Ivan Champion
p. 15 · Read in the full issue
Forsakes The Land For The Sea
There was a formidable gathering, headed by the P-NG Administrator, Sir Donald Cle land, at the Public Service Club,
Port Moresby, in February
when Papuan explorer, native
affairs expert and gentleman, Mr. Ivan Champion, retired from Government service.
IN March he will exchange the position of Chief Native Lands Commissioner for that of captain of the 127-ton diesel yacht Laura bada, once Sir Hubert Murray’s patrol vessel. The hulk was rebuilt by a Port Moresby boat builder and she will now carry cargo to various Territory ports under Captain Champion.
Ivan Champion, born in Port Moresby in 1904, a member of a distinguished family, is probably most renowned for his greuelling Fly to the Sepik patrol in 1926, when he accompanied the late Charles Karius across the wildest part of the Terri tory. Another famous expedition was his Bamu-Purari patrol of 1936.
He served with distinction in NG during the Pacific war, piloting units of the Allied fleet and making vital hydrographical surveys.
At that farewell in February, Ivan Champion, after recalling many of the highlights of his career, spoke feelingly of the links that still bind P-NG’s field officers together.
Mr. Ivan Champion.