Long before John Doyle and Tim Flannery took a ‘tinny’ for two along the highways and byways of the Murray Darling, two much braver time travellers were climbing into their own little boat and heading downstream.
Not many remember Edward William Cole or George Burnell, but 160 years ago the two photographers nudged their little boat away from the bank of the Murray at Echuca and let the current propel them into midstream at the beginning of their 1700km epic journey to the Murray Mouth at Goolwa in South Australia.
But from January 6 until February 28, the Echuca Historical Society will reintroduce them and their journey to the world.
EHS president Matthew Wilson said the “remarkable exhibition” would begin with a free family-friendly open day and morning tea at the museum on January 6 from 10am until 2pm.
He said the television series Two Men in a Tinnie starring comedian and actor John Doyle and palaeontologist turned climate activist Tim Flannery followed the pair’s epic journey through the tributaries that feed into the Murray and Darling rivers.
The stars were equipped with an outboard motor, camera crew and support staff on the journey whereas Cole and Burnell had an 18-foot craft cut from red gum planks and it was driven by manpower — they had a set of oars each but no other support or supplies.
“That makes their 2000-plus kilometre journey seem a tad more demanding than it was for the two men (plus crew) in 2005,” Mr Wilson said.
“Cole and Burnett were fair dinkum recorders of our history. They were both photographers and had been cataloguing life on the goldfields when they swapped their wagon for a boat.
“Armed with a piece of canvas stretched across the boat as a darkroom (which may also have doubled as their sail), the pair were among the very earliest Victorian photographers, and throughout the four months it took them to reach Goolwa they were always stopping to photograph homesteads, people and properties.”
Mr Wilson said Cole and Burnell came from Castlemaine with a horse and wagon, and within two weeks of arriving had swapped their transport for a locally owned boat, an ungainly, heavy, 5.5m craft.
He said they knocked up foot lockers on either side of the boat, a navigating table up front, a canopy over the top, and transferred their camera, tripod, bottles of chemicals, trays and boxed sheets of glass; with the boat multitasking as transport, camp kitchen and darkroom.
They ‘set sail’ on New Year’s Day 1862 and were waved off by locals from the current wharf area, taking on the river without even a shakedown cruise.
“Neither could use the oars or the long pole to fend things off, and they nearly overturned the boat over when they changed positions and got caught in snags,” Mr Wilson said.
“At Cole’s insistence, they even rigged up a sail which added to their speed although Cole almost capsized the boat when turning too quickly around a river bend, the wind suddenly coming from the opposite direction.
“Many stations and settlements existed along the Murray by 1862 and our intrepid travellers called in at many of them to receive information about local conditions, advice about Aboriginal communities, and to collect botanical specimens.
“The pair were generally welcomed and treated with hospitality by station owners and their families. Their bizarre and sudden arrival, especially their photographic gear, broke the silent tedium of bush life along the river.”
The EHS exhibition has been put together with help from the Art Gallery of South Australia and EW Cole Foundation.
The exhibition incorporates a portion of the 52 significant stereograph photos taken between Echuca and Goolwa, covering the section from Echuca to Mildura.
Two Men in a Boat opens at Echuca Historical Society at 1 Dickson St on January 6. Visit the exhibition for an open day and morning tea at the museum from 10am.
For more details, phone the society on 5480 1325 or email eh.soc@bigpond.com