Australian Heroes and Adventurers Part 1

Australian Heroes and Adventurers.

by William Pyke.

PREFACE.

This book is the first of a series which the Publisher intends to issue, ill.u.s.trative of life and adventure in the Australian Colonies and the Islands of the Pacific. It has been carefully compiled from reliable sources of information--viz., _Wills's Diary_, _King's Narrative_, _Howitt's Diary_, Wood's _Explorations in Australia_, Withers's _History of Ballarat_, Sutherland's _Tales of the Gold-fields_, Raffello's _Account of the Ballarat Riots_, McCombie's _History of Victoria_, etc., etc. Most of these books are very expensive or out of print, and therefore not easily procurable at the booksellers.

In the succeeding volumes of the series it is proposed to give--"Buckley, the Runaway Convict, and his Black Friends," "John Batman, the Founder of Melbourne," "Fawkner, the Pioneer," "Early Days of Tasmania," "Botany Bay Tales," "Remarkable Convicts," "Notorious Bushrangers," "Brave Deeds," "Squatting Tales," "Remarkable Personal Adventures," "Curious Anecdotes," etc., etc.

MELBOURNE, 1889.

BURKE AND WILLS.

TWO HEROES OF EXPLORATION.

CHAPTER I.

_ACROSS AUSTRALIA._

There stood for twenty years, at the intersection of Collins and Russell Streets, the only monument which the city of Melbourne can boast of.

Increasing traffic has recently necessitated its removal to a small reserve opposite our Parliament Houses, where it occupies a most commanding position at one of the chief entrances of the city. It is the lasting memorial of two men and the expedition they led across the continent of Australia. It stands in silent and solemn grandeur amidst the noisy turmoil of a busy thoroughfare--two ma.s.sive figures gazing earnestly and longingly, seemingly in a solitude as complete as the deepest seclusion of the lonely plains of the interior, where the heroes whose memory they perpetuate met their fate. No inscription tells the curious visitor or wayfarer who they are, or records the deeds that have gained them such a high place in the estimation of the citizens of Victoria. The story is an old one in these days of rapidly pa.s.sing events, but we think it will bear repet.i.tion, and, therefore, in the following pages we will do our best to relate the events that led to the erection of so magnificent a memorial.

From the days of the first settlement of New South Wales at Port Jackson in 1788, down to the present time, the laudable desire of bettering their condition, enhanced by the adventurous spirit moving in their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, has prompted the colonists of Australia to organise parties for the exploration of the unknown interior of their vast continent. In not a few instances the explorer has been the precursor of the squatter and the selecter of settlements and civilisation. The journey of Oxley, in 1818, led to the discovery that the Macquarie and other rivers ended in large reedy marshes. This discovery gave rise to the belief in an immense inland sea, into which all the rivers of the interior emptied themselves. But subsequent travellers in search of this supposed inland sea dissipated the belief in its existence. In 1828 Sturt reached the "great salt river," called the Darling, which has since filled such an important part in facilitating the carriage of our staple product to the ocean. In his next journey Sturt went down the Murrumbidgee and the Murray as far as Lake Alexandrina. His description of the country surrounding the lake--plenty of green pastures and abundance of agricultural land of the most fertile kind--induced the squatters to send down their emaciated flocks from the parched plains of Riverina, and also led to the emigration of numbers of farmers and vine-growers from overcrowded Europe, who founded the Colony of South Australia.

Mitch.e.l.l, in 1836, descended the Darling, crossed over the Murray, and entered into what is now the Colony of Victoria. He named it "Australia Felix," because the country which met his view delighted him with its beautiful scenery, and its congenial climate presented such a pleasant contrast to that of the land he had just travelled over. Pioneers from Port Jackson and Van Diemen's Land migrated to this newly-revealed district. The productiveness of its soil, and the subsequent discovery of gold, soon attracted a great number of adventurers and immigrants to the happy clime. In an incredibly short period the district grew into a rich and prosperous colony, and Melbourne, its mighty capital, took rank amongst the chief cities of the world.

The success attending the early exploring expeditions equipped by the mother colony seems to have incited the colonists of Victoria to emulate the doings of their neighbours. In 1859 a patriotic offer was made by an enterprising citizen of Melbourne--Mr. Ambrose Kyte--to contribute L1000 towards defraying the cost of fitting out an expedition to explore the vast interior of Australia. This generous offer was accepted. The project was taken up by the Royal Society of Victoria, and the sum of L3400 was raised by public subscription. The Government voted L6000, and granted an additional L3000 for the purchase of camels in India. Thus originated, under the most favourable auspices, the Victorian Exploring Expedition, which is now more commonly known, owing, no doubt, to its calamitous termination, as the "Burke and Wills' Expedition."

The Exploration Committee had some trouble in obtaining a suitable leader. Several well-known explorers were written to, but each of them declined. At last the appointment was given to Mr. Robert O'Hara Burke, a man of approved ability, and in himself actuated by an enthusiastic desire to perform the hitherto unaccomplished feat of crossing our vast continent from sea to sea.

Mr. Burke was an Irishman, born in 1821, and was, therefore, only forty years old at the time of his melancholy end. He had served in the Austrian Cavalry, and also in the Irish Mounted Constabulary, previous to his arrival in Van Diemen's Land, in 1853. After performing services as Acting Inspector at Hobart Town and as Police Magistrate at Beechworth (Victoria), he was granted leave of absence in order to go to England, where he hoped to obtain a commission in one of the regiments embarking for the seat of the war then waging between England and Russia. Being unsuccessful, owing to the termination of the war, he returned to Victoria, and shortly received an appointment as one of the superintendents of the Victorian Police Force, which position he held until the setting out of the exploring expedition. Mr. Burke diligently prepared himself for the journey across the continent. He examined the records of previous expeditions for the personal experiences of former explorers, as well as for knowledge of the interior already at hand. He also made severe walking tours, in order to qualify himself physically for the unusual hardships accompanying such a journey. The following characteristic letter, written whilst _en route_, will show his determination to succeed in his undertaking:--

"ON THE DARLING, _4th October 1860_.

"MY DEAR S----,

"I received your letter, and was glad to hear of the safe arrival of your friend B----. We have been resting here a few days, awaiting the arrival of the baggage, which has just come up. To-morrow we proceed on, and I shall not delay anywhere until I reach Cooper's Creek--being an Irishman I must add, unless I can't help it.

"I leave the hired waggons and my own behind. The accursed impediments, the ruin of so many expeditions, I am determined shall not ruin me.

"We all march on foot three or four hundred miles at all events, and the camels and horses will have to carry our weight in provisions.

"We have already done so for the last forty miles. You should have seen old B----'s face, upon my announcing that all the officers would have to act as working men, and that we should only carry 30 lbs. weight of baggage for each man.

"Loading camels and then marching twenty miles is no joke. The first two days of it nearly choked poor B----, and I think he will not be able to stand it much longer.

"I am still confident of success, and willing to accept the alternative of success or disgrace, although failure is possible. This self-imposed task (as you justly call it) is no sinecure, and I think will take the sting out of me if I see it out. Good-bye, my dear S----.

"From yours, ever sincerely,

"R. O'HARA BURKE."

In William John Wills we see the real hero of the expedition. He was an Englishman, born in Devonshire, and at his untimely end was but twenty-seven years of age. He was endowed with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. It manifested itself on the voyage out, where, in addition to his other studies, he acquired a knowledge of the science of navigation. After his arrival in Victoria, in 1853, his taste for science, which was also accompanied by a naturally courageous and enterprising spirit, displayed itself. At first he obtained an appointment in the Survey Department. He gained a knowledge of astronomical and other sciences to which the Observatory is dedicated, and was then admitted, through the influence of the Surveyor-General, into that establishment as an a.s.sistant. As early as 1855 the friends of young Wills had frequently heard him speak of his intention to explore the unknown interior of Australia, and to be one of the first to reach the sh.o.r.es of the Gulf of Carpentaria. In 1856 a proposal was mooted to send out an expedition, and, on hearing of this, Mr. Wills walked from the river Wannon to Ballarat, a distance of ninety miles, to offer his services; but the project was abandoned. His scientific attainments had qualified him for an important post in the expedition of 1860, and he joined it in the capacity of astronomical and meteorological observer. Of his fitness for exploring, the Rev. Julian Woods writes--"Having studied every journal connected with Australian exploration, and become, as it were personally acquainted with all our discoverers, I conscientiously say I have not met with so courageous, so n.o.ble, so fine an explorer as William John Wills."

[Ill.u.s.tration: WILLIAM JOHN WILLS.

_From Photo_--HILL, Melbourne.]

The other officers of the expedition were:--Mr. Landells, who had brought the camels to the colony, and was appointed second in command; Dr. Herman Beckler, botanist and medical adviser of the expedition; and Dr. Ludwig Becker, artist, naturalist, and geological surveyor. There were eleven subordinates, including three Hindoo camel-drivers.

On the 20th August 1860 the expedition left Melbourne. During the morning of its departure crowds of holiday folks were to be seen wending their various ways to the Royal Park, on the northern outskirts of the city. It was late in the afternoon before the picturesque groups of camels and horses, with their keepers and the baggage, were arranged in marching order. Then Mr. Burke, on a little grey horse, took up his position at the head of the procession. When it was about to start, the Mayor of Melbourne mounted one of the drays and delivered a short speech, wishing them G.o.d-speed. Mr. Burke uncovered, and replied, in a clear voice that was heard all over the crowd:--"Mr. Mayor, on behalf of myself and the expedition, I beg to return you my most sincere thanks.

No expedition has ever started under such favourable circ.u.mstances as this. The people, the Government, the Committee--all have done heartily what they could do. It is now our turn! and we shall never do well till we justify what you have done in showing you what we can do." Then, amidst the loud cheering and acclamations of the spectators, who numbered fully ten thousand, the brilliant cavalcade was put in motion.

It was truly a fine, imposing spectacle, and the applauding cheers of the enthusiastic citizens were prolonged till the procession had faded away in the dim distance.

The progress of the explorers through the settled districts to the river Darling was very slow, and even before they reached Menindie serious dissensions had broken out in their camp. On arriving at that township Burke dismissed the foreman, and Mr. Landells resigned his position and left the party. Mr. Wills was then appointed second in command, and instead of Mr. Landells, Burke placed in charge of the camels a man named Wright, whom he had picked up at a sheep station.

[Ill.u.s.tration: COOPER'S CREEK.]

The Exploration Committee had instructed Burke to establish a depot on Cooper's Creek, and make a line of communication between it and the Darling. When the explorers reached that river the spring season was far advanced, and soon the fervid rays of the sun would wither the green gra.s.s and dry up the water-courses; therefore Burke decided to push forward to the creek without delay. But some of the camels were unfit to proceed immediately, so Burke divided his party, and with seven of his companions and Wright, who offered to show him a direct and well-watered track, set out from Menindie on the 19th of October.

They accomplished more than half of the journey, and having been fortunate in finding good feed and water on the way, Burke sent Wright back to the encampment on the Darling with instructions to bring the rear party with the heavy supplies on by easy stages to Cooper's Creek.

On the 11th of November, thirteen days after despatching Wright, Burke and his party arrived safely at the creek. They then travelled slowly along the banks of the stream, recruiting the animals and looking around for a camping-ground. On the twenty-first they pitched on a suitable locality, and there established the main depot.

Whilst awaiting the arrival of Wright with the remainder of the company, frequent excursions were made in order to find a route to the north. On one of these excursions, Mr. Wills travelled ninety miles without finding water; their camels escaped from them, and he and his companions were forced to return on foot. Fortunately for them they found a pool on their way back to the depot, but the camels were never recovered. On another occasion Wills and King got into a stony desert. The knowledge obtained by means of these and other short excursions was not of an encouraging nature to the explorers.

After waiting at Cooper's Creek for more than a month, the advance party grew tired of their life of inaction, and made preparations for the journey to the Gulf of Carpentaria. As Wright did not come forward as expected, Burke got impatient, and decided to subdivide the few men he had with him as follows:--Four men were to remain at the depot, one of them named William Brahe in command; and were to construct a stockade while waiting for Wright, and when he had arrived they were to seek a more available and direct route to the Darling. The rest of the little party--Burke, Wills, King, and Gray--were to push forward to the Gulf, and were to take with them six of the camels, one horse, and three months' provisions.

On 16th December the little band of explorers bade their companions good-bye, and started northwards. As they proceeded, Burke and Wills walked ahead, while Gray and King followed behind, leading the horse and the six camels. Burke himself seldom wrote, but Wills, every evening after taking astronomical observations, wrote his diary, and then read it to Burke, who made such alterations in it as he thought necessary.

Their allowance of provisions were a pound of flour and a pound of meat daily, with a little rice occasionally, and the party camped out every evening without tents. In his admirable history of the _Exploration of Australia_, a work published in 1865, and containing, in addition to the adventures of the explorers, a very lucid description of the physical features of the continent, so far as they had been made known by the journeys and discoveries previous to the year 1863, the Rev. Mr. Woods writes in reference to this journey:--"No doubt this self-denying mode of proceeding was very heroic and courageous, but was it necessary? It certainly does seem a pity that after the great care taken to equip the party adequately, that its main work should have been done by a feeble party, badly provisioned, and subject to the disadvantage of crossing the country on foot. The work was done, it is true, but done in an imperfect way. No one could expect four poorly-fed men to manage six camels, to force their way through untrodden scrubs, and yet keep a journal and make observations. No one could expect it, and it was not done. The journal left is most incomplete, and to this day several portions of the route are still matters of dispute."

For some distance the exploring quartette travelled over well-watered country. Numerous parties of natives were met with, but they were friendly to the whites. Mr. Wills writes of a tribe of these:--"They pestered us to go to their camp and have a dance, which we declined.

They were very troublesome, and nothing but a threat to shoot them will keep them away. They are, however, easily frightened; and although fine-looking men, decidedly not of a warlike disposition. They show the greatest inclination to take whatever they can, but will run no unnecessary risk in so doing. They seldom carry any weapon except a shield and a large kind of boomerang, which I believe they use for killing rats, etc. Sometimes, but very seldom, they have a large spear; reed spears seem to be quite unknown to them. They are undoubtedly a finer-looking race of men than the blacks on the Murray and Darling, and more peaceful; but in other respects I believe they will not compare favourably with them. They appear to be mean-spirited and contemptible in every respect." After the explorers had pa.s.sed through this fertile country, they had to cross about twenty miles of stony desert. On the other side of it they came upon an earthy plain of about nine miles.

Then another nine miles of travelling through swampy plains brought them to the banks of a magnificent stream. The four men followed up this creek from point to point of the bends, and on the 7th of January camped well within the tropics. Afterwards they entered upon immense fertile plains, with innumerable creeks coursing through them, on the banks of which gum and box-trees and splendid gra.s.s grew luxuriantly. Pigeons and wild ducks were also found in abundance. For five days the travellers marched over these flourishing plains. Then they crossed over a series of low sandstone hills, and after pa.s.sing over a stony plain came upon a range of mountains, which they called the Standish Ranges. On 27th of January the explorers reached Cloncurry Creek, one of the derivative streams of the river Flinders. They had afterwards to travel over swampy ground; the camels could not be got along, so all of them were abandoned. On the 9th of February, King and Gray were left behind with the bulk of the provisions, while Burke and Wills, taking the horse with them to carry supplies sufficient for three days, pushed forward towards the sea. They had to cross over patches of swampy ground; a great deal of it was so soft and rotten that the horse got bogged, and it was only by digging him out that he could be extricated. After great difficulty and delay they managed to do this. Then they came across some tableland, and beyond that a plain covered with water, which in some places reached up to their knees. After wading through several miles of this swamp, they came again to dry land. Further on they met a few natives, who, on seeing the explorers, decamped immediately, leaving behind in their hurried departure some yams, which were at once appropriated to appease the sharp hunger of Burke and Wills. A small distance beyond they reached a narrow inlet on the sh.o.r.e of the Gulf of Carpentaria. A forest of Mangroves intercepted their view of the open sea beyond, so the two heroic men attempted to advance through it. The horse had by this time become too weak to advance further, therefore they hobbled him, and hastened forward without him. But the two gallant fellows were soon obliged to relinquish their attempt to pierce the thick undergrowth. They could not obtain a view of the open ocean, although they made every effort to do so. 'Tis true their mission was accomplished; they had crossed the continent to within a mile or two of its northern sh.o.r.e--the victory was gained! But now the necessities of the case compelled the triumphant explorers to immediately hurry back to Cooper's Creek.

[Ill.u.s.tration: J. A. KING.]

CHAPTER II.