Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Longwood House, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final years.
The Longwood House: Napoleon Bonaparte’s Beautiful Prison
about 4 hours ago
 Fenway Park at night
How Was Your First Trip With Your Significant Other?
1 day ago
Ivan the Terra Bus
The Bus, the Myth, the Legend: Ivan the Terra Bus
3 days ago
Pigeons were included in a series of 1891 illustrations entitled “Household Pets.”
What Makes a Pest a Pest?
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Australia Parkville Burke and Wills Monument
AO Edited

Burke and Wills Monument

This unusual stone monument marks the starting point of the epic and tragic event.

Parkville, Australia

Added By
Gavin
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
  Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
Burke and Wells manument   Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
Memorial plaque   Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
Information panel   Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

On August 20, 1860, some 15,000 Melburnians assembled to witness the departure of the Victorian Exploring Expedition. The group is better known as the Burke and Wills Expedition, for Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills, who led the 18-man party on a mission to cross the Australian continent from south to north.

As the expedition went on, Burke became frustrated with the group's slow pace. In New South Wales, he left some of the men and supplies behind and continued with a smaller group. After reaching Cooper Creek, he chose to travel with only three other men.

In February 1861, Burke and Wills, along with John King and Charles Gray, became the first Europeans to cross Australia south to north when they reached the Gulf of Carpentaria. Others in the expedition remained at a base camp at Cooper Creek to wait for them. 

The trip back was very hard. Gray died of starvation on the way. The other three men reached the Cooper Creek camp on April 21, only to find it deserted. The others had departed some nine hours prior, leaving food and a message buried at what is known as the "dig tree." Burke decided to try to reach a police outpost, and the three men headed south. But they were too weak to travel far and Burke and Wills died of starvation in June. King survived, thanks to help from the local Aboriginal people. Rescue parties sent out to search for the expedition found King in September.

A fence was originally placed around a tree near their departure point in 1861. In 1890, the fence was removed and the scoria and bluestone obelisk or cairn was erected about 180 meters east of the tree.

Related Tags

Death Memorials Monuments Explorers

Know Before You Go

Located in Royal Park, near the corner of The Avenue & Macarthur Rd, limited parking is available in Macarther rd and other nearby streets.

Community Contributors

Added By

Gavin

Published

December 2, 2021

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Cleopatras-Needle/
  • https://memoirsofametrogirl.com/2013/06/04/cleopatras-needle-london-history-how-an-egyptian-obelisk-ended-up-by-river-thames/
Burke and Wills Monument
2 The Avenue
Parkville, 3052
Australia
-37.788896, 144.956053
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Elvis Presley Memorial Garden

Parkville, Australia

miles away

Grave of Walter Lindrum

Carlton North, Australia

miles away

Northern Cattle Market Wall

Parkville, Australia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Parkville

Parkville

Australia

Places 4

Nearby Places

Elvis Presley Memorial Garden

Parkville, Australia

miles away

Grave of Walter Lindrum

Carlton North, Australia

miles away

Northern Cattle Market Wall

Parkville, Australia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Parkville

Parkville

Australia

Places 4

Related Places

  • The memorial.

    Glencoe, Scotland

    Massacre of Glencoe Monument

    A solemn memorial in a majestic setting that honors a 1692 tragedy.

  • The memorial to Marjan.

    Kabul, Afghanistan

    Marjan the Lion Memorial

    This monument honors the life of a long-suffering lion whose story captivated the world.

  • Shep’s final resting place.

    Broomfield, Colorado

    Shep the Broomfield Turnpike Dog

    The final resting spot of the Colorado Transportation Department's beloved unofficial mascot.

  • William Donaghy’s memorial inscription.

    Dartmoor National Park, England

    William Donaghy Memorial

    A remote gravestone on the moor marks the spot where a teacher's body was found under mysterious circumstances that remain inexplicable.

  • Soyuz 11 memorial in original form

    Zhanaarka District, Kazakhstan

    Soyuz 11 Memorial

    The remains of a monument in the remote Kazakhstani desert dedicated to the only men to die in outer space, the crew of the Soyuz 11 rocket.

  • Taipei, Taiwan

    Xingfu Village Monument

    A century-old monument to commemorate a crowd-funded public cemetery.

  • The eternal flame.

    Chennai, India

    Perarignar Anna Memorial

    The largest funeral ever held was for one of Tamil's most influential politicians.

  • The Griffin Monument

    Silver Plume, Colorado

    Griffin Monument

    This cliffside memorial marks the final resting place of a lonely violinist.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.