Guide to the Papers of Burke and Wills Expedition, 1837-1924

Summary

Collection number:

MS 30

Creator:

Burke and Wills

Extent:

0.15 metres and (3 original diaries, 3 binders of copies and transcripts)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Burke and Wills Expedition, National Library of Australia, MS 30, [item number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

Papers relating to Robert O'Hara Burke, William John Wills and John King, including diaries, journals, notebooks, account books, letters, notes and a press sheet.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The diary kept by William John Wills from 23 April to 26 June 1861 was acquired by the National Library in 1909, along with the diary kept by Robert O'Hara Burke from 16 December 1860 to 20 January 1861. Both diaries were purchased from Mrs Grace Gavan Duffy for a total of 25 pounds. Mrs Gavan Duffy was the only surviving child of the original transcriber of the diaries, William Henry Archer. She married Philip, the son of Sir Charles Gavan Duffy. Philip was a surveyor and civil engineer. Sir Charles, who was an Irish nationalist and later Premier of Victoria, contributed 40 pounds to the funeral of Robert O'Hara Burke.

The Library bought the diary and other papers of John King in 1936. The diary was offered by H. Scholfield on behalf of Mr Potter of Kaniva, Victoria, together with the 70th Regiment of Foot account books of John King and one belonging to Henry King. The John King 'diary' is fragmentary and is in the form of a retrospective account covering the forward journey to the Gulf of Carpentaria, December 1860-January 1861. The date of writing is not known.

Indexed terms

Names:

Burke and Wills

Conditions Governing Access:

The collection is available for reference.

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Burke and Wills Expedition, National Library of Australia, MS 30, [item number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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