At the annual meeting of the Royal Geographical Society of London, held on the 26th of May, 1862, Lord Ashburton awarded the founder’s Gold Medal to the representative of the late Robert O’Hara Burke, and a gold watch to King.  These were handed to his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, who attended in his public capacity as Secretary of State for the Colonies, and undertook to deliver them to the respective parties, with many justly eulogistic observations.  Lord Ashburton read a paper on the progress of geographical science, and Sir R. Murchison, in the course of a notice on Australia, suggested that that portion which had been explored by Mr. Burke should be hereafter called Burke’s Land.  But it so happened that my son’s name was neither mentioned nor alluded to in the published proceedings.

At the first meeting of the Society for the present season, held on the 10th November, 1862, and at which I was present, Sir Roderick Murchison introduced the subject of Australian exploration in his address, in a manner quite unexpected by me.  The next day I received the following official communication, which embodied the substance of what he had said, and nearly in the same words.

To Dr. Wills.

15, Whitehall Place, 11th November, 1862.

Sir,

At the first meeting of the Council of this Society, during this session, I brought under the consideration of my associates, a statement of the distinguished botanist, Dr. Mueller, of Victoria, to the effect that the friends of your deceased son were dissatisfied on finding that Mr. Burke, the leader of the late expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria, had received a gold medal, and that Mr. King had received a watch, whilst no testimonial of the services of Mr. Wills had been presented on the part of the Royal Geographical Society.

Permit me to assure you that when the award of the gold medal was made, every member of the Council, as well as myself, who proposed it, felt that to your son alone was due the determination of all the geographical points, by his astronomical observations, and that therefore the honour should be shared between the leader and himself.

Continuing to entertain the same sentiments, and regretting that the rule of the society prevented them from granting more than one gold medal for an expedition, the Council have authorized me to offer this explanation to you, in order that it may be preserved as a memorial.

As nothing less than a medal could have been adjudicated to so good a geographer as your lamented son, so I trust that this explanation, and the words, which fell from me last evening at the general meeting, in eulogizing his valuable services, may prove satisfactory.  Rely upon it, that his merits will never be forgotten by my associates and myself.

I have the honour to be, Sir,

Your very faithful servant,

(Signed) Roderick Murchison,