ROBERT O`HARA BURKE / AND / WILLIAM JOHN WILLS / LEADERS / OF / THE VICTORIAN EXPLORING EXPEDITION.
THE FIRST TO CROSS THE CONTINENT / FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. / THEY PERISHED ON THE RETURN JOURNEY / AT COOPERS CREEK, CENTRAL AUSTRALIA JUNE 1861
Burke and Wills Monument, Charles Summers, Bronze statue with granite pedestal, 1865
Summary
Location: Currently in storage
Two larger than life size figures of Burke and Wills, Burke stands with feet apart left of Wills who is seated with right foot forward, Burke's forearm rests on Wills' left shoulder. Both figures gaze to the left. Wills has an open book in his lap and is reposed from writing. Self-base of bronze mounted atop granite blocks, rough hewn with finished edges. Bronze bas-relief plaques depicting number of events during exploration surround all four sides of the plinth.
The ill-fated journey of Burke and Wills is one of the most recited episodes in Australian history, and one that Summers would have a role in memorialising. Burke and Wills’ journey began amid glorious public sentiment of hope and pride as their team set off for the Gulf of Carpentaria. Among other things, the publicly funded expedition would help solve the puzzle of what lay in Australia’s interior, and at a time of interstate rivalry it would bring triumph to Victoria. But the expedition ended as a sorry tale of rash decision-making and unfortunate timing, and ultimately with the deaths of Burke, Wills and Gray.
On 2 November 1861, news of the death of Burke and Wills reached Melbourne, and within days grief swept the city; more than 40,000 people are said to have paid their last respects to the fallen heroes. The Victorian government announced a memorial would be erected and Charles Summers submitted the winning design. Burke stands to the left of the seated Wills, his forearm resting on his companion’s shoulder. A book lays open book in Wills’ lap. Mounted atop granite blocks, the statue also features bronze bas-relief plaques depicting events during the expedition. It was unveiled on 21 April 1865 – the fourth anniversary of Burke and Wills’ return to Coopers Creek.
The monument, too, has had something of a journey, having been relocated several times. In 1993, it underwent two months’ restoration before being relocated in its fifth and current site. Some critics derided the work as ‘grotesque’, pointing particularly to the elongated necks of the subjects.
Burke and Wills Monument was removed from its site on the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets in April 2017 in connection with the Metro Tunnel Project. It is currently in storage and will be returned to its former location in about 2022.
