Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The colonial explorers Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills—the renowned Burke and Wills—set out from Melbourne in August 1860 with great public fanfare to cross the Australian continent from south to north. At that time, most of the inland of Australia had not been explored by European settlers.
Almost six months later, they successfully made it to their destination in the Gulf of Carpentaria, but the return journey was plagued by delays and monsoon rains eventually leading to their deaths in around June 1861. Although the expedition had a tragic ending, it certainly was not a waste. It helped complete the picture of inland Australia and proved that there was no inland sea. Furthermore, each of the rescue parties sent from different parts of the continent added in some way to the understanding of inland Australia.
In 1865, a statue was erected in Burke and Wills’ honour on the intersection of Collins and Russell Streets in Melbourne, making it Melbourne’s first, and therefore oldest piece of public art. In 2017, the statue was removed from its location in City Square, at the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, and put into storage to allow for the construction of the Metro Tunnel Project’s Town Hall Station.
And now that Town Hall Station is complete as of 30 November, do you think the Burke and Wills statue, Melbourne’s oldest public art, will be put back in City Square? Don’t be daft! This is woke Melbourne! We don’t celebrate nasty colonialists who achieved greatness! We like to airbrush history and put First Nations at the forefront.
The Australian reported: “‘Cancellation’ of Burke and Wills statue sparks furore.” They wrote that the decision to remove the historic monument was due to “concerns over a First Nations and colonial clash.” Instead of being returned to the spot where it has resided for more than 150 years, the monument is now slated for transfer to the Royal Society of Victoria, which has yet to decide what it will do with it.
Former Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett, was dismayed by the decision. He said, “It’s not only absurd, it’s wrong and it’s a reflection that sadly this government is not respectful of our history. It was fundamentally wrong to cancel the memory of Burke and Wills, the monument to them having been one of the most significant in Australia and located at the heart of the city.”
Victorian MP, Shadow Minister for Arts David Davis echoed the sentiment, saying, “Our British and European heritage is a part of the state’s history that can’t be airbrushed out or willed away by a politically correct focus by Labor.”
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said the Royal Society of Victoria would be a “fitting home” for the monument, and added that “Burke and Wills were heroes of Melbourne in the 1860s.” Read into that how you will.
Now that Aboriginal Victorians have recently signed a so-called treaty, it’s understood that local Indigenous groups will be consulted about what happens next. One of the options is a First Nations sculpture depicting the role of the Yandruwandha people of South Australia who helped save John King, the only one of the four core explorers to survive the expedition.
Pulling down a statue doesn’t change a single page of history. History cannot be erased. Burke and Wills are part of our history whether certain people like it or not. You can’t fix the past by hiding evidence. The story of Australia deserves to be recognised, and it belongs to all of us.
MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn
The colonial explorers Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills—the renowned Burke and Wills—set out from Melbourne in August 1860 with great public fanfare to cross the Australian continent from south to north. At that time, most of the inland of Australia had not been explored by European settlers.
Almost six months later, they successfully made it to their destination in the Gulf of Carpentaria, but the return journey was plagued by delays and monsoon rains eventually leading to their deaths in around June 1861. Although the expedition had a tragic ending, it certainly was not a waste. It helped complete the picture of inland Australia and proved that there was no inland sea. Furthermore, each of the rescue parties sent from different parts of the continent added in some way to the understanding of inland Australia.
In 1865, a statue was erected in Burke and Wills’ honour on the intersection of Collins and Russell Streets in Melbourne, making it Melbourne’s first, and therefore oldest piece of public art. In 2017, the statue was removed from its location in City Square, at the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, and put into storage to allow for the construction of the Metro Tunnel Project’s Town Hall Station.
And now that Town Hall Station is complete as of 30 November, do you think the Burke and Wills statue, Melbourne’s oldest public art, will be put back in City Square? Don’t be daft! This is woke Melbourne! We don’t celebrate nasty colonialists who achieved greatness! We like to airbrush history and put First Nations at the forefront.
The Australian reported: “‘Cancellation’ of Burke and Wills statue sparks furore.” They wrote that the decision to remove the historic monument was due to “concerns over a First Nations and colonial clash.” Instead of being returned to the spot where it has resided for more than 150 years, the monument is now slated for transfer to the Royal Society of Victoria, which has yet to decide what it will do with it.
Former Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett, was dismayed by the decision. He said, “It’s not only absurd, it’s wrong and it’s a reflection that sadly this government is not respectful of our history. It was fundamentally wrong to cancel the memory of Burke and Wills, the monument to them having been one of the most significant in Australia and located at the heart of the city.”
Victorian MP, Shadow Minister for Arts David Davis echoed the sentiment, saying, “Our British and European heritage is a part of the state’s history that can’t be airbrushed out or willed away by a politically correct focus by Labor.”
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said the Royal Society of Victoria would be a “fitting home” for the monument, and added that “Burke and Wills were heroes of Melbourne in the 1860s.” Read into that how you will.
Now that Aboriginal Victorians have recently signed a so-called treaty, it’s understood that local Indigenous groups will be consulted about what happens next. One of the options is a First Nations sculpture depicting the role of the Yandruwandha people of South Australia who helped save John King, the only one of the four core explorers to survive the expedition.
Pulling down a statue doesn’t change a single page of history. History cannot be erased. Burke and Wills are part of our history whether certain people like it or not. You can’t fix the past by hiding evidence. The story of Australia deserves to be recognised, and it belongs to all of us.
MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn
