Burke & Wills 109: Laid to rest - Burke and Wills Expedition (sitios de interés)
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Howitt was instructed to bring the explorers' remains back to Melbourne for what would be Victoria's first state funeral. This he did in December, collecting funerary relics such as locks of the explorers' hair and nardoo seeds from their last campsite. On his train trip to Melbourne he was met at almost every stop by crowds and delegations wishing to pay homage to the bones of Burke and Wills.The remains lay in state at the Royal Society Hall for two weeks, where they were viewed by most of the city's residents. On January 21, after much jostling for places of honour in the procession and the privilege of bearing the coffins, they were paraded past an estimated 60,000 people and laid to rest in Melbourne General Cemetery. The inscription on their shared monument, which is surrounded by three Morton Bay Figs, mourns "the first to cross the continent of Australia, comrades in a Great Achievement, Companions in Death And Associates in Renown".
It was a while before this monument was fashioned from the largest block of granite ever quarried in Victoria. Having created tremendous excitement when it was hauled into Melbourne, it was very nearly forgotten once deposited at the cemetery, languishing for several years until the government scraped together the money to erect it.
