Because we're leaving the city
next week, my wife bought
a GPS to find our way. As the till
rang up our purchase, I thought
of Robert O'Hara Burke dieing at
dried-up Cooper's Creek, unable to get
back to what passed for civilisation
in Terra Australis 1860.
Now we read *Instructions To Begin*
at our pinewood kitchen table
instead of a sad 'Sorry' note
stuck in a tree, at a camp
recently deserted, our civilised route
spelt out by a prerecorded voice -
*Turn left ... Take the third exit ...*
It could've been handy for Burke
back then when there were
no highways, no roadside diners.
*
*
A little history for you:*
2010 is the 150th anniversary of the *Burke & Wills Expedition*. The
expedition was originally called the * Victorian Exploring Expedition* and
its aim was to cross the continent of Australia from Melbourne on the south
coast to the north coast, which at the time was uninhabited by the migaloo
(white-fella). No one had done this before, and to the Victorian colonists
the centre of the continent was unknown, unmapped and unexplored.
The expedition was organised by the Royal Society of
Victoria<http://www.burkeandwills.net.au/Royal_Society/Royal_Society_of_Victoria.htm>and
it became the first to cross the continent. Three men traveled 5,000
kilometres from Melbourne to the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria and then
back to the Depôt Camp at Cooper Creek. Seven men died in the attempt,
including the leader, Robert O'Hara Burke and the third in command William
John Wills. Only one man, John King, survived to return to Melbourne.
PS: It is anachronistic to call it Terra Australis in 1860, but it sounds
good!
Andrew
http://hispirits.blogspot.com/
'Mother Waits for Father Late' republished available at
http://www.picaropress.com/
http://www.qlrs.com/poem.asp?id=766
http://frankshome.org/AndrewBurke.html
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