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Oskar Speck paddled to Australia in a kayak: A seven year trip

Publisher Die Woche in Australien

Date11 April 1989

Object numberANMS0542[036]

NameNewspaper

MediumInk on paper

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Nancy Jean Steele Bequest

Terms

DescriptionArticle begins: 'The German Oskar Speck achieved an almost unbelievable feat. Celebrating his 80th birthday today, he arrived in Australia in a 5.50 metre long and just under one metre wide collapsible boat in September 1939. The journey, which began at Ulm on the Danube in May 1932, took seven years. “I survived only due to luck and great skill,” reports Oskar Speck about his journey, which holds the world record and cannot be repeated in the same way. But his trip ended in disappointment: When Speck reached the fifth continent, after covering more than 30,000 nautical miles, Germany had been at war for a few days. Upon his arrival at Saibai in September 1939, Oskar Speck was arrested and interned for seven years....'