---
node: au_burke_and_wills
type: event
slug: burke_and_wills_expedition
title: "Burke and Wills expedition"
lead: "The 1860–1861 expedition that attempted to cross the continent from south to north and ended in tragedy."
published: 2026-07-15
updated: 2026-07-15
---

## What happened

In 1860 Robert O'Hara Burke and William Wills set out from Melbourne at the head of a large expedition aiming for the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north.

## Background

Blocked by wetlands, they did not quite reach the sea but crossed almost the whole continent before turning back. A failure of supply arrangements meant that, on the return journey at Cooper Creek, they died of hunger and exhaustion.

## Consequences

The tragedy shocked the nation and drove home the harshness of the interior. The Burke and Wills expedition is remembered as a symbolic episode in the history of Australian inland exploration.