BOURKE AND WILLS When travelling this part of the country the aura off the Bourke and Wills expedition becomes an increasing interest. This truly was an amazing venture. Their efforts in the far north and then noted again at a Roadhouse, and the further south again near Cloncurry highlights the dramatic distances involved. Remember you are traveling by motor vehicle. The history relating to this expedition is daunting in its own right, but when you absorb the reality at camp 119 the daring well and truly hits home. The river, the creek bed, the marked trees and mostly the sheer isolation is just amazing. Visitors to Camp 119 have an urge for solace. So close to the objective but not attained in the true sense. Truly amazing. The fact that camp119 is not deemed a sacred place for white history speaks volumes. Camp 119 does not have a highway sign from either direction up the Bourke and Wills Highway. Travelling west from Normanton and the directional signage is weak. Keep your eyes out and when at the intersection The camp is not 119 k’s distant. To complete your Bourke and Wills fix be sure to stay at the B and W Roadhouse. Iconic in the absolute. When heading west from Cloncurry there is another landmark that covers and records their crossing of Australia. This is the Wiki Synopsis:- In 1860-61 Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills led an expedition of 19 men with the intention of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around 3,250 kilometres (approximately 2,000 miles). At that time most of the inland of Australia had not been explored by non-indigenous people and was completely unknown to the European settlers. The south-north leg was successfully completed (except they were stopped by swampland 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the northern coastline) but owing to poor leadership and bad luck, both of the expedition's leaders died on the return journey. Altogether, seven men lost their lives, and only one man, John King, travelled the entire expedition and returned alive to Melbourne.