John William Barrie Devenport (7 October 1935 – 25 July 2010, often mistakenly reported as "Barrie Davenport") 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 ...

swimmer and lifesaver who was the first person in modern history to swim

Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A ...

. Devenport was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

on 7 October 1935. On 20 November 1962, at the age of 27, he swam from

Cape Terawhiti Cape Terawhiti is the southwesternmost point of the North Island of New Zealand. The cape is located 16 kilometres to the west of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Ohau Point, located on the northern tip of Cape Terawhiti and, along ...

in the North Island to Wellington Rock in the South Island in 11 hours, 13 minutes. He was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall o ...

in 1995. He died in 2010 on the

Gold Coast, Australia The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the na ...

, after an 18-month battle with cancer.

References

1935 births 2010 deaths New Zealand male swimmers Swimmers from Wellington City Deaths from cancer in Queensland Male long-distance swimmers New Zealand long-distance swimmers Cook Strait swimmers 20th-century New Zealand people 21st-century New Zealand people {{NewZealand-swimming-bio-stub