The Commonwealth government has announced the inscription of the Burke, Wills, King and Yandruwandha National Heritage Place in recognition of the historical importance of the sites.
To commemorate the occasion descendants of William Wills and the Yandruwandha people met along with representatives of the Royal Society of Victoria, the organisation that commissioned the Burke and Wills expedition.
The listing encompasses five sites along the banks of Cooper Creek near Innamincka including the Dig Tree, where the expedition members buried supplies and left messages for one another.
“The listing of the Fort Wills site, Burke’s Tree, Wills’ site, Howitt’s site and King’s site represent the sad end to the expedition and also the relief and joy of finding the sole survivor of the journey to the Gulf – John King,” said environment minister Greg Hunt.
“The listing also reflects how the survival of John King was only possible with the support and care of the local Indigenous Yandruwandha people, who provided food, care and companionship to King while he waited to be found.”
The listing is also notable in the sense that the official nominations assessment for the National Heritage List is ongoing, with nominations not due to close until February 18.With the land surrounding Cooper Creek currently held under crown pastoral lease by S. Kidman and Co. – which is currently part of a tender process (with a sale announcement imminent) – the timing of this decison is particularly interesting, said Rod Moffatt, who is currently petitioning the government to acquire the land (perhaps under the Emissions Reduction Fund) to create an iconic arid-region Channel Country national park to afford it permanent protection and to provide sustainable Indigenous employment and tourism opportunities.
“I was initially attracted to exploring the land around Cooper Creek and the Channel Country because of the story of Burke and Wills,” Moffatt said. “However after visiting it and learning more about the story, it became clear just how ill-prepared the party was to survive in those conditions. They chose the hottest and driest time of year to go there and completely failed to engage with the Yandruwandha people, who would have been able to inform them about water and food sources along their proposed route and assist them with bushcraft skills to survive.”
Ironically, it was only after the rest of the party had died that John King was taken in by the Yandruwandha and taught how to survive.
“I fully support the listing in recognising our European exploration history and honouring the Yandruwandha people, but it does little to provide those people with sustainable economic development opportunities or to protect the internationally significant Channel Country, of which the Cooper is a vital part. It seems we’re making the same mistakes that doomed the Burke and Wills expedition.”
At a doorstop interview this afternoon, Hunt was questioned as to the practical outcomes of the listings, to which he responded that it “provides opportunities, people might well choose to visit” but that he was yet to have any motivation to do so himself.
“I would love to get there. It’s about finding time,” he said.
“But also if there are funds at some stage in the future – to assist with creating a walk or a trail with the consent of the Indigenous owners – then I think that might be the basis for a visit.”