Across the Australian Desert Audiobook By Andrew Lang cover art

Across the Australian Desert

Robert O'Hara Burke's Expedition Across Australia

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Across the Australian Desert

By: Andrew Lang
Narrated by: Cathy Dobson
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $7.38

Buy for $7.38

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Robert O'Hara Burke (1821-1861) was one of the great Victorian explorers. In 1860 he was appointed to lead the Victorian Exploring Expedition, which aimed to cross the Australian continent from south to north. The expedition left Melbourne on Monday, 20 August 1860 with a total of 19 men, 27 (rum fuelled) camels, and 23 horses.

The expedition was dogged by disputes and poor leadership decisions from the start. Even at the first staging post the second in command and the medical officer resigned. Burke left groups of men, horses and camels at staging posts along the way to provide a supply chain of provisions for the return journey. However the supply chain was poorly managed and provisions ran low.The small team of Burke, William Wills, John King, and Charley Gray set off on an impetuous dash for the northern coast and reached the mangroves on the estuary of the Flinders River, near where the town of Normanton now stands, on the 9th of February 1861. Weakened by starvation and exposure, progress on the return journey was slow and hampered by the tropical monsoon downpours. Gray died four days before they reached the staging point at Cooper's Creek. The other three rested for a day when they buried him.

They finally reached the meeting point on 21 April 1861, 9 hours after the rest of the party had given up waiting and left, leaving a note and some food, as they had not been relieved by the party supposed to be arriving from base camp.

The final three made a valiant attempt to find their way back from the desert, and despite much help given to them by local Aborigines, by the time a search party arrived, there was only one survivor left of the original party.

Public Domain (P)2014 Red Door Audiobooks
Historical Fiction Expedition Mystery
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Across the Australian Desert

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.