Robert Burke
A leather water bottle that survived the ill-fated 1861 expedition of Burke and Wills fetched more than $211,000 at a Sotheby's auction (more than three times the amount that was predicted), ac-cording to a Australia's ABC News. In 1860, a group led by Robert Burke and surveyor William Wills set out to become the first persons to cross the continent of Australia from south to north. The two explorers died of starvation and thirst, but the 14-inch leather bottle was found beside their bodies and had been kept by the Burke family, the report said.
The name of the buyer has not been revealed, but it is said the water bottle will remain in Australia.
