William John Wills was the man behind the success of the epic Burke & Wills story. He is an unsung Aussie hero, but you have heard of him? He is an unsung hero, but you have heard of him. Seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? You mention the name William John Wills in any outback pub, and there will be a bit of head-scratching, but mention Burke & Wills, and you’ll be met with knowing nods and maybe even a deprecating monologue on how foolish they were. But to focus on the few bad choices they made is to do the whole story, and in particular, William John Wills, a massive injustice. Wills was born in Devon, England in 1834 to Dr William Wills, and his wife Sarah. Will’s early life in England saw him attend St Andrews Grammar, and he was also tutored by his father. After school, he worked with his father while undertaking courses at a couple of local hospitals. Like a lot of folks in the UK at the time, Dr Wills had a keen interest in Australia, in particular, the gold mining that was taking the world by storm. An 18-year-old Wills and his brother Thomas both boarded the Janet Mitchell in Dartmouth and set sail for Australia, arriving in Port Phillip in January…
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