Hoof

The hoof is from Billy, Burke’s horse from his and Wills’ 1860-61 expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The expedition was plagued with delays and bad weather, forcing the men to eat the horse. There was apparently a great deal of meat on the horse, despite being emaciated. A diary entry from John McKinlay records finding the bones of the horse and its saddle some time later. He writes that they could not find anything buried, but each took a hoof from Billy as a Memento mori.

This hoof was transferred from the Art Gallery of South Australia to the History Trust of South Australia in 1984. This hoof is part of the Historical Relics collection. Burke and Wills were two of the early European explorers of Australia. The exploration of Australia was important to the European settlers who strived to be the first to explore the land. This now forms a key stage of Australian colonial history.