Natives discovering the body of William John Wills, the explorer, at Coopers Creek, June 1861, Eugene Scott, c 1862.
After returning from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the abandoned base camp, William Wills, John King and Robert Burke found themselves with limited food. The local Aborigines offered the starving and malnourished explorers food, but Burke refused their help and he and Wills eventually starved to death.