Bushwalk Australia

I guess most of you already know of this web page :

http://users.bigpond.net.au/dveltkamp/K ... /index.htm

Mike

Yes, its a great record of the early days of bushwalking in Tasmania. Dirk Veltcamp, who maintains the website, is a forum member and has posted some info in this thread. viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1295. Keith also contributed many trip reports, based on his diaries, to the Launceston Walking Club's SKYLINE Magazines, of which he was a founding editor. His first article in Skyline No. 1 was about his solo ascent of Federation Peak, and one page was given over to his meticulous map of the area and his route. Scan attached as a sample. (Click on it to see it full size)

Reading his stories of adventures ..makes you wonder what type of gear they used ... stoves and tents . No lightweight nylon material around ..must have been canvas. No GPS .... navigation by compass and dead reckoning . What food did they take along ?

I found this photo of Keith Lancaster in an old LWC photo album, taken along the South Coast in the 1950's. You get an idea from this photo that they supplimented their rations with fresh fish and crayfish on these walks Its good to put a face to a name that crops up regularly when talking early Tassie bushwalking.

And also worth a visit is http://www.jackthwaitesbushdiaries.com which has quite a bit of historical bushwalking information.

Hope this is not too off topic. I have been looking for a good list of sites with Tassie bushwalking history for a while now.

You can read a little bit about a number of early Tasmanian explorers, surveyors and early bushwalker at the Australian dictionary of Biography. Here is a few to get started: Gustav Weindorfer, Frederick Smithies, Charles Gould, Henry Hellyer and there are plenty others.

Then there is the interesting stories of Robert Ewart.