B&W (V) Flagstaff Gardens West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
By Geocaching Australia on 20-Aug-10. Waypoint GA2317

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.

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Validating Your Log
Take a picture of your GPS receiver and if possible yourself in the Flagstaff Gardens 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
William John Wills, born in Totnes, England, on January 5, 1834, had first been a shepherd when he migrated to Australia in '52, but three years later he began studying surveying and astronomy and moved to Melbourne to work at the magnetic observatory and weather station that was situated here in Flagstaff Gardens until 1863 (interference from the surrounding buildings forced its relocation to the King's Domain). Thus also knowledgeable in meteorology, Wills was named the expedition's third-in-command, showing himself to be a quiet, hard-working individual, and one who always managed a good working relationship with Burke.

The original Flagstaff observatory was founded in 1858 by Georg Balthasar von Neumayer, a Bavarian-born member of the expedition committee who had been Wills' employer. He accompanied the expedition as far as the Darling River, completing his magnetic survey of Victoria. He died in Germany in 1909.

Additonal Information
Source: Paul Dorsey Used with Permission