Vale – Graham Wootton

I was recently sad to hear about the passing of a fellow bushwalker – Graham Wootton. In some ways, Graham’s early days in bushwalking paralleled my own. He was a foundation member of my old bushwalking club – The Springwood Bushwalking Club, and also like me, joined SUBW – Sydney University Bushwalkers. And after finishing university, he also, like me, joined the Kameruka Bushwalking Club. But in all of these, he was a few years ahead of me, and I didn’t meet him until the late 1970’s after he had moved to Tasmania.

Graham Wootton – Photo by Cecilia Wootton

It was at a Kameruka Bushwalking Club meeting that I first met Graham. He was on a short visit from Tasmania and at the meeting showed some of his very beautiful slides of Tasmania. What stood out to me were his slides of Fagus – the native Deciduous Beech and also their location – The Traveller Range. This was a revelation to me and I made up my mind to go to the Traveller Range and also experience Autumn in Tasmania and see for myself the beautiful leaves of Fagus as they change colour. I think I achieved both objectives a few years later in the early 1980’s.

I did not know Graham very well, but on my frequent visits to Tasmania, he went out of his way to invite me to visit him and his wife Cecilia at their Hobart home. I think he saw me as a fellow bushwalking photographer and I certainly appreciated his advice and wisdom. On my visits we would discuss bushwalking and photography – passions we both shared. He was always very generous with his knowledge and I really appreciate the time we spent together.

A few years ago, he sent me a copy of a book that he had helped prepare on the history of the Pandani Bushwalkers of Hobart. This active club grew out of a TAFE course that he ran on bushwalking. There was so much fellowship between the members of the TAFE class, that when the lessons were over, the participants wanted more and the club was formed. That is a good tribute to Graham.

Some of his photos from his SUBW years are online here.

My condolences to his wife Cecilia and to his family.