In 1860 and 1861, Robert Burke and William Wills became the first white people to cross the continent from south to north. They died of starvation on the return journey south.

Site of Robert o'Hara Burke's Death

John McDouall Stuart made the first round trip between the south and north coasts in 1861 and 1862. He was the first European explorer to cross Australia and return. He returned to Scotland 1864 and later went to London. He was awarded a Gold medal by the Royal Geographical Society in 1861 and died in 1866.

Two years before this fateful journey, Robert O'Hara Burke fell in love with a fifteen- year-old actress named Julia Mathews. She was performing at Beechworth where Burke was a senior inspector of police. He attended all her performances over a three week period, followed her around the countryside and unsuccessfully proposed marriage to her.

Before leaving on his expedition for the Gulf, Burke gave Julia a bracelet which featured a miniature photograph of himself. He also made a will (составил завещание) which left all his possessions to her. In a final letter to his sister written while on the expedition, Burke cancelled this will. And what happened to the bracelet? Julia claimed to have lost it in Melbourne's Botanical Gardens in 1861.