110 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



subordinates who had been callously negligent in action, or palp- 

 ably faithless to their trust; and even on the unhappy victims of 

 Burke 's impetuosity, as well as on himself. But search parties were 

 promptly organised, and the first to start from Melbourne was led by 

 an experienced bushman, well versed in dealing with the aborigines, 

 Mr. A. W. Howitt, who generously volunteered his services to the 

 Eoyal Society. Simultaneously, the Government despatched the 

 surveying steamer Victoria to the Gulf of Carpentaria, whence an 

 expedition was started southward, under Landsborough. Another, 

 furnished by Queensland, set out from Eockhampton towards the 

 Gulf ; and finally, the Government of South Australia fitted out one 

 under McKinlay to travel up to Cooper's Creek by the route which 

 had baffled Burke and Wills in their attempt towards Adelaide. 

 The explorers had been long dead before these various expeditions 

 got afield. The search parties were instrumental in adding much 

 to geographical knowledge, but as far as the main object of their 

 journey was concerned Howitt alone was successful. It was far in 

 September before he reached Cooper's Creek, and after a few days' 

 search, he came upon natives who led him to where King was being 

 faithfully tended by the friendly blacks. Wasted to a skeleton, with 

 a few tattered rags tied about him, he could scarce speak or under- 

 stand for a time. But they nursed him back to life, and to him 

 and to the scattered note-books and diaries of Wills, which he was 

 instrumental in recovering, the colony was indebted for the meagre 

 details of the important part of the disastrous expedition. After 

 reverently burying the two bodies, Howitt hastened back to Mel- 

 bourne. When the whole story was revealed, there arose an im- 

 petuous demand that the remains of the explorers should be brought 

 to Melbourne, to receive the belated honours of a public funeral. 

 Mr. Howitt again undertook that task, and as showing how the 

 dangers of the past had been due to want of reasonable calculation, 

 he brought his melancholy cortege down by the very route that 

 had been considered impracticable by the trio when they sought to 

 reach Adelaide vid Mount Hopeless. It was proved that when 

 they turned back in despair to Cooper's Creek, they were only about 

 forty miles from the nearest outlying station. 



On the 21st of January, 1863, the public funeral took place, 



