On the morning of Wednesday 18 August 2010, hundreds braved icy winds to commemorate the Departure of the Victorian Exploring Expedition from Royal Park. The media were there in force as well, and you can see and hear some of the speeches or read all about it. In addition to featuring in the news programs, there was also a nice background piece on the ABC 7:30 Report. Click on the In the Media menu item to see a full list of media links. Or about the event here...

Behind-the-scenes action started around 7am, when it was chilly but still calm. Teams from Ready-Set-Go, Harry the Hirer and the Royal Society of Victoria were as busy as the explorers were 150 years ago, but better organised as by the time the VIPs arrived for the formal ceremony the tents were up, the plaque suitably veiled, and cardboard cut-out explorers lined a track from the memorial cairn that led to the “Gulf”. (Special thanks to Greta Donaldson, John Moore and Richard Lightfoot for helping the teams from the Royal Society and Ready-Set-Go put up the explorer cut-outs).

The speeches began with a welcome to country from Senior Wurundjeri elder Joy Murphy Wandin, followed by the Governor Professor David de Kretser, Ms Judy Maddigan MP representing Premier Brumby, the Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, the Vice-President of the Royal Society of Victoria Dr Peter Thorne and the President of the Burke and Wills Historical Society Dave Phoenix. Appropriately, the emphasis was on the excitement of the Departure, the sense of adventure into an unknown land, knowing that there would be risks but having no real knowledge of what they might be, the confidence that they would succeed somehow in their quest. Speakers also emphasised the scientific purpose of the Expedition, and talked about the way its story has become embedded in the wider story of Australia.

The VIP tent had been sensibly set back to the wind, but the downside for the audience was that we were facing into the rising wind, so it was as well that the quality of the speeches compensated for the cold. We had a chance to thaw out a little as we followed the Governor to the spot near the cairn where the new commemorative plaque had been placed. That was followed by the Robert Doyle and Dave Phoenix in the parts of Dr Richard Eades, mayor of Melbourne in 1860, and Robert O’Hara Burke respectively, giving the farewell speeches that were made 150 years ago. Dave then invited the crowd to “follow to the Gulf of Carpentaria” and led the way along the walk, where the cut-outs provided a location-by-location view of who joined, who left, how far each explorer went, who died and who returned. Many people were fascinated to learn that several of the expeditioners lived until the 20th century, the last one dying in 1925.

By the time the walk commenced the winds were reaching their forecast speeds of over 50 kph, so we had to recruit a team of boys from Melbourne Grammar to steady the explorers in the wind. They did a fine job, and must be in dozens of the photos that people took of the cut-out figures!