Origins & Early Life

Robert O'Hara Burke (6 May 1821 – c. 28 June 1861) was an Irish soldier and police officer who achieved fame as an Australian explorer. He was the leader of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australia from south to north, finding a route across the continent from the settled areas of Victoria to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The expedition party was well equipped, but Burke was not experienced in bushcraft.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

A Commission of Inquiry held by the Government of Victoria to investigate the failure of the expedition was a censure of Burke's judgement. Burke was born in St Clerans, near the village of Craughwell, County Galway, Ireland in May 1821. He was the second of three sons of James Hardiman Burke (1788 – January 1854), an officer in the British army 7th Royal Fusiliers, and Anne Louisa Burke née O'Hara (married 1817, d.1844). Robert O'Hara was one of seven children: John Hardiman Burke (d. August 1863) Robert O'Hara Burke (6 May 1821 – 28 June 1861) James Thomas Burke (c.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

1828 – 7 July 1854) Fanny Marie Burke (married John Blakeney) Elizabeth Burke (married Lt. Col Menzies) Hester Albinia Burke (unmarried, d. 10 November 1866...

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