List of people who have walked across Australia

Several people have walled across the entirety of the Australian landscape.

The extremes of Australia for the purpose of this definition are considered to be Steep Point, Western Australia to the (west), Cape Byron (east), Cape York Peninsula (north), and South East Cape (south). The straight-line distance between the east and west is , whereas the distance in the north–south direction is . City-pairs on opposite shores include, among others, Perth and Brisbane, Darwin and Hobart, and Perth and Sydney.

Walkers who choose to cross Australia can follow the National Highway for large sections of their journey. Those who have successfully completed their walks across the continent have typically taken times of 365 to 897 days to do so. The traversed distances are typically around to depending on the route taken.

Only eight people are known to have completed such walks alone, passing through all mainland states and territories, without a support vehicle. These include Aidan de Brune, Nobby Young, Colin Ricketts, Andrew 'Cad' Cadigan, Scott Loxley, Mike Pauly, Terra Roam.

Completed journeys The names of the individuals who have walked across Australia have been listed below. Sources for data contained within this table have been listed within the body of the article, or, where not readily available, directly from the individual concerned. Although listed below, Burke, Wills and King rode horses for a large part of their journey. They are credited as the first English/Irish explorers to cross the continent.

John McDouall Stuart also crossed the continent from Adelaide to the north coast at Stuart Point, 100 km east of today's Darwin. His exploration provided a route for the overland telegraph enabling faster communication with the northern coast.

Name Nationality Start date Finish date Duration (days) Starting location Finishing location Robert Burke 20 August 1860 9 February 1861 174 Melbourne Karumba ‡ William Wills 20 August 1860 9 February 1861 174 Melbourne Karumba ‡ John King 20 August 1860 9 February 1861 174 Melbourne Karumba ‡ Aidan de Brune 24 November 1920 21 February 1921 90 Fremantle Sydney Aidan de Brune 20 September 1921 4 March 1924 897 Sydney Sydney Bob Mossel 20 May 1973 20 September 1973 124 Port Augusta Burketown Bill Mossel 20 May 1973 20 September 1973 124 Port Augusta Burketown Sue Thompson 20 May 1973 20 September 1973 124 Port Augusta Burketown Annabel Douglas-Hill 20 May 1973 20 September 1973 124 Port Augusta Burketown Sharka Dolak 20 May 1973 20 September 1973 124 Port Augusta Burketown Dave Kunst 3 November 1973 20 July 1974 260 Fremantle SydneyAynsley RoweThe Advertiser (Adelaide), 19 August 1977, 3200‑kilometre walk for $350022 April 197718 August 1977119Mindil Beach DarwinGlenelg South Australia Robyn Davidson 2 January 1977 20 September 1977 243 Alice Springs Hamelin Pool, Western Australia Dennis Bartell 1984 1984 unknown Gulf of Carpentaria Gulf St Vincent Steven Newman 1 July 1985 20 June 1986 293 Darwin Melbourne Roger Scott 6 August 1988 22 November 1988 109 Darwin Dover Ffyona Campbell 11 September 1988 14 December 1988 95 Sydney Fremantle Nobby Young 1 March 1993 1 March 1994 365 Sydney Sydney Deanna Sorensen 2 May 1998 28 October 1998 180 Perth Sydney David Mason 23 March 1998 13 November 1998 236 Byron Bay Steep Point Andrew Harper 25 April 1999 10 December 1999 229 Tropic of Capricorn Polly Letofsky 29 October 2000 22 July 2001 267 Melbourne Port Douglas Jon Muir 18 May 2001 22 September 2001 128 Port Augusta Burketown Dave Mckern 15 June 2003 8 November 2003 146 Sydney Perth Deborah De Williams 17 October 2003 23 September 2003 343 Melbourne Sydney John Olsen 2004 unknown 167 Cape York Peninsula South East Cape Colin Ricketts 4 January 2005 17 January 2006 379 Adelaide Adelaide Jeff Johnson 5 April 2007 2 September 2007 151 Port Augusta Karumba Michael Mitchell 5 May 2008 3 May 2009 363 Cape York Peninsula Wilsons Promontory Gary Hause 19 May 2008 2 November 2008 168 Cairns Torquay John Olsen 18 June 2008 3 January 2009 200 Steep Point Cape Byron Dave Phoenix 1 August 2008 8 January 2009 161 Melbourne Karumba Dave Leaning 29 April 2009 21 July 2009 84 Port Augusta Karumba Mike Pauly 16 May 2009 19 October 2009 156 Fremantle Melbourne Mark Gibbens 22 February 2009 18 May 2009 86 Perth Sydney Leigh Thomson-Matthews 8 March 2010 3 July 2010 118 Perth Melbourne Sam Thomson-Matthews 8 March 2010 3 July 2010 118 Perth Melbourne Mike Pauly 1 March 2011 26 June 2011 118 Melbourne Fremantle Jeff Johnson 24 April 2011 2 October 2011 162 Cape Byron Steep Point Jacob French 20 July 2011 12 April 2012 268 Perth Sydney Andrew Cadigan 27 December 2010 14 June 2012 536 Sydney Sydney Matt Napier 2 February 2013 28 June 2013 147 Perth Sydney Brendon Alsop 21 February 2013 3 January 2014 317 Geelong Cairns Scott Loxley 2 November 2013 15 June 2015 601 Melbourne Melbourne Gary Wilmot 16 May 2015 17 September 2015 124 Perth Brisbane John Olsen 31 March 2016 24 December 2016 269 Cape York Peninsula Cape LeeuwinAshok Alexander15 April 2017 27 September 2017 166DarwinCanberraTristan Harris1 May 2017 31 October 2017 184HMAS Stirling, Garden IslandHMAS Creswell, Jervis Bay Territory Terra Roam 22 February 2014 2 May 2018 4 years Newcastle Newcastle Alwyn Doolan 16 August 2018 16 August 2019 365 Cape York Canberra Bob Hanley 24 April 1975 6 May 1978 3 years Sydney Sydney Marc Schinkel 2 May 2019 2 November 2019 185 Sydney Perth Nicolo Guarrera 31 March 2023 07 September 2023 161 Sydney Darwin Tom Fremantle 3 May 2023 29 September 2023 149 Perth Sydney Daniel Hart 01 April 2024 28 October 2024 210 Wilson's Prom Cape York ‡ Karumba did not exist upon Burke, Wills and King arriving. The site of the town however is widely accepted as the northernmost destination of the Victorian Exploring Expedition.

Robert Burke

Robert O'Hara Burke was an Irish soldier and police officer, who achieved fame as an Australian explorer. He was the leader of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australia from south to north. The expedition left Melbourne on 20 August 1860 with a total of 19 men, 27 camels, and 23 horses. Burke, along with William Wills, John King, and Charley Gray, reached the mangroves on the estuary of the Flinders River near where the town of Normanton now stands, on 9 February 1861. Flooding rains and swamps meant they never saw open ocean. Upon returning, the expedition was weakened by starvation and exposure, and was hampered by the tropical monsoon downpours of the wet season. Burke died at a place now called Burke's Waterhole on Cooper Creek in South Australia. The exact date of Burke's death is uncertain, but has generally been accepted to be 28 June 1861.

William Wills

William Wills was a member of the famous Victorian Exploring Expedition. He was originally appointed as third-in-command, surveyor, astronomical and meteorological observer of the expedition in July 1860 on a salary of £300 a year. The expedition left Melbourne on 20 August 1860 with a total of 19 men, 27 camels and 23 horses. They reached Menindee on 16 October 1860 where Landells resigned following an argument with Burke, where Wills was promoted to second-in-command. Burke, along with William Wills, John King, and Charley Gray, reached the mangroves on the estuary of the Flinders River near where the town of Normanton now stands, on 9 February 1861. Flooding rains and swamps meant they never saw open ocean. Upon returning, the expedition was weakened by starvation and exposure, and was hampered by the tropical monsoon downpours of the wet season. Wills died alone at a place called Breerily Waterhole on Cooper Creek in South Australia while waiting for rescue. Burke died soon after. The exact date of their deaths is unknown, but has generally been accepted to be 28 June 1861.

John King

John King was an Irish soldier who achieved fame as an Australian explorer. He was responsible for the welfare of the camels used during the Burke and Wills expedition who reached the Gulf of Carpentaria. King was the sole survivor of the four men of the expedition, and survived with the help of Aboriginal people until he was found on 15 September by Edwin Welch – the surveyor in Alfred William Howitt's Victorian Contingent Party. King returned to Melbourne and was hailed as a hero. King never fully recovered from the expedition, and died prematurely of pulmonary tuberculosis on 15 January 1872 aged 33.

Aidan De Brune

Aidan De Brune was a pseudonym of Herbert Charles Cull, who was born in London in 1874. He married in 1907, but in 1910, he left his wife and infant son Lionel, arriving in Fremantle, in October 1910. On 24 November 1920, he commenced a walk from Fremantle to Sydney, arriving in Sydney on 21 February 1921. He later worked for the Sydney Daily Mail.The Amateur Tramp by Colin Choat, , Project Gutenberg Australia, 2018

Bob and Bill Mossel, Sue Thompson, Annabel Douglas-Hill and Sharka Dolak

This walk was undertaken to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and partly followed in the steps of the Burke & Wills Victorian Exploring Expedition, camping at some of the Burke & Wills expedition's dig trees. It is the first documented crossing of the Australian continent entirely by foot and first by a woman. A feature-length movie Feet Across Australia was shown on national television and attracted paying audiences at many venues in Australia. 1973 was a very wet season and mud was a major problem on the Birdsville Track. Food was buried along the route in advance, otherwise all equipment was carried by the 5 team members with a small handcart. A camel from Arkaroola Sanctuary was briefly part of the expedition. There was no support team accompanying the walkers.

Dave Kunst

Dave Kunst is the first person verified to have walked around the Earth. Kunst's trek began 20 June 1970 and ended 5 October 1974 (the dates in the table reflect his arrival and departure from Australia). During their travels, the brothers collected donations to UNICEF. Unfortunately, John (Dave's brother who was also walking with him) was killed when bandits shot him in the mountains of Afghanistan in October 1972. Dave was also shot in the chest during the same attack, but survived by playing dead. After spending 4 months recovering from his injuries, Dave resumed his journey along with his brother Pete, from the spot where John was killed. As they continued their travels, Dave and Pete were denied access to the USSR, so they flew from India to Australia. Pete returned home during the Australia-leg of the trek, where Dave continued on alone, by this time on his 3rd mule. Unfortunately, the mule died and Dave was left hauling his wagon of supplies himself. He was on the verge of abandoning his supplies, when he fortuitously met Jenni Samuel, a schoolteacher from Perth. She helped pull his wagon with her car, while he walked alongside. Dave returned to Australia for a year after completing his journey. Jenni and Dave later married and are still together as of 2008.

Aynsley Rowe