John Mayston Béchervaise

Who was John Mayston Béchervaise?

John Mayston Béchervaise OAM, MBE was an Australian writer, photographer, artist, historian and explorer. He is especially notable for his work and achievements in Antarctica. Béchervaise was married to Lorna Fearn Wannan; the couple had one son and three daughters. His family had come from Jersey in the 19th century where there is still a Bechervaise Lane.

Béchervaise was educated in Melbourne. He joined Geelong College in 1935 in order to establish a program of outdoor activities for the boys. During the years of the Second World War he studied art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, but returned to Geelong College after the war.

In January 1949 he led a mountaineering expedition of the Geelong College Exploration Society to climb the hitherto unclimbed 1224 m Federation Peak in Tasmania. He also led the first party to land on Tasmania's most northerly point, rugged Rodondo Island in Bass Strait, 10 km off the coast of Victoria.

As well as contributing to the development of outdoor education in Victoria, he was for many years the assistant editor of the Australian magazine Walkabout.