On August 20, 1860 Robert O'Hara Burke (1) and William John Wills (2) set off from Royal Park in Melbourne. They were accompanied by 16 other men, 26 camels, 22 horses and wagons and drays carrying 12 months worth of supplies, with the aim of crossing the Continent from the south to the north. We all know the story, they reached the Gulf of Carpenteria on February 11, 1861 and then headed south again and perished at Coopers Creek in South Australia around June 1861 (3)
Their first night was spent at Essendon. Dr Ludwig Becker (4), artist and naturalist, who was a member of the exploring party and who also perished at Coopers Creek, kept a dairy and the entries up to September 6, 1860 were published in The Age in September 1860. This is the first two days -Monday, August 20. - All day engaged packing and loading. Mounted a camel at 4 p.m., and proceeded with the greater portion of the Exploring party through Moonee Ponds, and camped at Essendon. One of the waggons broke down before reaching the halting place. About sunset one of the horses broke loose and ran away.
Tuesday, August 21. - In the morning caught the horse. The remainder of the waggons arrived unloading and reloading the same. Started at a quarter-past 2 p.m. The horses, camels, and waggons proceeded together. A valuable little watchdog belonging to Mr. Landells was lost. At 6 p.m. camped in a paddock near the Inverness Hotel, Bulla. (5)
The first mention I can find in the newspapers about the Burke and Wills Tree was in December 1892 when at an Essendon Town Council meeting -
Cr. Dangerfield moved that the surveyor have a small fence put round the tree near the Moonee Ponds reserve, this spot having been the first camping place of Burke and Wills, when setting out on their expedition. (6)
Tuesday, August 21. - In the morning caught the horse. The remainder of the waggons arrived unloading and reloading the same. Started at a quarter-past 2 p.m. The horses, camels, and waggons proceeded together. A valuable little watchdog belonging to Mr. Landells was lost. At 6 p.m. camped in a paddock near the Inverness Hotel, Bulla. (5)
I came across the photograph, below, of the stump of the tree in Queens Park, Essendon (or Moonee Ponds as the location was also called) which marked the site of the Expedition's first camp and decided to undertake some research on the tree.
Burke & Wills Commemoration Tree, Essendon, sometime between 1927 and 1938.
Victorian Railways photographer.
State Library of Victoria image H91.50/569.
An almost identical photograph was published in The Age, August 12, 1936, see here.
Cr. Dangerfield moved that the surveyor have a small fence put round the tree near the Moonee Ponds reserve, this spot having been the first camping place of Burke and Wills, when setting out on their expedition. (6)
The fence was not erected at the time and later on, in October 1896, the Essendon Gazette reported on the monthly meeting of the Ascot Vale People's Association, held on Friday, October 2 where a letter was received on this matter -
H. P. Williams, drawing attention to an old tree near Moonee Ponds reserve, under which the Burke and Wills' expedition camped the first night of their journey. An interesting discussion took place on the subject of the "old tree" it being decided to send the letter to the council, asking them to erect a protecting fence, and put a tablet on the tree, so as to make it an historical landmark in the district. (7)
The letter from the Ascot Vale People's Association was sent very promptly as it was presented at the Essendon Town Council meeting held on Monday October 5 where -
Cr. Cowan said that the Ascot Vale People's Association was a day behind the fair as to the Burke and Wills tree as the council had had it under consideration....and as long as five years ago he (Cr Cowan) had tried to spend a few shillings on the tree in question but was thwarted by lack of funds. (8)
The Mount Alexander Mail published this report on the Tree in their October 12, 1896 edition -
The preservation of an old gum tree at Moonee Ponds, under whose shelter the ill fated Burke and Wills expedition made its first halt, after its start on 20th August, 1860, has ever been a matter of concern to the Essendon Council. It is a grim relic of the courageous attempt of the intrepid explorers, and here it was that they watered their camels and rested under its shelter. The Council has now decided to erect a picket fence for its protection, and to mark the dead eucalypt with a commemorative tablet. (9) Interesting, that the grim relic - the tree - was already dead in 1896.
The next mention of the Burke and Wills tree I can find is this one from August 1898, where it is mentioned in conjunction with the new lake formed at Queen's Park.
Queen's Park Lake, Moonee Ponds - This lake is the outcome of Jubilee celebration works done at Essendon, and is named to commemorate the Queen's reign. Queen's park was the first camping-ground of the Burke and Wills Expedition. A tree on the margin of the lake marks the spot where Mr. FitzGibbon, then town-clerk, addressed the members of the exploring party and wished them God speed on behalf of the citizens of Melbourne. (10)
The Gum Tree, c. 1905, before limbs were removed in 1927
The Old Gum - Burke and Wills' first camping place, c. 1905.
State Library of Victoria image H36145/32
In 1909, the Burke and Wills Tree had some distinguished visitors as on May 24, which was Empire Day, Essendon was proclaimed as a City and the Governor, Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael and Lady Carmichael were amongst the visitors on this auspicious occasion. Amongst the activities of the official party they motored to Queen's Park to see the memorable tree under which Burke and Wills camped in the early exploring days of Victoria. (11)
As a matter of interest in 1910, the second camping place of the Burke and Wills expedition was commemorated -
A very interesting ceremony took place on Monday, 22nd August, when the scholars of Bulla State School, under the direction of Messrs A. F. Daniell (shire secretary) and Mr D. Griffiths (head teacher) erected a monument and planted some native trees at the spot where Burke and Wills' expedition camped 50 years ago. A small crescent had been fenced off, and each of the senior scholars planted a tree, the trees being kindly supplied by Mr A. F. Daniel. The monument consists of a box post about 16 feet long and 1 feet in diameter. It is intended to place on the post a plate bearing a suitable inscription......(12)
The tree after the removal of limbs in 1927 and before the plaque was installed.
The caption reads - Under this tree Burke and Wills rested for the first night after they had set out on their great expedition into the interior. It is situated in Queen's Park, Moonee Ponds. The Essendon City Council recently cut it down as shown, and will shortly erect a guard rail around the butt and attach a brass commemorative plate.
The Argus May 5, 1927 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3852646
In 1927 there was concern about the preservation of the tree and in the May some limbs were removed by the Essendon City Council and a plaque attached. However, there was still concern about the long term preservation of the tree, as well as the mis-spelling on the commemorative plaque. This report is from The Place in the Sun column in the Sun News-Pictorial in September 1927 -
Concern is being experienced as to the preservation of the Burke and Wills tree at Essendon, and, while they are about it, I think the local council might rectify a point or two of the inscription by which it is surmounted. This declares rather humorlessly that ‘‘Under this tree and in its immediate vicinity the Bourke and Wills exploration party camped, August 1860, by order of Council.” And Robert O’Hara Burke didn’t spell his name ‘‘Bourke.” (13).
The tree after the plaque was attached.
The Sun News-Pictorial, September 13, 1927 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article275443373
A few years later in 1933, there was more concern about the tree, this time about whether the tree did, in fact, mark the camp site. The Argus had the following report -
Burke and Wills Camp. Is Tablet in Wrong Place? Councillor Kinnear informed a meeting of the Essendon council on Monday night that a wooden tablet on a tree in Mount Alexander road Moonee Ponds bore the incorrect statement that under that tree the Burke and Wills expedition rested on its journey from Melbourne to Central Australia. Actually the expedition had camped on the opposite side of the lagoon in Queens Park. He thought that a permanent memorial should be erected in the right place. Some of the very old residents of Essendon remembered the exact spot where the expedition had camped. Councillor Royle suggested that the council should not be in a hurry to remove the tablet. An old resident had stated that she had seen the expedition at the tree opposite the Moonee Ponds bowling green. Councillor Gilbertson said that his relatives who had been born in the district, agreed that the expedition had not camped under the tree in Mount Alexander road, but on a site on the other side of the lagoon, now enclosed in Queen's Park. The council resolved to have the question investigated and to place a permanent tablet at the correct place. (14)
The Herald also reported on the matter -
Essendon Council is trying to ascertain the exact spot where the Burke and Wills Expedition camped at Moonee Ponds in August, 1860. The oldest living Essendon native in the district is Mr John Woods (uncle of Cr. R. J. Gilbertson), who is 81 years of age. Mr Woods remembers having been taken by his mother to see the Expedition camp and its camels. He is positive that Burke and Wills camped on the site now occupied by the Catholic Church tennis court in St. Monica's grounds, at the bottom of Hutchinson Street, and 500 yards away from the tree stump now marked by a placard as the site of the camp. Mr John Cooke, a resident of Essendon for 76 years, was 17 years of age when the Expedition camped at Moonee Ponds. He and his brother Robert agree with Mr Woods that the spot was somewhere between the Catholic Church tennis court and the lagoon in Queen's Park. Other old residents who might be able to throw light on the matter are: - Mr George Bishop (Essendon) and Mr Granville (Aberfeldie). (15)
It appears nothing came of this uncertainty as to the exact location of the first Burke and Wills camp and five years later, in 1938, the Essendon Council made the decision to remove the tree stump as part of a beautification project. The Age reported in April -
Burke and Wills Memorial. The slump of an old tree in Mt. Alexander-road, Essendon, marks the spot where Burke and Wills camped on their first night out from Melbourne on their fatal expedition. Residents of Essendon have felt for a long time that some suitable memorial should be erected to mark the historic place. As it is probable that the remains of the old tree will be removed under a beautification scheme of the council for the laying down of lawns, the town clerk was instructed at the meeting of Essendon council last night to submit a report regarding the erection of a memorial. (16)
The Age had a follow-up report in the June -
Historic Tree. Time marches on, and sentiment, apparently, cannot be allowed to stand in the path of progress. To-day the stump of the old tree under which Burke and Wills camped on their first night out from Melbourne in August, 1860, will be dug out by employes of Essendon city council. The council is laying down plantations, and the old tree was in the way, and it was officially decreed that it had to go. Residents of Moonee Ponds and Essendon will miss the familiar landmark in Mt. Alexander-road, opposite Queen's Park. Bearing a simple inscription that two brave men slept beneath it before facing their deaths in the pioneering of a continent, the old tree braved many a storm. But the passage of 78 years took its toll, and old limbs broke under the strain, until in the last few years all that remained was a stump that all the forces of nature seemed powerless to destroy. Human agency, however, will tear it out by the roots. The stump will probably be presented to some historical society and preserved, and near the spot where the tree stood for so many years a memorial tablet will be placed. No doubt, however, despite the rush and bustle of 1938, the spirit of 1860 will still hover. (17)
A memorial tablet was installed on the site of the tree, but not until January 1940. The Sun News-Pictorial reported -
Where Explorers Camped. Obelisk Marks Spot At Moonee Ponds. An obelisk has been erected on the lawns in Mount Alexander Road opposite Moonee Ponds bowling green, to mark the spot where the explorers Burke and Wills camped on August 20, 1860, on their first night out from Royal Park. The memorial is the gift of Cr Thompson, a former mayor of Essendon. This historic spot was marked until recently by the trunk of an old red gum tree, but when modern plantations were laid down it was found the decayed butt could not be retained any longer. (18) 
The plaque in Queen's Park, installed in January 1940.
In 2002 a new monument was installed in Queen's Park to commemorate the first camping place of the Burke and Wills Expedition. Dr Dave Phoenix, in his paper, A Monumental Task: Remembering Burke and Wills noted -
Moonee Ponds Camel Sculpture - The public artwork titled “Burke and Wills” was commissioned by Moonee Valley Council and managed by the Council's Environment and Urban Design Department. Big Fish Workshops constructed the camels from rusted, perforated steel and the project was funded by the Essendon Rotary Club at a cost of $26,000 and installed in 2002.
The Camel sculptures at Queens Park.
Image: Dr Dave Phoenix A Monumental Task: Remembering Burke and Wills -
(1) Robert O'Hara Bourke - Australian Dictionary of Biography - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/burke-robert-ohara-3116
(2) William John Wills - Australian Dictionary of Biography - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wills-william-john-4864
(3) A good map of the Expedition can be seen here https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231339887/view, Two accounts of the Expedition setting out - The Age, August 21, 1860, see here; The Argus, August 21, 1860, see here.
(4) Ludwig Becker - Australian Dictionary of Biography - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/becker-ludwig-2961
(5) The Age, September 24, 1860, see here.
(6) Essendon Gazette, December 22, 1892, see here.
(7) Essendon Gazette, October 8, 1896, see here.
(8) Essendon Gazette, October 8, 1896, see here.
(9) Mount Alexander Mail, October 12, 1896, see here.
(10) The Australasian, August 6, 1898, see here.
(11) Essendon Gazette, May 27, 1909, see here.
(12) Sunbury News, September 3, 1910, see here.
(13) Sun News-Pictorial, September 13, 1927, see here.(14) The Argus, June 14, 1933, see here.
(15) The Herald, June 17, 1933, see here.
(16) The Age, April 27, 1938, see here.
(17) The Age, June 16, 1938, see here.
(18) Sun News-Pictorial, February 1, 1940, see here.
(19) Phoenix, Dave A Monumental Task: Remembering Burke and Wills A study of the memorials and monuments erected to commemorate the Burke and Wills expedition. A paper presented to the Inaugural Burke & Wills Enthusiasts Outback Conference Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. 18th & 19th August 2003. Downloaded from https://www.academia.edu/44569701/A_Monumental_Task_Remembering_Burke_and_Wills
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