Exploration
The unbelievable true stories of Australia's greatest female explorers
Take a moment to discover the intrepid tales of Australia's most intrepid females.
When it comes to adventure and exploration, men tend to dominate the history books. But over the decades, there have been countless Australian women who have pioneered, challenged what's humanly possible, and pushed boundaries in the process.
So if you need an injection of inspiration or a kick in the pants to get out and plan your next adventure – this round-up of impressive specimens of humanity should do the trick.
Alyssa Azar
An Australian mountaineering prodigy
Alyssa feeling the burn between camps 2 and 3
© Courtesy of Alyssa Azar
At the age of 19, while many of her peers were sinking pints at the pub or cramming for uni exams, Alyssa Azar had bigger things on her mind – things like becoming the youngest Australian to reach the top of Mount Everest. But what else would you expect from a girl who walked the notoriously challenging Kokoda Trail when she was eight years old and summited Mount Kilimanjaro at 14?
Surviving avalanches, exhaustion and all manner of terrifying things that come with climbing the highest peaks in the world, Alyssa is currently planning another Everest trek, this time from the trickier North Face in Tibet. That’s Alyssa – making the rest of us look lazy and unaccomplished since the 1990s.
Robyn Davidson
Trekking into the history books
Robyn Davidson trekked 2800km across Australia in 1977.
© Viaggio Routard, Flickr
Immortalised on screen in the film ‘Tracks’, Robyn Davidson is best known for completing a mammoth 2800-kilometre solo trek from Alice Springs to the West Australian coast in 1977. With her trusty dog Diggity and four camels to carry her water and supplies, Robyn walked the desert for nine months and endured scorching temperatures, isolation and exhaustion.
For Robyn, the journey acted as a departure from the expectations and demands of the modern world. An inspiration to anyone who quests for something more beyond the work-eat-sleep cycle, Robyn summed up her time in the desert when she wrote “…the two important things that I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavour is taking the first step, making the first decision.”
Jessica Watson
Basically Poseidon’s daughter
Jessica Watson is the youngest person to sail unassisted around the world.
© Supplied
The youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world, Jessica Watson was never your average teenager. While most teens are busy wagging school and avoiding homework, at age 16 Jessica spent 210 days alone at sea, navigating some of the world’s roughest oceans.
Surviving several terrifying knockout blows from huge waves, the former Young Australian of the Year used up all her reserves of bravery, determination and grit to complete the journey and sail into the record books. And media pundits dare to call young people lazy and entitled!
Lady Jane Franklin
The trailblazer traveller
Lady Jane Franklin travelled extensively in the 1800s.
© Public domain
Born in England in 1791, Jane’s life took a turn when she married Arctic explorer John Franklin. Travelling to Tasmania (then Van Dieman’s Land) in 1836 with her husband, Jane became a prolific traveller, visiting South Australia and New Zealand, travelling between Sydney and Melbourne and completing the overland journey to Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast.
While these trips may seem tame by modern standards, it was highly unusual for a woman to cover those distances in the early 1800s. As a well-to-do woman, Jane’s travels and desire for social progress (including women’s rights) set her apart from the rest. After returning to England, Jane’s husband went missing and was presumed dead while undertaking a polar expedition. Jane funded several expeditions to recover his body and continued her travels, visiting Hawaii, India and Japan.
The Sapphires
Aboriginal soul superstars
The Sapphires as portrayed in the 2012 hit movie.
© Supplied
Defying expectations is a core theme that runs through the lives of trailblazing women. While The Sapphires didn’t climb any mountains or break any sailing records, they sure showed great courage in their lives as depicted in the hit 2012 movie made about their incredible journey.
Despite the all-female Aboriginal group – made up of Laurel Robinson, Lois Peeler, Beverley Briggs and Naomi Myers – facing racial abuse and discrimination while performing around Australia during the 1960s, the Sapphires kept on entertaining crowds at bars, pubs, universities and army barracks.
Two members of the group – Laurel and Lois – ventured to Vietnam to entertain troops during the war, fighting their fears to ride in helicopters to visit bases and perform for GIs stationed in the war zone. With three members now working for the Aboriginal Medical Service, the legacy of the trailblazing group reaches well beyond their singing career.
Nancy Bird Walton
The air-racing renegade
Nancy Bird Walton took her first flying lesson at age 17.
© Photographer unknown
Born in Sydney in 1915, Nancy Bird Walton was a giant of the early aviation scene. Taking her first flying lesson at age 17 (from Charles Kingsford-Smith no less), Nancy became a qualified pilot at age 19.
A big no-no for women in the 1930s, Nancy competed in risky air races and operated air ambulances in the outback, landing in remote paddocks using basic navigation instruments. Despite many questioning and scrutinising her ability to fly, Nancy silenced her critics and ended up setting up the Australian Women Pilots' Association. Take that, patriarchy.
Linda Beilharz
Stone-cold legend
Linda Beilharz journeyed to both Poles. (This isn't a photo of her).
© Jon Flobrant
Some people avoid cold weather like the plague, then there’s people like Linda Beilharz. The first Australian woman to ski 1,100 kilometres from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole, Linda’s polar adventures are the type of expeditions only the hardiest manage to pull off.
Not content with her South Pole achievements, at the age of 50 Linda turned to the North Pole to fulfil an outlandish dream. Over 56 days in 2010, Linda trekked, skied and swam 780 kilometres to reach the North Pole. Traversing cracking ice in sub zero temperatures, Linda prevailed and promptly became a stone-cold legend in the process.
Gaby Kennard
Around the world in 99 days
Gaby Kennard was inspired by aviator Amelia Earhart (pictured).
© Wikimedia Commons
If flying solo around the world in a tiny, single-engine plane sounds terrifying, that’s because it is. But despite the huge risks of such an adventure (and the knowledge that her pilot father died in a plane crash before she was born), Gaby Kennard managed to traverse the entire 54,000 kilometres of the globe to complete her journey in 99 days.
Starting in August 1989, Gaby used the exploits of Amelia Earhart as her inspiration throughout the journey which was marred by malfunctioning equipment and other calamities. Proving just how brave a feisty, single mother can be, Gaby is a true legend of Australian aviation history.
Sue Fear
Ultimate ascension
Sue Fear reached the top of five 8000m+ peaks during her climbing career.
© Tjuliane Liebermann
When you’re born with a last name like fear, it’s inevitable that you end up being a bit of a badass. The adventure guide and avid mountain climber grew up in the leafy northern suburbs of Sydney, but ended up traversing some of the world’s most challenging landscapes.
From summiting Everest to climbing Gasherbrum II in Pakistan, Sue earned the nickname ‘Fearless’ after successfully reaching the top of five 8000m+ peaks during her impressive climbing career that spanned the late 1990s and early 2000s. Sadly, at the age of 43 Sue fell into a crevasse after reaching the top of Mount Manaslu in Nepal.
Sue was lost to the mountain, never to be seen again. After a life of climbing and exploring the Himalayas, Peru, Patagonia, Russia, Laos and beyond, Sue’s body rests in that mountain crevasse, which is probably the way she wanted it.
Australia’s unsung heroines
Not all heroes wear crampons
Australian nurses in Singapore, 1941.
© Public domain
Of course, it’s important to consider the lens through which we view exploration and adventure. Apart from the women listed above, there are countless other Australian women who have faced uncertainty and braved the unknown, yet remain unacknowledged. For example, Indigenous women found ways to survive the harsh Australian environment for thousands of years, yet are rarely acknowledged in history books, and during World War One nurses volunteered to work in dangerous, challenging conditions on the opposite side of the globe.
So here’s to all the unsung heroines whose everyday accomplishments, perseverance and strength has been overlooked for too long.
