John King survived for 10 weeks after the deaths of Burke and Wills thanks to the generosity of the local aboriginal people.
He was found near here on 15 Sep 1861 by the rescue party sent out form Melbourne to discover the fate of the lost explorers.
The blaze was cut into a tree to mark the location of the historic site but the tree was blown over in a storm. This section, carrying the blaze was saved and mounted on concrete.
@888rachel King was rescued and was taken back to Melbourne where he gave evidence at the inquest into the death of Burke and Wills et al. He died at the ripe old age of 82 (from memory).
Burke and Wills bothy died, with plenty of water and sufficient food, because of the pig headedness and arrogance of Burke. Burke had actively discouraged his party from befriending the aboriginals and was hostile towards them. One of the staple foods of the aboriginals around Cooper Creek was nardoo but it had to be prepared properly to remove the toxins from it. Because Burke et al had not spent time with the aboriginals, they were unaware of this and were preparing the nardoo incorrectly. Once ingested, the nardoo had the effect of removing any nutrients from their food (or something like that).
@terryliv Thanks for that. This jogs a memory about aboriginal food that we were told about in Carnarvon Gorge. Maybe it was the nardoo that had to sit in water for 5 days.
I think it must have beens seeds I was thinking of. I got this from the internet - Many seeds are placed in “dilly bags” - leaching baskets - and set in running water for anywhere from a number of hours to many days - a process that served to remove anti-nutrients and toxins found in many seeds and legumes. The matchbox bean, for example, was soaked for 12 hours,6 while the jack bean was soaked several days before it was pounded, made into cakes and roasted.11 Seeds of the zamia, a spiky, palmlike plant, were dried in the sun, then put in a dilly bag and suspended in running water for 4-5 days.
@888rachel The end result was that they starved to death with full bellies. Wills, the scientist, knew something was wrong with the nardoo but didn't know what it was.
September 10th, 2015
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Burke and Wills bothy died, with plenty of water and sufficient food, because of the pig headedness and arrogance of Burke. Burke had actively discouraged his party from befriending the aboriginals and was hostile towards them. One of the staple foods of the aboriginals around Cooper Creek was nardoo but it had to be prepared properly to remove the toxins from it. Because Burke et al had not spent time with the aboriginals, they were unaware of this and were preparing the nardoo incorrectly. Once ingested, the nardoo had the effect of removing any nutrients from their food (or something like that).