Post by Land Queensland

August marks the anniversary of when Burke and Wills left Melbourne in 1860 on their Victorian Exploring Expedition. While reading Burke & Wills: From Melbourne to Myth, our Museum’s curator - Kaye Nardella - was very surprised to read that Augustus (A.C.) Gregory had originally been offered the role to lead this expedition. He declined. A.C. Gregory was appointed in 1859 as Queensland’s first Surveyor General. Prior to his appointment, he had completed a number of successful exploration journeys in Australia. The Australian Geographic in 2006 described him as “The Don Bradman of Australian Exploration”. Kaye wonders what the result of the expedition could have been if Gregory had accepted the offer to lead.