Customer Reviews

Cooper's Creek

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I was about 11 my uncle who had spent 40 years in the Royal Canadian Navy, handed me slender volume called Cooper's Creek. Since I had no idea where Cooper's Creek was at that age I left in on my shelf where it gathered dust for the next 25 years, and was lost in one of my many house moves.

Over the course of the years I kept coming across some of Alan Moorhead's books, on bookshelves in Canada, the UK, India, Hong Kong and Egypt and even the United States. I happened to read another book of his "Gallipoli." He is a superb writer.

Cooper's Creek is exactly the same. After reading more of Moorehead's work (including a history of the North Africa Campaign) I resolved to find this book and read it. But even in Australia it had been out of print. I found it in London, England and hand carried it to Canada. The tale of imperial adventure warmed me over a few long, cold Canadian nights.

In the 50s and 60s narrative history was at its pre-postmodern highpoint. Moorehead's narrative flows like a novel, there is plenty to get your teeth into and also interesting tidbits. Also, unlike a lot of 60s historians Moorehead is not afraid to pass judgment on anyone.

The folley and bravery of the Burke-Wills expedition is recouted for all those unfamiliar with Australian history. Attempting to map the interior of Australia was a dauting proceedure, and was the equivalent of travelling twice the distance Lewis and Clark covered overland in their American Odyssey.

Those unfamiliar with 60s narrative may find the contemporary account of the aborigines to be paternal and patronising, but that is projecting our values backward.

It is one of the greatest true tales of adventure written, and ranks alongside the Scott, Shackelton explorations in Antarctica and the first land traverse of the North American Continent by Alexander Mackenzie.

A ripping good read and well worth the effort to track it down.

Moorehead by the way was a very popular narrative historian of the 50s and 60s (a bit like a contemporary John Keegan). He was also one of the foremost war correspondents in WWII and worked for Newspapers in Australia, the UK and Canada. An autobiography of his life has just been re-published but I forget the title.

In 1860 the Victorian Exploration Expedition, under the command of Robert O'Hara Burke, set out from Melbourne to cross Australia to the Gulf of Carpenteria and to explore the unknown centre of the continent. Burke, and his second-in-command William J. Wills, achieved their goal of crossing the continent, opening up a vast new area of Australia. But the expedition ended in disaster, with the death from starvation of both Burke and Wills at Cooper's Creek. This book tells the story of the expedition from the historical context and initial planning, to the events of the expedition itself, to the proceedings of the Royal Commission that investigated the expedition's disasterous end. A moving story well written.

Excellent book.Ideal for anyone wanting to visit inner Australia. Adventure at the highest level. Very enjoyable.

This factual account of the first recorded south-north crossing of Australia, in Victorian times, is more amazing than any fictional adventure would dare be. A film of this book several years ago did surprising little raise awareness of the undertaking. The story recounts the key attempts and the elaborate expeditions involved. The crux of the story really revolves around a series of unfortunate & serious mishaps and incredible near misses. Tragedy was almost avoided numerous times but ultimately...well read the book; the story ultimately has a sad and a happy ending! The fact that the story is known and accurately recorded is in itself an incredible sub-plot. It is hard to believe sometimes that this is a true story -- yet this is a case of real life being more amazing than one would dare write as fiction! The story is quite detailed but hang in there, the threads all come together in an incredible finale.

As a patient and understanding reader, this was a good story. However, I don't feel that the book was easy to read and was slightly boring. By saying this, I'm not saying I did not enjoy learning about the expedition of brave men traversing the Australian continent. In many ways, this is a devastating story. It's sad and true. Unless you are an avid Australian history researcher, it will be very difficult to utilize any of the information from this story. Keep that in mind before attempting to purchase this book.

It was not in the condition noted. It had mold or milldew on the edges and smelled so bad I tossed.