Robert O'Hara Burke

Robert O'Hara Burke (6 May, 1820 or 1821 – c.28 June 1861) was an Irish soldier and police officer, who achieved fame as an Australian explorer. He was the leader of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australia from south to north, finding a route across the continent from the settled areas of Victoria to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The expedition party was well-equipped, but Burke was not experienced in bushcraft and his leadership is often blamed for the failure of the project and deaths of seven people in the party.

Early years

Burke was born in County Galway, Ireland in 1820 or 1821, probably on 6 May, the second of three sons of James Hardiman Burke (d. January 1854), an officer in the British army 7th Royal Fusiliers, and Anne Louisa Burke nee O'Hara (d.1844).

Robert O'Hara was one of seven children, his brothers were John Hardiman (d. August 1863) and James Thomas and his younger sisters were Fanny Maria, Elizabeth, Hester Albinia (d. 10 November 1866) and Anne Celestine (d.1914). James Thomas Burke was a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, and on 7 July 1854 at the battle of Giurgevo became the first British officer killed in the Crimean war.

Military career

Burke entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in 1835 and then went on to further his education in [Belgium]. In 1841, at the age of twenty he entered the Austrian army and in 1842 was promoted to Second Lieutenant in the Prince Regent's 7th Hussar Regiment. He spent most of his time in the Imperial Austrian Army posted to northern Italy and in 1847 was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. In 1848 he suffered health problems and resigned from the Austrian army after charges against him relating to debts and absence without leave were dropped.

Police career

After returning to Ireland in 1848, he joined the Royal Irish Constabulary. He did his cadet training at Phoenix Park Depot in Dublin before being promoted to 3rd Class Sub-Inspector, stationed first in County Kildare and later in Dublin.

Australia

Burke emigrated to Australia in 1853. Upon arrival in Melbourne he joined the Victorian police force

After the South Australian explorer, John McDouall Stuart had reached the centre of Australia, the South Australian parliament offered a reward of £2,000 for the promotion of an expedition to cross the continent from south to north, generally following Stuart's route. In May 1860, Burke was appointed to lead the Victorian Exploring Expedition with William John Wills as surveyor and astronomical observer.

The expedition left Melbourne on 20 August 1860 with a total of 19 men, 27 camels and 23 horses. They reached Menindee on 23 September 1860 where several people resigned, including the second-in-command, George James Landells and the medical officer, Dr. Hermann Beckler.

Coopers Creek, 400 miles further on, was reached on 11 November 1860 by the advanced group, the remainder being intended to catch up. After a break, Burke decided to make a dash to the Gulf of Carpentaria, leaving on 16 December 1860. William Brahe was left in charge of the remaining party. The small team of Burke, William Wills, John King and Charley Gray reached the mangroves on the estuary of the Flinders River, near where the town of Normanton now stands, on 9 February 1861. Flooding rains and swamps meant they never saw open ocean.

Already weakened by starvation and exposure, progress on the return journey was slow and hampered by the tropical monsoon downpours of the wet season. Gray died four days before they reached the rendezvous at Cooper Creek. The other three rested for a day when they buried him. They eventually reached the rendezvous point on 21 April 1861, 9 hours after the rest of the party had given up waiting and left, leaving a note and some food, as they had not been relieved by the party supposed to be returning from Menindee.

They attempted to reach Mount Hopeless, the furthest outpost of pastoral settlement in South Australia, which was closer than Menindie, but failed and returned to Cooper Creek. While waiting for rescue Wills died of exhaustion and starvation. Soon after, Burke also died, at a place now called Burke's Waterhole on Coopers Creek in South Australia. The exact date of Burke's death is uncertain, but has generally been accepted to be 28 June 1861.

King survived with the help of Aborigines until he was rescued in September by Alfred William Howitt. Howitt buried Burke and Wills before returning to Melbourne. In 1862 Howitt returned to Coopers Creek and disinterred Burke and Wills' bodies, taking them first to Adelaide and then by steamer to Melbourne where they were laid in state for two weeks. On 23 January 1863 Burke and Wills received a State Funeral and were buried in Melbourne General Cemetery. Ironically, on that day Stuart and his Companions, having successfully completed the south-north crossing, were received back at a large ceremony in Adelaide.

References

• Kathleen Fitzpatrick, ' Burke, Robert O'Hara (1821 - 1861)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3, MUP, 1969, pp 301-303.

• The [Melbourne] Argus, 1861. "The Burke and Wills exploring expedition: An account of the crossing the continent of Australia from Cooper Creek to Carpentaria, with biographical sketches of Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills". Melbourne: Wilson and Mackinnon.
• Bonyhady, Tim, 1991. Burke and Wills: From Melbourne to myth. Balmain: David Ell Press. ISBN 0-908197-91-8.
• Burke and Wills Outback Conference 2003, 2005. The Inaugural Burke & Wills Outback Conference : Cloncurry 2003 : a collation of presentations. Dave Phoenix, Cairns Qld. ISBN 0-646-44702-5
• Clune, Frank, 1937. Dig: A drama of central Australia. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
• Corke, David G, 1996. The Burke and Wills Expedition: A study in evidence. Melbourne: Educational Media International. ISBN 0-909178-16-X
• Henry, William, 1997. The shimmering waste: The life and times of Robert O'Hara Burke. Galway, Ireland.: W Henry Publisher. ISBN 0-906312-46-9
• Howitt, Alfred William, 1907. "Personal reminiscences of Central Australia and the Burke and Wills Expedition: Presidents inaugural address". Journal of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science. 1907 (Adelaide, 1907.), 43p.
• Jackson, Andrew, 1862. Robert O'Hara Bourke [sic] and the Australian Exploring Expedition of 1860. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• Manwaring, William Henry, 1970. "A contemporary’s view of Robert O’Hara Burke". La Trobe Library Journal. Vol. 2 (No. 6).
• Murgatroyd, Sarah, 2002. The Dig Tree. Melbourne: Text Publishing. ISBN 1-877008-08-7
• Victoria: Parliament, 1862. Burke and Wills Commission. Report of the Commissioners appointed to enquire into and report upon the circumstances connected with the sufferings and death of Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, the Victorian Explorers. Melbourne: John Ferres Government Printer.
• Wills, William John, & Wills, Dr William, 1863. A successful exploration through the interior of Australia, from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria: from the journals and letters of William John Wills. London: Richard Bentley.

See also

• List of people on stamps of Ireland

External links

• Burke & Wills Web A comprehensive website containing many of the historical documents relating to the Burke & Wills Expedition.
• The Burke & Wills Historical Society The Burke & Wills Historical Society.