08/28/2026
In 1932, an unemployed 25-year-old German electrical contractor named Oskar Speck left Ulm, Germany, in a folding kayak. He originally just wanted to get to Cyprus to find work in the copper mines, but he kept going. Over seven years, he paddled roughly 30,000 miles (50,000 km) across the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia, disregarding the risks including dangerous conditions and his inability to swim.
When Speck landed on Thursday Island in September 1939, Britain and Australia had just declared war on Germany. While rumors of him being a German spy had followed him during his travels, he was officially arrested simply because he was a German citizen—making him an "enemy alien".
The arresting officers reportedly greeted him on the beach, saying: "Well done, feller. You've made it—Germany to Australia in that. But now we've got a piece of bad news for you. You are an enemy alien. We are going to intern you".
After spending the entire war locked in Australian internment camps (where he even attempted to escape once), he was released in 1946. He chose to stay in Australia, eventually moving to Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, and establishing a highly successful opal cutting and trading business.
