Burke and Wills Dig Tree
| Burke and Wills Dig Tree | |
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Burke and Wills Dig Tree, 2008
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| Location | Nappa Merrie Station, Durham, Shire of Bulloo, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 27°37′25″S 141°04′33″E / 27.6237°S 141.0758°ECoordinates: 27°37′25″S 141°04′33″E / 27.6237°S 141.0758°E |
| Design period | 1840s - 1860s (mid-19th century) |
| Built | 1861 April 21 - 1861 April 21 |
| Official name: Burke and Wills Dig Tree | |
| Type | state heritage (landscape) |
| Designated | 28 February 2003 |
| Reference no. | 601073 |
| Significant period | 1861 (historical) |
| Significant components | plaque, cairn, signage - interpretative |
 Location of Burke and Wills Dig Tree in Queensland
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Burke and Wills Dig Tree is a heritage-listed blazed tree at Nappa Merrie Station, Durham, Shire of Bulloo, Queensland, Australia. It was blazed on 21 April 1861. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 February 2003.
The Burke and Wills Dig Tree on the banks of Cooper's Creek is associated with explorers Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills. The tree was blazed on 21 April 1861 by William Brahe and party who had remained at Cooper's Creek while Burke, Wills, Charles Gray and John King forged ahead to the northern coast of Australia. Brahe's party was finally forced to abandon the depot and trek homewards, leaving a message pointing to a cache of hidden stores.
Burke was born in 1821 in County Galway, Ireland, of Protestant gentry. Following an education at the Woolwich Academy, the young Burke served as a lieutenant in the Austrian cavalry and later the Irish Mounted Constabulary, before immigrating to Australia in 1853. After several postings with the Victorian Police, Burke was appointed to lead the Victorian Exploring Expedition, a position he had anxiously and diligently pursued.
Wills was born in Devon, England, in 1834. He trained in medicine and migrated to Australia in 1853 and after a short stint working as a shepherd at Deniliquin, New South Wales, Wills assisted his father with his medical practice at Ballarat, Victoria. Wills later studied surveying and astronomy, and accompanied the expedition as astronomer, surveyor, and third-in-command, behind camel master George Landells.
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