Dig Tree

The Dig Tree is a heritage-listed coolibah tree on Cooper Creek at Nappa Merrie Station near Innamincka in far north South Australia. It marks the depot camp of the Burke and Wills expedition of 1860-61, where William Brahe blazed the tree with the word DIG to indicate buried supplies. The site is a National Heritage-listed reserve commemorating Australian inland exploration.

Visitors can expect a remote outback heritage reserve on the banks of Cooper Creek, centred on the large blazed coolibah tree protected by a boardwalk and fencing. The site includes interpretive signs explaining the Burke and Wills expedition, the depot camp and the DIG message, plus views of the creek, floodplain and surrounding gibber plains. Access is via unsealed tracks and a short walking path to the tree.

The Dig Tree marks Depot Camp 65 of the Victorian Exploring Expedition led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills in 1860-61. In April 1861, William Brahe and the depot party buried supplies and blazed the coolibah with DIG and other markings to guide the returning explorers. Burke, Wills and John King returned hours after the depot was abandoned, failing to find the supplies, an event central to the tragedy of the expedition.

The Dig Tree is a nationally significant symbol of 19th-century inland exploration and is listed on the National Heritage List. It is a focal point for understanding European exploration history, outback heritage and the story of the Burke and Wills expedition for visitors to the Innamincka region.