Melbourne’s Memorial to a Son of Totnes is on the Move
Article by: Kathy Alexander, Lucy Oldroyd and Kate Wilson.
Top Image: Dr Ludwig Becker – Crossing the Terrick-Terrick Plains, Aug 1860. Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria
William John Wills, a famous Totnesian, is memorialised on The Plains in Totnes, the obelisk in his honour being erected in 1864, three years after he died alone at Breerily Waterhole, Cooper Creek, Australia, between 30 June and 4 July 1861. Suffering the effects of Beri Beri, scurvy and starvation he had urged his companions, Robert O’Hara Burke and John King to travel on without him and save themselves.
Of the large Victorian Exploring Expedition which had left Melbourne in August 1860, the leader, Robert O’Hara Burke, selected only 3 companions to make the final leg of their journey, becoming the first Europeans to attempt to cross the Australian hinterland from south to north. Wills was 2nd in command, with John King and Charles Gray accompanying. Gray died a few weeks before Wills, Burke would die on 1 July, after which King sought the help of the Yandruwandha people and survived, to be found by a rescue expedition in September 1861.
Melbourne’s oldest piece of public art, a large statue erected in honour of Burke and Wills in 1865, has been in storage for the last 8 years whilst the new Metro Tunnel works were in progress. It was recently announced that the statue is to be relocated outside the Royal Society of Victoria, which had long campaigned for it to be moved into their care.
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Nick Reece said the Royal Society was a fitting setting for the statue, as it was they that commissioned the famous expedition, which set off from Melbourne. “Public artworks are often moved as the city grows and changes, and we’ve ensured the Burke and Wills monument will be displayed in a location that pays homage to these pioneering explorers,” he said. Rob Gell, President of the Royal Society of Victoria said of the survival of John King, who had been kept alive by the Yandruwandha people, “So the expedition did conclude, but only thanks to the Yandruwandha,” “we’ve been discussing with the city whether we should have a parallel statue or commemoration to those people for having concluded the expedition.”
The city of Melbourne, founded at a place called Naarm on country taken from the Wurundjeri, Woiwurrung and Wurrundjieri people, was only 25 years old when the Expedition was launched in spectacular style. The excitement of gold had attracted adventurers from around the world with Expedition members reflecting this. It was a truely multicultural extravaganza including men born in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, France, USA, Barbados, India and Afghanistan. During the course of the Expedition a number of Indigenous Australians would be employed as guides.
Originally conceived as a scientific endeavour, and only later becoming a race against a neighbouring South Australian expedition, its scientists, William John Wills, (astronomer and surveyor), Ludwig Becker (artist and naturalist) and Hermann Beckler (medical officer and botanist) were tasked with a complete survey of the regions traversed. The most important of the scientific officers was the surveyor and astronomer who needed to accurately chart the Expedition route. It was a huge role for the young Wills.
The Expedition was first commemorated as a heroic tragedy. The immense cost and loss of life (overall 7 Europeans and one Aboriginal Australian died), the Commission of Inquiry and the recriminations which followed meant that a full report was never produced. With time the Burke and Wills Expedition came to be seen by some as a complete debacle and the two leaders as famous failures who achieved nothing. In 2010, to coincide with the 150th anniversary, archived Expedition materials were rediscovered. Examination revealed that far more had been collected by the 3 scientific officers than had previously been suspected. Today that achievement is celebrated. Despite the harsh environment, severe illness and Burke’s active obstruction, William Wills together with Ludwig Becker and Hermann Beckler worked diligently to produce a valuable scientific archive.
Apart from the Obelisk, Totnes remembers Wills with a blue plaque on The Plains, and a small exhibition in the Guildhall. Totnes Museum is now planning to include some of the reassessed information to bring a fresh perspective on this fascinating expedition.
There are many more captivating stories from Totnes’ past and we plan to share these as they are researched by our volunteers. Look out for them in Totnes Pulse.
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