Details
In 1860-61 Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills lead an expedition
of 19 men with the intention of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the
south to the estuary of the Flinders River on the Gulf of Carpentaria in the
north, a distance of around 2800 kilometres. Of the expedition, four men
reached the Gulf of Carpentaria, but only one returned.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of this epic journey, famously known as the Burke and Wills Expedition, the Royal Australian Mint, in partnership with the Royal Society of Victoria, released this stunning two coin set. The two coins mark the start and the end of the expedition. The 20c coin shows Burke and Wills setting out on their epic journey. The $1 coin portrays John King, the sole survivor of the expedition, resting under the iconic ‘dig tree’.
Mintage 40,000