mother Britain" and aim for independence, which it achieved with the federation of the states in 1901. The goldrushes helped bring improvements in transportation. The famous "Cobb and Co Coaches" ran successfully for half a century, thanks to the goldrush. Train lines were built, linking the major centres, and roadways were improved. Another way in which the gold rush shaped history was in the development of democracy. The Eureka Stockade was the 1854 miners' uprising on the goldfields of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Conditions on the Australian goldfields were harsh. The main source of discontent was the miner's licence, which cost a monthly fee of 30 shillings and permitted the holder to work a 3.6 metre square "claim". Licences had to be paid regardless of whether a digger's claim resulted in the finding of any gold. Frequent licence hunts, during which the miners were ordered to produce proof of their licences, added to the increasing unrest. Previous delegations for miners' rights had met with inaction from the Victorian government, so on 29 November 1854, the miners burned their licences in a mass display of resistance against the laws which controlled the miners. Following a massive licence hunt on November 30, Irish immigrant Peter Lalor was elected to lead the rebellion. On December 1, the miners began to construct a wooden barricade, a stockade from which they planned to defend themselves against further licence arrests or other incursions by the authorities. At 3:00am on Sunday, 3 December 1854, 276 police and military personnel and several civilians stormed the stockade. It remains unclear which side fired first, but in the ensuing battle, 22 diggers and 5 troopers died. Although the rebellion itself failed in its objective, it gained the attention of the Government. A Commission of Enquiry was conducted and changes were implemented. These included abolition of monthly gold licences, replaced by an affordable annual miner's licence. The numbers of troopers were reduced significantly, and Legislative Council was expanded to allow representation to the major goldfields. Peter Lalor and another representative, John Basson Humffray, were elected for Ballarat. Later, Lalor was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria. For these reasons, the Eureka Stockade is regarded by many as the birthplace of Australian Democracy.
What was the relationship between the early explorers and the indigenous people of the region?
The relationship between Australian explorers and the indigenous people varied tremendously. For many years, there was a mutual wariness between the explorers and the aboriginal people, borne of misunderstandings and cultural misconceptions. Certain explorers such as Australia's first Governor, Arthur Phillip, believed it was their duty to "civilise" the Aborigines, and while he meant them no harm, it still caused irreparable damage to their way of life. The very first explorers to cross the Blue Mountains, Lawson, Blaxland and wentworth, were certainly wary of being speared in the night. Captain Charles Sturt, who explored from 1829-30, respected the aboriginal culture. He made a point of being friendly and trading with the Aborigines, something that certainly saved his life when Aborigines whom he had befriended saw off a warring native party. Then there were people like Major Thomas Mitchell who seemed to hold ambivalent views, believing on the one hand that the Aborigines were savages, and yet on the other hand, taking in a young girl to try and each white ways. Edward Eyre saw both sides. Two Aborigines of his exploration party killed his white overseer, John Baxter, and made off with supplies and rifles, while one Aborigines, Wylie, stayed faithfully by Eyre's side as he crossed the Nullarbor. Aborigines of northern Australia were very hostile, killing promising young explorer Edmund Kennedy for no apparent reason. Yes Kennedy died in the arms of his faithful aboriginal companion, Jacky-Jacky. Northern Aborigines also killed one of Leichhardt's party, but this was believed to be because the men had been interfering with the aboriginal women. Aborigines kept Burke and Wills alive for as long as possible, feeding them specially prepared nardoo plants, but it is believed that Burke's own hostility and mistrust drove them away. Later explorers such as Peter Warburton were quite cruel, capturing and tying up individuals for the sake of eliciting information.
What year did Burke and Wills explore Australia?
The Burke and Wills expedition left Melbourne in 1860.
What year was the Burke and Wills expedition?
The ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition across Australia was in 1860-1861.
When did Burke and Wills cross Australia?
Burke and Wills made their ill-fated expedition to cross the Australian continent in 1860-1861.
What was the prize offered to Burke and Wills?
Burke and Wills were offered a 2000 pound reward if they succeeded in being the first to cross Australia south to north.
When did Burke and Wills explore?
Robert O'Hara Burke and William Wills led the 1860-61expedition to try to cross Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north.
What did Burke and Wills do in 1860?
In 1860, Burke and Wills departed Melbourne to become the first explorers to attempt to cross the continent of Australia from south to north. Their journey was unsuccessful, and both Burke and Wills (and another man, Grey) died out in the Australian desert.
Did Burke and Wills die crossing Australia?
Yes. Burke and Wills hoped to be the first explorers to cross overland from the south of Australia to the north. They departed from Melbourne and reached the Gulf of Carpentaria, but due to a series of misunderstandings and miscommunication, the relief party never reached Burke and Wills, and the men died out in the desert, on the banks of Cooper Creek.
Who is William Wills?
William john wills was an explorer you may of heard of him from the "Burke and wills expodition" he was the first person to travel south to north in Australia in the desert
Was Burke wills brother?
No. Explorers Burke and Wills were unrelated.
Which continent did Burke and Wills explore?
Robert O'Hara Burke and William Wills led the 1860-61 expedition to try to cross the continent of Australia, from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north.
Who is William John Wills?
William john wills was an explorer you may of heard of him from the "Burke and wills expodition" he was the first person to travel south to north in Australia in the desert
What were Burke and Wills' occupations?
Burke and Wills were to become Australia's most famous failures at exploration, dying out in the desert, due to Burke's impatience. Prior to being appointed to the expedition, Robert O'Hara Burke was a police superintendent and William Wills was a surveyor.
