I first met Mark around 1975 or 1976 through the Avon Descent. More than 50 years ago.

Mark was a pioneering film maker in the style of Malcolm Douglas and the Leyland Bros. I know he didn’t like being compared to them because he was different. More persistent and different.

I have a long time involvement with the Avon Descent at a high level over more than 50 years – my first interaction with Mark was in the early pioneering days of the event. Mark was ‘roadshowing’ movies of the world’s greatest white water event and it was at this time I met him.

This form of entertainment was all the rage at the time – think the Leyland Bros, Alby Mangels and Mark Whittome.

Darling Descent ’82

In 1981 my team had broken the record for the 2000+km journey on the Murray River from Hume Weir to the Southern Ocean and we were looking for new challenges – enter the Darling Descent ’82. The longest boat journey ever made in Australia and the first time Australia’s longest river had been navigated.

I asked Mark to be the cinemaphotographer for this epic adventure and he quickly came onboard.

Early in the first day of the Darling Descent ‘82, the boat crews hit Bonshaw Weir. Floodwaters had submerged the weir, creating a one metre jump.

I was piloting the first boat with Mark and his camera in the front. We shot the weir and turned around so Mark could film the following five boat crews as they had their share of the fun.

We got too close and the rushing waters turned over our little boat.

Mark was caught in the back swirl of the water rushing over the weir and was unable to break free.  I made numerous attempts to push the nose of the submerged boat in towards him so he would have something to grasp but all to no avail.  I was screaming at him the let go of the camera. And survive. After being sucked under four times (he would not let go of his movie camera) he was finally able to push off the wall and propel himself into calmer water.

Meanwhile the rest of the crews had driven to the south bank to meet the Support Crew and were unaware that the river had very nearly claimed Mark’s life.

Twin Rivers Expedition 1985

After the success of this landmark expedition there was demand for more. So we determined to tackle Australia’s third and fourth longest rivers, the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan rivers. Mark’s involvement was critical to the overall success of the event – particularly marketing, publicity and the media.

Mark’s vision of spectacular action on the Murrumbidgee River went worldwide and his knowledge of the industry enabled successful ‘horse trading’ with Channel 9  that allowed the documentary of the expedition to be completed.

Rescue of the Last of the Nomads

Before all his exploits on power dinghy expeditions Mark made his mark In Western Australia as part of a famous humanitarian retrieval that became world-renown.

In 1977 it had become known that Warri and Yatungka, the last of the true nomads, were isolated in the Gibson Desert after facing three years of drought – and were not expected to survive the ferocious summer that was forecast.

Dr Bill Peasley mounted a successful rescue expedition into the remote desert. Mark was the navigator for this truly remarkable expedition.

While all this was going on Mark was regularly taking his family to the desert – trips fondly recalled by Craig and his sister Susan.

Although I lost close contact with Mark over the years we would call each other every now and then and such is the bond when one has been involved in adventurous and even dangerous activities, we would reconnect immediately.

I last saw Mark in mid 2025 and while the decline was obvious the spark of adventure, the complete confidence to achieve, the intensity to know, and the excitement to explore was still there. Still there in quids.

And while he is gone I hope that his memory, his achievements, his quite confidence, his willingness to call a spade a spade, and his positive outlook will be preserved. Because these qualities are worth preserving.

Mark Whittome was a remarkable human being. One who left his mark on society and one who should be remembered.

Marcus Anthony Infield Whittome (31 July 1937 – 26 February 2026)
Explorer, Filmmaker, Navigator, Adventurer.

 

Kim Epton
March 2026