How did Burke die?

Abstract

This chapter deals with an Aboriginal woman's account of the death of Robert O'Hara Burke. recorded at Cooper Creek by a visiting squatter in 1874 (see Lewis 2007). The story of the Burke and Wills disaster is well-known and will not be discussed in detail in this chapter. The key points of relevance are that expedition member Charlie Gray died during the return trip from the Gulf of Carpentaria, and Burke and Wills offiCially died from deprivation and exhaustion. On the latter point the Aboriginal woman's story suggests otherwise.