CAMELEERS
As he did with everything , Wills meticulously recorded the event , and the contents of the box , and at the Victorian inquiry into the deaths of the explorers , that record was a part of the evidence . “ The following items have been cached for later collection : sextants , barometers , chronometers , navigational tools , and journals , and other items ,” Wills wrote . He said the camel trunk was three feet ( 914cms ) square and packed with the valuable tools and journals . Each item was individually wrapped , it was covered with a camel blanket and a fire lit over the top to hide the evidence of a cache . A lightbulb moment of realisation led Burke and Wills expert Dr Frank Leahy , a Melbourne University professor , directly to Plant Camp . He announced the find in 2008 . He realised the reason for the inaccuracy of Wills ’ longitude and latitude co-ordinates was a clock that was losing time . By plotting correct co-ordinates of the known Burke and Wills camps against Wills ’ recorded co-ordinates , Dr Leahy was able to calculate the rate of the deviation caused by the faulty timepiece . Once he knew the rate of error , he pinpointed the mystery campsite , and was able to drive straight to the site where he found , as expected , a blazed tree . During several visits in subsequent years he searched the site in a haphazard way with a simple metal detector , finding 403 valuable artefacts , including a spirit level in a brass case used to set an artificial horizon during sextant sitings . The Queensland Government declared the area a Protected Heritage Site meaning access was not allowed without a permit . The Cameleers ’ has sought assistance from the Army to conduct a thorough militarystyle search of the area and to bring ground-penetrating radar to ensure the wooden camel trunk is found and Queensland Government archeologists will supervise the delicate recovery . The Cameleers was formed in 2014 , aiming to provide an opportunity for wounded injured and ill ex-servicemen and women to be able to continue to use
30 | AUGUST 2017