First nations Australians are a key part of this epic. Aside from traditional lands being explored and later occupied by Europeans there are many “first contact “stories that are often overshadowed by the mythology of the heroic explorers. Similarly the contingent of three Afghans and one Indian that were brought to Australia with twenty six camels added another element to this saga.

In the 1844 exploration of unchartered regions in Queensland and the Northern Territory  by Ludwig Leichhardt there were two Indigenous guides who were crucial to the expedition .It soon became apparent to other colonial explorers such as Sturt and Giles that the intimate knowledge of the land by the first inhabitants was key to survival .

In the 1860 Burke and Wills journey a number of local guides accompanied the explorers at varying stages . Two local “blacks” (Simon and Watipa) were recruited at Balranald to show the way to the Darling River. Likewise at Menindee , men from the Wilakali language group accompanied the expedition to Coopers Creek .

This involvement with a large contingent of white men, camels and horses who were trespassing across traditional borders, occupying sacred waterholes and eating copious amounts of vegetation (at the expense of local wildlife) came at great personal risk to the guides. One Wilakali man “Dick “is credited with saving the lives of the explorers on several occasions by finding obscure waterholes and negotiating his way out of attack from hostile tribes.

The Yandruwandha people of the Coopers Creek region assisted the starving explorers with gifts of fish, food and water . John King was to live with the tribe for some months during which time he fathered a daughter from a local woman.

Other language groups in Queensland such as the Wanyiwalku also assisted Burke and Wills as they traversed the country up to the Gulf of Carpentaria and back. While some tribes were hostile towards these intruders they were mostly met with curiosity and hospitality as they were believed to be spirit beings. With an abundance of “bush tucker “that had sustained these communities for centuries the locals were mystified as to why these white men were dying of thirst and starvation.

Sadly for the many language groups situated along the exploration route the discovery of waterholes, rivers and vast areas of pasture meant that European settlers were soon to arrive in outback New South Wales and Queensland. A major stock route would follow the iconic Coopers Creek and Darling River and much of the outback would see traditional lands occupied with sheep and cattle stations.

 This would forever alter the fate of the First Australians.

The ill fated expedition of Burke and Wills in 1860 was to change the lives of countless Australians for generations to come as vast areas of the continent were chartered for the first time. Trade routes had existed for centuries along the network of great rivers including the Murray, Darling, Diamantina and Cloncurry, waterways like Coopers Creek, small waterholes and wetlands such as Menindee and Lake Bulloo. The area of exploration included a diverse range of geography as well as an equally diverse range of First Australian language groups. 

 My own personal story connected with this land began during my childhood . My grandparents and their parents were from outback Queensland and so I experienced the vastness of this region when visiting sheep and cattle stations at far flung places including Winton and Cloncurry. Later as an adult I was to tour the Simpson Desert from Melbourne  via much the same land route taken by Burke and Wills . An obligatory part of that journey was of course to visit the famous and lonely Dig Tree on Coopers Creek . At Coongie Lakes and Innamincka I visited the remains of ceremonial grounds and petroglyphs….. a poignant reminder of the ancient past and tribes that had encountered this expedition.

Flightpaths from Melbourne or Sydney to Asia often took me over the same region and as my interest in aerial landscapes became a key part of my art practice the geography of inland Australia became a major inspiration.

I incorporated drawings and photographs from my own travels by land and air to interpret the salt lakes, deserts, gorges and other topographical features. With the advent of the internet and satellite imagery I was able to re- explore the same places from the comfort of my armchair.

A few years ago when doing some family history research I discovered that my great grandfather Thomas Mallyon was in fact a drover in his youth. To my surprise I found that he traversed the inland stock route from Queensland to South Australia which involved herding large numbers of cattle along the network of inland waterways chartered by Burke and Wills. Major stops along the stock route included Coopers Creek, Menindee Lakes and the Darling River. I realised that not only had I camped in some of the same places as Burke and Wills but also that of my great grandfather.

This series of images documents some of the areas of the 1860 expedition from regional Victoria, the dry and spectacular interior of New South Wales and up to the wetlands of the Gulf of Carpentaria.  Historical maps and photos, the hand written diaries of the explorers, satellite images and my own drawings and travel photos are all source material for these mixed media paintings on paper and aluminium.

Greg Mallyon 2022