Robert Anthony Beer (8 March 1942 – 3 July 2021) was an Australian adventurer who was the first person to run across the

Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Australian desert, with an area of . The desert is underlain by the ...

, Australia. Bob_Beer

Background

Beer was born in Walcha, New South Wales and grew up on a rural property, near Ingleba, New South Wales. Beer attended school in Ingleba, Walcha and

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. I ...

. Following school, Beer was a tent fighter in Selby Moore's Boxing Tent and was known as 'The Beast'. Beer lived in New Zealand for some time and worked as a professional deer shooter. During this time Beer summited Mt Cook via the Grand Traverse. Beer also worked in Australia as a deckhand, rigger, scaffolder and various roles in construction.

The Simpson Desert run and other adventures

In 1977, Beer cycled across Australia from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Western Australia to

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea c ...

, New South Wales in 36 days. Beer was not assisted by a backup crew. In 1978, Beer walked across Australia from Port Augusta, South Australia to

Karumba Karumba is a town and a coastal locality in the Shire of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Karumba had a population of 531 people. Geography Karumba is in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, by road from Norma ...

, Queensland in 52 days. Beer was not assisted by a backup crew. In 1980, Beer became the first person to run across the

, Australia. Beer ran 420 km across the desert in 6.5 days, starting at Alka Seltzer Bore, South Australia and finishing at

Birdsville Birdsville is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Diamantina, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Birdsville had a population of 110 people. It is a popular tourist destination with many people using it as a starting point acro ...

, Queensland. Beer was assisted by a backup crew which included adventurers, Hans Tholstrup and Neville Kennard. The trip was sponsored by Australian entrepreneur, Dick Smith. A documentary was made about this trip called "The Runner". In 1996/1997, Beer kayaked solo across Australia from Port Alma, Queensland to

Murray Mouth Murray Mouth is the point at which the River Murray meets the Southern Ocean. The Murray Mouth's location is changeable. Historical records show that the channel out to sea moves along the sand dunes over time. At times of greater river flow ...

, South Australia. Beer paddled up the Fitzroy River and then towed his Kayak on a trolley behind a bicycle over the Great Dividing Range to

Goondiwindi Goondiwindi () is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , Goondiwindi had a population of 6,355 people. Geography Goondiwindi is on the MacInt ...

, Queensland. Beer then kayaked from

to the

. Beer travelled a total of 4,562 km in 146 days. Beer managed to complete the trip despite contracting Ross River fever. Beer wrote a book about this trip titled "The inland sea man: across Australia by kayak". In 1999, Beer cycled around Australia in a figure of eight, travelling a total of 18,350 km to raise money for the

Garvan Institute of Medical Research The Garvan Institute of Medical Research is an Australian biomedical research institute located in , Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Charity as a research department of St Vincent's Hospital, it is now one of Australi ...

. Beer was not assisted by a backup crew.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beer, Bob 1942 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Australian people 21st-century Australian people People from New South Wales