History's Dumbest Explorers: The Burke And Wills Expedition

Four months had passed since Burke and Wills left Cooper’s Creek, and as they were instructed to do, the explorers at the depot had left. Before the men at the depot departed, they buried supplies for Burke and Wills and carved instructions for them on a tree. The supplies were not enough, though.

Suffering from malnutrition and a smorgasbord of other ailments, Burke and Wills died several weeks later while attempting to navigate the Outback on their own. Their fates confirmed what was quite clear from the start: they had no business leading this expedition. This becomes even more apparent considering what happened to the final member of the party that reached the gulf, John King.

Unlike Burke and Wills, King survived the expedition, and he did so by accepting the help of the Aboriginal Yandruwandha people. King became close with the Aboriginal people, and they took care of him. There were plenty of decisions made during the expedition that could have been the downfall of Burke and Wills, but Burke’s disdain for the Aboriginal people could have been the biggest cause of their demise.

The Australian Outback is full of potential food, but Burke had no idea what to look for. For example, Nardoo fern was an important food to the local Aborigines, and Burke and Wills knew this. They did not, however, care to know about how indigenous people prepared the nardoo. It had to be prepared a specific way, or else it could lead to a vitamin B-1 deficiency. Burke thought he was above Aboriginal teachings, so he ignored this important lesson and others that could have saved his life.

To some, the Burk and Wills expedition provided valuable insight into inland Australia. In every other measurable way, though, it was about as much of a failure as one might expect when a non-explorer is placed in charge of a huge expedition.

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