LOCAL LIFE

were 25 years of age.

“ We were thinking of immigrating to New Zealand, but my old boss told me he knew a lady working as a biologist and zoologist for Sydney Water in Australia and she was searching for someone who knew something about algae.

“ He put in a good word for me; I applied and got the job as a Technical Officer with the board’ s Biologist Section located at Warragamba Dam.”

Two months after they married, the couple migrated to Aussie as“ two-pound Poms”.

“ We were housed in a construction worker’ s house – the house was 50 metres from the Sydney Water laboratory,” Derek said.

Derek worked with the Sydney Water Commission( SWC) through until 1995, rising in the ranks to become one of SWC’ s most valued employees.

That years he became director of his own business – Phyto-ID( phytoplankton identification) – focusing mainly on sampling drinking water for pollution and operating the business until retiring in 2009.

Growing up in the Lake District, Derek had a multitude of hiking trails and climbs to explore, making his first bushwalk at 12 years of age, hiking and climbing over a 12km course up the nearby Mount Fairfield. The bug had bitten! Two years arriving in Australia, a work

colleague introduced him to the Army Reserves and served with the corps until 1978, rising through the ranks from private to Lieutenant Colonel and on retirement being anointed as a patron.

Derek moved to Hobartville in 1972 and took up playing squash after being roped in by a neighbour, Rick Jamieson, who ran the local Adventurers group at Kurrajong.

Thus began Derek’ s love, in addition to hiking, of canyoning, rock climbing and caving.

“ I had always spent time out in the field with work, walking around the Warragamba catchment and the Blue Mountains assessing the water quality, so my new adventuring wasn’ t foreign to me,” Derek said.

Derek spent four years with the group as Rick’ s assistant, organising various key speakers to meetings and taking groups canoeing, rock-climbing and canyoning on lilos( air mattresses) down the rivers of the Blue Mountains.

“ We would park our cars at Mount Wilson, canyon down and then return to our vehicles by bushwalk,” Derek said.

During this period, Derek accompanied

Derek’ s other passion in life is his family. He’ s pictured here with his supportive soulmate, wife, Edna, and their daughters, Julie and Debbie.

Rick to Pakistan on a trek up to the K2 Base Camp, five kilometres and 100 metres above sea level.

“ It was an eye-opening experience,” Derek said.

“ There were tents everywhere and at the time, quite a mess.

“ We met many climbers in their way down from the summit who informed us they had left behind some of their fellow climbers who will forever remain on the mountain.”

If you thought Caesar, Ghengis Khan, Alexander the Great and Hannibal were meticulous in planning campaigns, well, they had nothing on Derek Cannon.

Each trek he organised into the wilderness was painstakingly planned from go to whoa.

For instance, I was able to peruse a

record of a 17-day trek, Field Marshall Derek organised through the Australian Alps in November, 2001.

Each and every day of the trek was meticulously planned, beginning with the carpool in Richmond and ending with overnighting at Mount Beauty( north of Falls Creek) and returning to Richmond.

For instance, let’ s have a look at Day 6, November 14 – climb Mount Easton( 990m, 7.5km) then Red Jacket( 505m 8.5km), camp.

Or Day 9, November 17 – climb Mt Sunday( 405mm, 13.5km), Low Saddle( 900m, 3km), Mt McDonald( 1620m, 8.5km). Saddle camp on descent from Mt McDonald( 3km).

Perhaps the plans for Day 18 on returning home was to stay in bed for following four days!

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