On 20 August 1860, a large exploration party left Melbourne to cross the Australian continent and find lands that could be claimed by the Colony of Victoria. Woefully unprepared and poorly led, the expedition ended in tragedy, costing the lives of Robert O'Hara Burke, William Wills and others.

The expedition travelled through the traditional lands of First Peoples, who provided or offered help. Yet the explorers pressed on, suffering and starving. Although Burke, Wills and two others did reach the fringes of the Gulf of Carpentaria, the expedition gleaned little scientific information for the Royal Society of Victoria which sponsored the expedition.

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