The story of the expedition of Burke and Wills is also part of the History of the camels in Australia - a story which is really something special. In the year

The story of the expedition of Burke and Wills is also part of the History of the camels in Australia - a story which is really something special. In the year 1860 the ship Chinsurah arrived from Karachi in India at Melbourne. It brought 24 dromedaries (one-humped Arabian camels) to Australia and also some camel herders, called "Afghans". The camels were supposed to be part of the expedition of Burke and Wills, which was financially supported by the Royal Society of Victoria and aimed at crossing the australian continent from south to north. Two years earlier the Victorian Exploration Committee employed Mr. George James Landells to buy camels for £3000 and recruit also some camel herders. Six further camels were bought by the Victorian Exploration Committee, imported to Australia on the ship Malta by Mr. White & Co. On Mr. Landells explicit wishes, 60 gallons of rum were added to the supplies of the expedition - not for himself, but for the camels! Mr. Landells had convinced the Committee, that rum would prevent scurvy and improve the survival of the camels in the desert. On the 20th of August 1860 the expedition started with much public attention from Melbourne with 26 camels, four camels stayed at home, because they were ill.