Hordern House

ANON Portrait of R. O'Hara Burke, leader.  N.p., circa 1861

Lithograph portrait, 190 x 135 mm.; trimmed to an oval shape, original printed inscription laid down, fine.

Intro to Burke and Wills.

The Burke and Wills exploring expedition was initiated by the Royal Society and departed Melbourne on 20 August 1860. The colourful scene of the departure from Royal Park included mountains of stores and equipment, tents, wagons, drays, camels and horses. It was a celebrated, expensive and grand assembly setting out to cross the continent for the first time from Victoria to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The two leaders were the first Europeans to cross the Australian continent.

The Burke and Wills expedition and its tragic results aroused widespread sympathy and an enormous interest rarely seen in Australia's history. Even today it continues to have an impact, and the story of the expedition and its legacy is examined time and again through scholarly books and the popular media.

The leader of the expedition, Robert O'Hara Burke, came to Tasmania in 1853 and then became an inspector with the Victorian police. That Burke was appointed to lead an exploring expedition, without having had any experience in the field whatsoever, is both astonishing and tragic, as his utter incompetence led to the deaths of seven men. One theory which holds currency for his determination to win the post was that he was desperate to impress one Julia Matthews, a siren of the Melbourne stage. This portrait shows the middle-aged Irishman with the straggly beard, who 'used every fair, honourable and straightforward means' (ADB) to be given the commission to lead the expedition.
See Nan Kivell & Spence, p.50 (similar image illustrated p.41).

$A875

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