Born c. May 6, 1820,
St. Cerah’s. Galway, Ireland
Died c. June 28, 1861,
AustraIia

William John Wills

Born 1834,
Devonshire, England
Died 1961,
Australia

Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills were the leaders of a tragic expedition that has become a legend in Australian history. Burke was in a great hurry to achieve fame and fortune; Wills was swept up in Burke’s grand ambitions. Together they lost their lives in an expedition that accomplished little but proved to be the most costly in Australia’s history. Their brave and lonely deaths made them sentimental heroes. Today they are reminders of an era when climate and terrain made many parts of the country uninhabitable.

Race to find the north-south route

By the 1860s most of the Australian continent had been explored, but communication between populated districts was nonexistent...