B&W (V) Laid to rest Carlton North, Victoria, Australia
By Geocaching Australia on 20-Aug-10. Waypoint GA2421

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.

While you're here, have a look for http://geocaching.com.au/cache/ga2502 B&W (M) Grave Site - Melbourne General Cemetery at the same time. It's not too far away.

Validating Your Log
Take a picture of your GPS receiver and if possible yourself in front of the grave site 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
Howitt was instructed to bring the explorers' remains back to Melbourne for what would be Victoria's first state funeral. This he did in December, collecting funerary relics such as locks of the explorers' hair and nardoo seeds from their last campsite. On his train trip to Melbourne he was met at almost every stop by crowds and delegations wishing to pay homage to the bones of Burke and Wills.

The remains lay in state at the Royal Society Hall for two weeks, where they were viewed by most of the city's residents. On January 21, after much jostling for places of honour in the procession and the privilege of bearing the coffins, they were paraded past an estimated 60,000 people and laid to rest in Melbourne General Cemetery. The inscription on their shared monument, which is surrounded by three Morton Bay Figs, mourns "the first to cross the continent of Australia, comrades in a Great Achievement, Companions in Death And Associates in Renown".

It was a while before this monument was fashioned from the largest block of granite ever quarried in Victoria. Having created tremendous excitement when it was hauled into Melbourne, it was very nearly forgotten once deposited at the cemetery, languishing for several years until the government scraped together the money to erect it.
 

Additonal Information
Source: Paul Dorsey Used with Permission