B&W (V) Death attends the WrightBrahe reunion Bulloo Downs, Queensland, Australia
By Geocaching Australia on 20-Aug-10. Waypoint GA2395

Cache Details

Difficulty:
Terrain:
Type: Burke and Wills
Container: Virtual
Coordinates: S28° 30.306' E142° 53.094' (WGS 84)
  54J 684475E 6845394N (UTM)
Elevation: 95 m
Local Government Area: Bulloo

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Description

This is a special Burke & Wills cache listed on Geocaching Australia.

This cache requires you to visit a Burke & Wills historical location and take a photo as described along with your GPS receiver and if possible yourself in the picture. Once you have logged this cache as a find, you are required to load your picture to your log to validate your find.


Validating Your Log
Take a picture of your GPS receiver showing the same co-ordinates as the cache page (plus or minus 100 meters) and attach it to your online log.

Important Information
The Burke Wills Historical Society notes: "The actual route Burke and Wills followed once they left Camp 78 is unknown and one of the most intensely debated issues. Wills' map and some of his journals containing astronomical observations have been lost. Because the journals have never been transcribed, it means the expedition's track north of the Diamantina, through the gibber rises, confused sand dunes and extensive claypans, is a matter for conjecture."
Travel in Outback Australia can be extremely hazardous. Plan your trip with care and seek and follow local advice on what precautions to take. Be aware of private property restrictions. Do not risk your life to log this geocache.

About This Location
The Brahe contingent had travelled 15 miles up Cooper's Creek and cut across the Gray Range. At Camp 52, at the Coolabaree Waterhole on the Bulloo River, they came across fresh horse and camel tracks - those left by William Wright, who was so long overdue bringing up fresh supplies. Wright's party was facing its own horrors. By the time they reach Bulloo Lakes, 150 kilometres short of their destination, no man was in condition to carry on.

Charles Stone died on April 22.  William Purcell, who had been fainting for several days, suffering from beri-beri and scurvy, succumbed the next morning. Ludwig Becker died on the 29th. All three were buried together near the water's edge. Initially three blazed trees marked the spot and these were later protected by a chain fence. In early 1987 a small headstone was erected by the men of Bulloo Station and unveiled by Brisbane members of the Queensland Historical Society. The chain fence was replaced with a more sturdy stockrail fence, which protected the headstone but not the three blazed trees, and now only one of the blazed stumps remain.

Just as Becker's burial was being arranged on the 30th, Wright and Brahe's companies met up almost miraculously. Brahe was horrified to find only Beckler and Wright in any form of health. Smith, Patton and Belooch had scurvy and beri-beri as well, McDonough had been crippled by a horse and Hodgkinson was beginning to show signs of disease. Brahe placed himself under Wright's command and they set out for Camp 65 for a last look.
 



Additonal Information
Source: Paul Dorsey Used with Permission

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Bulloo (S) - dragonZone
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