A marathon swim of Lake Burley Griffin

Alan Towill was an interstate swimming representative in our year at High School. He could freestyle a length of the Manuka Pool faster than anyone but could he swim the length of Lake Burley Griffin?

It was 1965, at the beginning of 4th Form, and the Lake had only been full of water for a year. One lunchtime, as a group of boys chatted in the quadrangle, Alan boldly claimed that he could swim from the Kingston Foreshore to Scrivener Dam, a length of 6.8 miles! He was determined to do it and as an incentive, rather than hoping he would fail, we placed bets with him.

Alan leaves the
water at Scrivener
Dam after his swim

Suitably 'greased up' Alan entered the Lake at 6.10am one Saturday morning in March. Robert Piper and Geoff Kingston accompanied him in canoes, talking to him as he swam. Alan used different strokes to ease fatigue. About half way the water became cold, but soon afterwards the sun came out and the rest, Alan says, was fairly simple although the last two miles felt like the first five!

While swimming is prohibited in the Lake's Central Basin, the Water Police did not interfere with the swim. They wished him well at the start, monitored his progress, and accompanied him during the last stages. They had a blanket and a warm drink for him at the end.

The swim took four hours and 45 minutes. Considering that he did not train seriously for the swim, this was a wonderful achievement. Alan was the first person, and one of only a few, to swim the length of the Lake. What a pity that a marathon swim of Lake Burley Griffin has not been included as an annual event on Canberra's sporting and tourist attraction calendar.

Alan's swim was reported in The Canberra Times newspaper and some of the information and the photo were taken from that article.

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