These collection items are associated with the ill-fated 1860 Victorian Exploring Expedition, led by Robert O'Hara Burke. It was one of Australia's largest expeditions to explore the country's interior, then unknown to Europeans.
Over the course of the nine-month journey, excess supplies were discarded, enemies created, opportunities overlooked and many lives lost, including those of Burke and expedition astronomer and second-in-command William John Wills.
By late June 1861, Burke was suffering from starvation and beri-beri, and could no longer move. He asked fellow expedition member John King to place a gun in his hand and leave him unburied; and died where he lay. King set out to get help from local Aborigines but was unsuccessful, and by the time he returned to camp, Wills was also dead. After relief expeditions located their bodies, Burke and Wills were buried at Melbourne General Cemetery with a full state funeral.
Before they died, both Burke and Wills wrote final notes, which were found at Cooper’s Creek. Two of Burke's entries, one written on each side of a single page, from Burke's nine final expedition notes, are on display in Travelling Treasures. All nine notes are part of the Library's Australian Manuscripts Collection.
The Colt revolver found in Burke's hand is believed to have belonged to Wills. It is metal with a wooden handle, 19.5cm long, and the original barrel has been cut down. It is part of the Library's Pictures Collection.
The State Library has the largest and most important collection of Burke and Wills material. The items are held in the Library's Australian Manuscripts, Pictures and Newspaper Collections. Many of these collection items, including the Colt revolver and the explorers' final notes, can be viewed on the Library's Burke and Wills - Terra Incognita website.
Illustration
Colt revolver, found in Robert Burke's hand in 1861, State Library of Victoria Pictures Collection | 
