The Explorers Podcast

The Burke and Wills Expedition - Part 4 - Cooper's Creek

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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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