The Burke & Wills Expedition was originally called the Victorian Exploring Expedition. It was formed in 1860 in Melbourne, the capital city of the colony of Victoria with the aim of crossing the continent of Australia from Melbourne on the south coast to the north coast, which at the time was uninhabited by the migaloo (white-fella). No one had done this before, and to the Victorian colonists the centre of the continent was unknown, unmapped and unexplored.

The expedition was organised by the Royal Society of Victoria and it became the first to cross the continent. Three men traveled 5,000 kilometres from Melbourne to the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria and then back to the Depôt Camp at Cooper Creek. Seven men died in the attempt, including the leader, Robert O'Hara Burke and the third in command William John Wills. Only one man, John King, survived to return to Melbourne.

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Burke and Wills, and most others. died in that ill-fated expedition... Is Abbott trying to celebrate the 150 year anniversary of this doomed expedition by getting lost in the outback?

from Mark Davis at the SMH

Our adventure had begun just before lunchtime, when we set off on quad bikes deep into Watarrka country, about 250 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs, in search of Aboriginal sacred sites.

Six hours later, we found ourselves separated from Mr Abbott's ''guide and guru'', the Aboriginal entrepreneur Ian Conway; with nightfall looming, we were seriously worried.

''Our safety is not at risk, mate, but our comfort sure is,'' Mr Abbott declared before springing into action.

First he organised the repair of a puncture on one of the bikes. Then we hatched a plan to use a satellite phone to call a helicopter from Kings Creek station, about 80 kilometres away.

With the light fading, the chopper couldn't land but could drop some supplies. ''Beer, water, food and rugs. Especially beer,'' quipped the Opposition Leader.

etc...

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Leaving you to peruse the toon at top...

As mentioned in a few comments on this site, I proposed to manufacture an energy efficient tricycle, using clean energy... Then there was this university where they "invented the three-wheeler with square wheels" when I had done the drawings ages ago (see toon at top of that article as well as go to the link: tricycle) and you can see my tricycle appearing from time to time such as in the cartoon above... But now Honda seems to do some catching up on my other idea (well not new — Da Vinci may have thought of it in his sleep), the energy efficient tricycle, mentioned in the ether of global warming blogs on this site... Mind you mine was to use part push-bike power and part solar-electic... But strangely enough my sketches were not far off their baby, although on mine I have room for another person...

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Geneva concept reveals Japanese brand’s idea for the future of environmentally friendly commuting.

You won’t mistake this three-wheeler for a Robin Reliant.

Honda will showcase this radical-looking battery electric vehicle concept at next week’s Geneva motor show as part of its vision for the future of zero-emissions urban motoring.

The 3R-C seats one driver in a near-vertical position, with the clear canopy covering the cockpit when the vehicle is parked but turning into a protective windshield when the vehicle is moving.

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see toon at top.

from the ABC

A Northern Territory Aboriginal health alliance has called on the Federal Opposition to reconsider its election policy to abolish an electronic patient information system.

The Coalition says abandoning the online medical filing system would save more than $460 million over four years.

But the chief executive of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance, John Paterson, says the system has been vital in the fight against chronic disease among Indigenous people.

"It enables those clinicians where Aboriginal people are visiting to quickly access electronically all their health records, their medication records."

He says more than 38,000 Territory residents have signed up to the e-health system in the past four years.

"It allows a seamless transition for our people through all levels of our health system, from remote clinics through to specialist health care providers and hospitals," he said.

"And Mr Abbott must understand that if he dumps the e-health initiative, he is dumping on a critical development in improving Aboriginal health."

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Gus: while Tony spruiks porkies while saying that "global warming is crap", what Gus says about Tony's proposed health cut-backs is the truth: Liberal policy is crap... See toon of lost Tony at top..

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has opened a raucous question time in federal parliament by likening Labor's leadership to the misadventure of Burke and Wills.

Mr Abbott said in recent weeks the government's East Timor asylum seeker processing centre and Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook had fallen flat, and its cash for clunkers climate policy and population strategy had been delayed.

He asked Prime Minister Julia Gillard today whether the government hadn't lost its way.

"Isn't this government finding its way a bit like Burke and Wills finding theirs?" Mr Abbott asked.

Ms Gillard said she "sympathised" with Mr Abbott, who was "obviously looking forward to a Christmas break".

"Famously there was a supermodel who said she didn't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day," she said.

"The leader of the opposition doesn't get out of bed without a focus group report for the day.

"He sets the alarm clock, gets out of bed ... sees what three-line slogan he's got for that day and then like a ventriloquist doll, goes and repeats it mechanically time after time."

http://www.smh.com.au/national/abbott-likens-pm-to-burke-and-wills-20101116-17vdn.html

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see toon at top...