Mitsubishi retraces Burke & Wills' steps

Mitsubishi is commemorating the 150th anniversary of Burke and Wills expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpenteria by retracing the journey, this time in a pair of decidedly more comfortable Pajero 4WDs.

Affectionately renamed "Billy" and "Raja" after Burke's horse and camel, the two modern vehicles will be piloted by multi-award winning actor and environmentalist Jack Thompson and historian and author, Jonathan King.

The pair will follow the same route Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills covered on foot 150 years ago in search of an inland sea. Burke and Wills trekked the unforgiving Australian Outback with a huge contingent of men, horses and camels for support.

In that time, little was known about the centre of Australia and the race was on to open a trade route from one end to the other. Burke and Will set off from with 19 men including five Englishmen, four Indian sepoys, three Germans and an American with the intention of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around 3,250 kilometres.

The contingent was heavily loaded with cargo, including rum, dried meats, fire wood and even a cedar topped oak table – altogether they took 20 tonnes of equipment. To carry all this gear, the team employed 23 horses, six wagons and 27 camels imported from India especially for the mission.

Although the group was ultimately 'successful' in reaching the Gulf of Carpentaria, only one man, John King, actually survived the return journey.

This year, in honour of his ancestor, Jonathan King will trek the track with a team that includes actor Jack Thompson, artists John Howland and Ben Beeton, and cinematographer Michael Dillon.  They aim to achieve a more modern outcome as they compare today's environment with the one documented in the comprehensive Burke and Wills notes. The team will be undertaking a two-stage expedition, with specialist environmentalists using detailed maps, to follow the infamous 1860 route.

With the backing of the Royal Society of Victoria, which organised the original 1960 trek, they intend to assess the damage to the land that has been caused over the 150 years of exploitation, and find ways to repair it.

The team will keep us up to date with diaries from the road, local stories, video, blogs and their environmental findings as they retrace the notorious 3000km route north.

More information of the journey can be found at 4wd4life.com.au/burkeandwills

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