Adrian Goodenough Hayter (22 December 1914 – 14 June 1990) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

soldier, sailor, Antarctic expedition leader and author.

Biography

Hayter was born in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

in 1914A man called Hayter
The Albert Strange Association Yearbooks, Vol. 2. (1983), pp. 274–283. Retrieved 19 May 2013. and was educated at

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

from 1926 to 1931.''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition He then went to the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

, after which he was attached to 1st Battalion

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ...

in India, before joining his regiment, the

2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Ba ...

, in 1934. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for actions in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

in 1944. Hayter left the army in 1947, but returned to his regiment during the early years of the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

, and later became the chief instructor at the Jungle Warfare School. In December 1949, he was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services in Malaya. He later wrote of his experiences in the army in the book ''The Second Step'', which was published in 1962. In 1950, Hayter resigned his commission, and travelled to England where bought a 32-foot

yawl A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put. As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast p ...

called ''Sheila II''. After learning the basics of celestial navigation by correspondence, he sailed to New Zealand via Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, India, Malaya and Australia, finally arriving in Westport in 1956. In doing so, he became the first person to sail solo from the United Kingdom to New Zealand. He recounted the story of his journey in the book ''Sheila in the Wind'', published in 1959. Hayter returned to Britain in 1961 and purchased the Norwegian-built 25-foot sloop ''Valkyr'', which he sailed solo to New Zealand via the Canary Islands and the Panama Canal. He wrote of his experiences in ''Business in Great Waters'', published in 1965. After his return to New Zealand, Hayter became the sailing instructor at the newly opened Cobham

Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...

School at

Anakiwa Anakiwa is a coastal residential village in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It sits at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound/Tōtaranui, one of the Marlborough Sounds, west of Picton and east of Havelock. At the 2018 census, the village ...

. In 1964, Hayter was appointed to head the New Zealand Antarctic expedition for a year at

Scott Base Scott Base is a New Zealand Antarctica, Antarctic research station at Pram Point on Ross Island near Mount Erebus in New Zealand's Ross Dependency territorial claim. It was named in honour of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Royal Navy, RN, leader ...

, where he wintered over. Once again, he wrote a book, ''The Year of the Quiet Sun'' (published 1968), about his experience. Subsequently, he was awarded the

Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...

in 1969. Hayter twice stood unsuccessfully for the

New Zealand parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

in the Tasman electorate, the first time in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

as an independent candidate, and then in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

under the banner of the

New Zealand Party The New Zealand Party operated as a political party in New Zealand from 1983 to 1993. Established by millionaire property tycoon Bob Jones (businessman), Bob Jones, the party promoted economic liberalisation—it was the first political party to ...

. Hayter died in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

from cancer in 1990, and was buried at

Wakapuaka Cemetery Wakapuaka Cemetery is a cemetery located in Brooklands, Nelson, New Zealand. "Wakapuaka" is Māori for "heaps of aka leaves". Location Wakapuaka Cemetery is located at the southern end of Atawhai Drive in Nelson. The cemetery is located on a h ...

.Find a Grave
Adrian Hayter, retrieved 9/22/2020.

Works

* ''Sheila in the wind''.

Hodder and Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher ...

, London (1959) * ''The second step''. Hodder & Stoughton, London (1962) * ''Business in great waters''. Hodder and Stoughton, London (1965) * ''The year of the quiet sun''. Hodder & Stoughton, London (1968) * ''A man called Peters''. Hodder and Stoughton, Auckland (1977) * ''The dolphin's message''. Self-published, Nelson (1981) * ''The missing piece''. Self-published, Nelson (1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayter, Adrian 1914 births 1990 deaths People from Timaru People educated at Nelson College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Indian Army officers East Surrey Regiment officers New Zealand recipients of the Military Cross New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand sailors New Zealand writers New Zealand and the Antarctic New Zealand recipients of the Polar Medal New Zealand Party politicians Burials at Wakapuaka Cemetery Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1984 New Zealand general election Deaths from cancer in New Zealand Scott Base