First Across Australia

Robert O'Hara Burke was the leader of the largest land expedition Australia had ever seen and the story of his adventures is both enthralling and scarifying. Presenter Dermot Somers starts his modern journey at Burke's birthplace in Galway Ireland before following the trail to Melbourne Australia where Burke began his fateful journey north into the void. Burke's goal - to cross the centre of Australia and reach the Gulf of Carpentaria thus becoming the first white man to complete the traverse. In Melbourne, Somers explores the background to the expedition and its somewhat unlikely choice of leader. He then heads north into the outback following Burke's unfolding journey. Tracking the Irishman as far as Cooper Creek, Somers lays out the unfolding tragedy. Burke is hampered by unwieldy equipment and inexperienced comrades and decides to make a bolt for the north with a few trusty companions. He instructs the remainder to wait at Cooper Creek for 3 months and if he hadn't returned from his 1500 mile round trip to the coast by then, they should presume him dead and head south for home. These instructions set the stage for one of the greatest tragedies in the history of exploration.

From Cooper Creek, Burke and three companions head north and eventually reached the Gulf of Carpentaria. Somers follows the trail to the beaches of the Gulf before turning south as Burke did 150 year earlier. In Cooper Creek Burke's companions waited the three months as he had instructed and then hung on for a whole extra month before giving up hope and presuming him dead. On the morning of April 21st, 1861 they abandoned camp and headed south. Just 9 hours later a terminally exhausted Burke with 2 surviving companions stumbled into the camp to find it deserted. Emergency supplies were not enough to save them and Burke died of starvation two months later in the arms of fellow Irishman John King - the only survivor of the northern party.