B&W (V) King's return Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
By Geocaching Australia on 20-Aug-10. Waypoint GA2420

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 and if possible yourself in front of Flinders Street station 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
John King, who Wills' father suggested would have preferred returning to Melbourne "at least unostentatiously, if not in sackcloth and ashes", was instead met at the train station by a huge crowd. One newspaper's account: "The arrival of the train was hailed with vociferous cheering. The carriage in which King was a passenger was at once recognised by its being decorated with flags. Such was the 'rush' to see King that it was some time before the porters could reach he carriage door, and when they had reached it they experienced considerable difficulty in getting the door opened."

King was escorted to an open carriage, which was followed and mobbed thoughout its course along Collins and William streets to Government House.
"King was assisted upstairs, for though he looked very healthy and robust, he was scarcely able to stand. He was taken into the room adjoining the Chief Secretary's office, where he was shortly afterwards joined by his sister. In a few minutes the approaches to Government House, the lobbies, stairs and landing were impassably crowded, so that it was necessary for the police to clear a passage for His Excellency from his own office to that of the Chief Secretary. The excitement was almost too much for the poor fellow, and it was thought advisable to get him away as speedily and as privately as possible to St Kilda, where his sister resides."

King died nine years later, aged 31. He too is buried at Melbourne General Cemetery.

Additonal Information
Source: Paul Dorsey Used with Permission