Aidan de Brune

Aidan de Brune (17 July 1874 – 15 February 1946) was an English journalist, author and was the first person in recorded history to walk around the perimeter of Australia, unaccompanied and unassisted.

Walk from Fremantle to Sydney

De Brune left Fremantle, Western Australia on 24 November 1920 De Brune described his goal to be "to leave Sydney on foot, to walk ten thousand miles [16,000 km] (more or less) around Australia, calling at all the ports en route on the four coasts, and to return to Sydney." He proposed taking twelve months to complete the walk. However, in the event, he took two and a half years, arriving back in Sydney on 4 March 1924.

De Brune kept a diary during his walk, in which he made daily entries detailing the distance walked each day and the total distance to-date. He also invited people he met along the way to certify his presence at the location he was at and to make comments. After he finished his walk he donated the diary and a typescript of the contents of the diary to the State Library of New South Wales.

J T Beckett, a journalist, had met de Brune in Darwin, during de Brune's walk. A newspaper article written by Beckett appeared when de Brune was in Penong, South Australia, about 1,700 miles (2,700 km) from finishing his walk. Beckett concluded the article: "Aiden de Brune has not finished his walk but should he never move another yard further, he will have put up a record that few, if any, will ever attempt to equal."

Personal life

De Brune was born Herbert Charles Cull in London, England and started his professional life as a printer. He married Ethel Elizabeth Crofts in 1907 and a son, Lionel, was born in 1909.

Aidan de Brune/Herbert Charles Cull died in Sydney on 15 February 1946. His death was registered as that of Aidan de Brune. He was buried in Botany Cemetery.