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Biographical entry Wills, William John (1834 - c. 1861)
- Born
- 5 January 1834
Totnes, Devon, England - Died
- c. 29 June 1861
Queensland, Australia - Occupation
- Explorer and Astronomer
Summary
William John Wills migrated to Australia in 1852 and in 1860 he was given the position of astronomer and surveyor with an expedition led by R.O. Burke to explore central Australia. They reached the Gulf of Carpentaria but died on the return journey.
Archival resources
National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection
- William John Wills - Records, 1839 - 1863, mfm G 14542; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection
Published resources
Books
- Murgatroyd, Sara, The Dig Tree: the Story of Burke and Wills, Text Publishing, Melbourne, 2000, 372 pp. Details
Book Sections
- McLaren, Ian F., 'Wills, William John (1834-1861), explorer', in Bede Nairn (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 6, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1976, pp. 410-411. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A060444b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Fitzpatrick, Kathleen, 'The Burke and Wills Expedition and the Royal Society of Victoria', Historical Studies, vol. 40, May, 1963. Details
Online Resources
- National Library of Australia, 'Wills, William John', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-526746. Details
See also
- Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/scripts/tia-dynindex.php3?EID=P000187. Details
- Science and the making of Victoria, with Royal Society of Victoria, 2001, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/smv/scripts/smv-dynindex.php3?EID=P000187. Details
McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 8 August 2006
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