Peter Treseder

Peter Treseder was born in November 1957 and began his wilderness activities in 1965. He undertook thousands of trips over the next ten years building his skills and confidence before embarking on his next twenty - five years of pioneering and endurance efforts. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Queen's Scout award (1975), and three Australian Geographic Society Spirit adventure awards.

In July 1994 Peter embarked from Darwin to attempt the first crossing of the Timor sea by kayak while on leave from the Commonwealth Bank. He was inspired by the World War II covert operations "Rimau" and "Jaywick" carried out by Australians from the Japanese fishing boat, the KRAIT. Operatives left the KRAIT in kayaks. Peter wanted to test whether it was possible to cross the Timor strait by kayak and whether World War II operatives could have reached Australia by kayak.