Oskar Speck (adventurer)
Oskar Speck (* 1907 ; † 1995 ) was a German adventurer who took a folding boat from Germany to Australia .
Life
After the global economic crisis in 1928, in which he had to give up his business as a self-employed master electrician, Speck wanted to work in Cyprus . He started in Ulm in May 1932 and paddled down the Danube . But he made a different decision, continued to the Syrian coast, transported his folding boat by land to Maskanah on the Euphrates, and from there continued his journey through the Persian Gulf and along the coasts of India , Malaya , Java and Bali to Australia. Immediately after his arrival in September 1939, he was interned as an enemy alien on the Australian island of Thursday Island until 1945. After the war he built up an existence as an opal dealer in Australia .
After Speck's journey became known in Germany, the Bad Tölz company Pionier Faltboot Werft made a total of four boats available to him free of charge. Today his equipment can be found in the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney .
Web links
- Sandra Ketterer: In a folding boat to Australia. In: one day from November 1, 2013
- Being a hero is all about timing : Oskar Speck's kayak voyage (Australian National Maritime Museum; English, with picture of Specks)
- Travel description with pictures of the boat (English)
- Parts 1 to 3 of an article written by Oskar Speck in the NSW Sea Kayaker magazine (issues 50–52, English):
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bacon, Oskar |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German adventurer, paddled first from Germany to Australia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1907 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1995 |