William John Wills

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Photograph of William John Wills
Photograph of William John Wills
Lithograph of William John Wills
Lithograph of William John Wills

William John Wills (1834-1861) was an English surveyor who also trained for a while as a surgeon. He achieved fame as the second-in-command of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australia from south to north, finding a route across the continent from the settled areas of Victoria to the Gulf of Carpentaria. See Burke and Wills expedition.

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[edit] Early Years

Wills was born in Totnes in Devon on 5 January 1834 and was educated at St Andrews Grammar School, Ashburton. He migrated to Australia in 1852 with his younger brother Thomas. They found work in Deniliquin as shepherds. Wills father, Dr William Wills Snr., followed the boys out to Australia, arriving in October 1853 and the three moved to Ballarat. William John Wills worked as a digger and a buyer for a bank. In 1855 he began to study surveying and moved to Melbourne to work under Georg Balthasar von Neumayer at the Flagstaff Observatory. Wills lived in Dorcas Street, South Melbourne until 1859 when he moved into the Observatory.

[edit] Burke and Wills Expedition

See Burke and Wills expedition.

In September 1858 the South Australian explorer, John McDouall Stuart had reached the centre of Australia and in July 1859 the South Australian parliament offered a reward of £2,000 for the promotion of an expedition to cross the continent from south to north. In May 1860, Robert O'Hara Burke was appointed to leader of the expedition and in July 1860 Wills was appointed Third-in-Command, surveyor and astronomical observer.

The expedition left Melbourne on 20 August 1860 with a total of 19 men, 27 camels and 23 horses. The reached Menindee on 23 September 1860 where several people resigned, including the second-in-command, George James Landells, and Wills was promoted to Second-in-Command.

Coopers Creek, 400 miles further on, was reached on 11 November 1860 by the advanced group, the remainder being intended to catch up. After a break, Burke decided to make a dash to the Gulf of Carpentaria, leaving on 16 December 1860. William Brahe was left in charge of the remaining party. The small team of Burke, Wills, John King and Charley Gray reached the mangroves on the estuary of the Flinders River, near where the town of Normanton now stands, on 9 February 1861. Flooding rains and swamps meant they never saw open ocean.

Already weakened by starvation and exposure, progress on the return journey was slow and hampered by the tropical monsoon downpours of the wet season. Gray died four days before they reached the rendezvous at Cooper Creek. The other three rested for a day when they buried him. They eventually reached the rendezvous point on 21 April 1861, 9 hours after the rest of the party had given up waiting and left, leaving a note and some food, as they had not been relieved by the party supposed to be returning from Menindie.

They attempted to reach Mount Hopeless, the furthest outpost of pastoral settlement in South Australia, which was closer than Menindie, but failed and returned to Cooper Creek. While waiting for rescue Wills became exhausted and was unable to continue. He urged Burke and King to continue on, leaving him alone with food, water and shelter. Wills died alone at a place called Breerily Waterhole on Coopers Creek in South Australia. He died at the end of June 1861, the exact date of his death is uncertain, but was most likely the 28th or 29th. Soon after, Burke also died.

King survived with the help of Aborigines until he was rescued in September by Alfred William Howitt. Howitt buried Burke and Wills before returning to Melbourne. In 1862 Howitt returned to Coopers Creek and disinterred Burke and Wills' bodies, taking them first to Adelaide and then by steamer to Melbourne where they were laid in state for two weeks. On 23 January 1863 Burke and Wills received a State Funeral and were buried in Melbourne General Cemetery.

[edit] References

  • The [Melbourne] Argus, 1861. "The Burke and Wills exploring expedition: An account of the crossing the continent of Australia from Cooper Creek to Carpentaria, with biographical sketches of Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills". Melbourne: Wilson and Mackinnon.
  • Bonyhady, Tim, 1991. Burke and Wills: From Melbourne to myth. Balmain: David Ell Press. ISBN 0-908197-91-8.
  • Burke and Wills Outback Conference 2003, 2005. The Inaugural Burke & Wills Outback Conference : Cloncurry 2003 : a collation of presentations. Dave Phoenix, Cairns Qld. ISBN 0-646-44702-5
  • Clune, Frank, 1937. Dig: A drama of central Australia. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
  • Corke, David G, 1996. The Burke and Wills Expedition: A study in evidence. Melbourne: Educational Media International. ISBN 0-909178-16-X
  • Murgatroyd, Sarah, 2002. The Dig Tree. Melbourne: Text Publishing. ISBN 1-877008-08-7
  • Victoria: Parliament, 1862. Burke and Wills Commission. Report of the Commissioners appointed to enquire into and report upon the circumstances connected with the sufferings and death of Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, the Victorian Explorers. Melbourne: John Ferres Government Printer.
  • Wills, William John, & Wills, Dr William, 1863. A successful exploration through the interior of Australia, from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria: from the journals and letters of William John Wills. London: Richard Bentley.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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