Peeter Pedaja
Black and white photo of a young man in a collared staring off to the left of frame. Peeter Pedaja, age 17.
Pedaja at age 17 in 1948, shortly after immigrating to Australia.
Born(1931-08-08)August 8, 1931
Tallinn, Estonia
DiedOctober 17, 1985(1985-10-17) (aged 54)
Melbourne
NationalityEstonian Australian
Other namesPeter Pedaya, Stanley Lexton
Occupation(s)Adventurer, sculptor
Known forAttempted sea crossings in oil drums

Peeter Pedaja (also known as Peter Pedaya and Stanley Lexton, August 8, 1931 – October 17, 1985) was an Estonian Australian refugee, sculptor and adventurer, best known for his multiple attempts at sea crossings in oil drum vessels of his own construction.

Early life in Europe

In 1931, Pedaja was born in Tallinn to Johannes and Rosalie Pedaja.[1] During his early childhood, Estonia in World War II saw the country occupied by both Soviet and Nazi forces. By the early 1940s, Pedaja's father was arrested by the Soviets and sentenced to a slave labour camp, while his mother and two sisters managed to flee Estonia by boat as refugees. Pedaja himself was left behind to spend his early teenage years alone and on the run from both German and Russian forces.[2]

After the end of the war, he learned that his mother and one of his sisters were living in a displaced persons camp in Geislingen, Germany, and that his other sister was now based in Stockholm, Sweden. Still a teenager, Pedaja then dedicated several years to finding a way across the Iron Curtain by various means of transport and subterfuge to reunite with his family. He made it to Stockholm by 1947, where he found one of his sisters, began learning English and told his life story to the international news media. The following year, he finally reunited with his mother and other sister in Geislingen.[3]

Australian adventures

At age 17, Pedaja decided to migrate to Australia and leave his family behind once again. On October 11th, 1948, a week before his 18th birthday, Pedaja arrived in Perth, Western Australia on the HMAS Kanimbla.[4] He then spent a year hitch-hiking around the country.[5] His mother and sisters also decided to emigrate to Australia, arriving in Melbourne in September 1949.[6] Pedaja decided he wished to join them again, and rode the approximately 3,300km from Perth to Melbourne across the Nullabor Plain on a pushbike during the Australian summer.[7][8]

On the night of December 10th, 1950, Pedaja hijacked a motorcycle while brandishing a water pistol somewhere on the road near Gympie, Queensland. Heading further south, he then forced a car to stop between Landsborough and Nambour and demanded money from the driver, before speeding off and eventually being arrested by Queensland police. He later told the court he meant no harm, that he wanted material for a book he intended to write about his adventures in Australia, and that he was inspired to "do something unusual" by the recent film The Kissing Bandit, starring Frank Sinatra:[9][10]

The "Kissing Bandit" in the film didn't mean to do any harm, and I didn't either. I've been honest all my life and always will be.[11]

Pedaja carving sculptures into the cliff face at North Cottesloe Beach in 1953.

Justice O'Hagan was ultimately convinced Pedaja was motivated by "a sense of irresponsibility rather than an inclination to crime."[12] Pedaja was released on a suspended sentence, and was later proclaimed "The Kissing Bandit in Real Life" by the Australian media.[13]

In 1951, he registered a patent for a "slot constructed toy house."[14]

In 1952, he advertised in The Age newspaper for young men to join him on an expedition to Western Australia to start a timber milling, pearl and whale fishing station in exchange for a £16 fee. Nothing came of these plans, and Pedaja ultimately served three months' jail for "attempted false pretenses."[15]

In 1953, he made a name for himself in Perth as a rock sculptor, carving elaborate scenes into the cliff face at Cottesloe Beach.[16] In 1956, he did the same at Sandringham, Victoria, carving an "Olympic pageant" into the beach's soft cliff face.[17][18] He also began using the name "Stanley Lexton" for his artistic endeavours and in some other contexts.[19]

Attempted oil drum sea crossings

1957

In 1957, Pedaja attempted to cross the Timor Sea from Mindil Beach in Darwin, Northern Territory to Timor in a vessel that consisted of three oil drums welded together in a row.[20] He may have been inspired by Australian artist Ian Fairweather, who had attempted the same route on a raft made from aircraft fuel tanks in 1952.[21]

On the morning of his departure, a passerby named Gregory Black assisted Pedaja to tow the oil drum vessel across the beach. Black later described the scene:

The centre drum of the raft was cut open to form a cockpit. The cockpit allowed him just enough room to sit down but not enough to stretch his legs. There was no keel, no motor, no sail and no means of ensuring it would stay upright. He had two paddles, a five-gallon tin of water, several tins of fruit and seven tins of meat. He had put his clothes in suitcases, which were strapped on to the rear drums. He said he would pass the time by playing chess with himself. He had a fishing line and hoped to catch fish but would have to eat them raw. He intended drinking a small amount of sea water each day to disprove the old theory that it causes madness.[22]

This vessel capsized. Pedaja had tied himself into the cockpit with rope, which meant he struggled for 90 seconds to untie himself while underwater before finally surfacing.[23]

Pedaja aboard the D.S. Wakefield, his second oil drum craft.

Upon returning to Darwin, Pedaja immediately began work on a new design for his oil drum craft, adding two drums to the side for stability. He named the new version the D.S. Wakefield after Charles Wakefield, the founder of Castrol, with D.S. standing for "drift ship."[24] Black took a photo of Pedaja brandishing a paddle in the Wakefield that is now on file at the State Library of New South Wales.[25]

Pedaja headed for Timor again, making it approximately 20 miles before deciding to turn around as he felt he had "unfinished business in Darwin" and decided the Wakefield would be better with a sail.[26] He then ate and drank all his rations, before realising that he was adrift and could not return to shore.

After several nights lost at sea, Pedaja was ultimately rescued thanks to a chance discovery by the vessel Temora, which had mistaken him for a floating buoy. The captain was a man named Peter Petersen, who Pedaja observed had both a similar name to his and the same initials.[27]

Upon returning to Darwin, Pedaja began work on a third design:

I’ll make it a little bigger, give myself a place to lie down, and put up a sail. I’ll want 100 tins of food, 15 gallons of water, and some whisky to keep me company. After that, using the wind for fuel, I think I could become the first man to sail around the world in an oil drum... You can't sink a sealed tin, and that is just what I would represent.[28][29]

1959

Pedaja's third raft, the Can-Tiki, moored at La Perouse.

In 1959, Pedaja attempted to cross the Tasman Sea from Sydney to New Zealand in a new oil drum vessel with an improved design. The Can-Tiki[30] (likely named after the Kon-Tiki) had a sail, stabilising fins and a door tied to the rear with a suitcase strapped on.[31] Movietone News cameras captured Pedaja welding the drums together in his backyard as his mother Rosalie watched on.[32]

The stunt attracted attention throughout Australia and internationally. Australian maritime authorities attempted to impress on Pedaja that the vessel was unseaworthy and that an air and sea search for him would be costly and potentially dangerous in itself. The New Zealand government also warned him that even if the attempt was successful, he would not be legally allowed on their shores.[33] Pedaja insisted he would still make the attempt, partly because he wanted to convince the Estonian government to allow his father to migrate to Australia:

The communists won't let him go unless they can get some favourable publicity from it. When I reach New Zealand, I will be world news. Then when I try again for his release, they may let him go... I don't know anything about all these people thinking that my scheme is hairbrained. I am determined to sail and nothing will stop me. I don't want anyone to risk his life looking for me at sea. I am prepared to put that in writing if the navigation authorities want it.[34] [35]

On December 13th, 1959, a large crowd gathered at Frenchmans Beach in La Perouse to watch Pedaja depart for New Zealand. Movietone camera crews returned and documented the occasion in a newsreel.[36] He drifted for an hour in the wrong direction and was ultimately towed back to La Perouse by the Volunteer Coastal Patrol vessel Pudaloo.[37] Pedaja's attempt was front page news on the following day's edition of The Sydney Morning Herald, under the headline "Canoe Voyage Held Up By Rudder Trouble: Oil Drum Trip Lasted an Hour."[38]

On December 15th, 1959, Pedaja departed for New Zealand again, saying he was "in it too deep now to back out." He once again failed after drifting in the wrong direction, and was jeered by crowds as he once again returned to La Perouse.[39]

Two days later, Pedaja then accepted an offer from Manly Pool to sell them the Can-Tiki so that children could play on it during the school holidays.[40] Pedaja once again left La Perouse by sea, this time attempting to sail to Manly to drop the vessel off. Although assisted by a motor on this occasion, the motor broke down, and so Pedaja washed ashore at Maroubra.[41]

1974

In 1974, Pedaja turned up again in Darwin having once again concocted plans to attempt a sea crossing in an oil drum vessel. This time he was intending to build a raft out of oil drums on which he would tow a four-wheel drive from Darwin to Africa. "People put car engines on boats. Why not put a car on a boat?", Pedaja said, adding that he could think of nothing better to do.[42]

Fate of his family

In 1958, Pedaja married Marjorie Leone Pedaya, nee Heron.[43] They later divorced.

In 1967, Pedaja's mother Rosalie passed away suddenly after being hit by a car while attempting to cross the road in front of the 67 tram in St Kilda.[44]

Pedaja's father, Johannes, was later established to have defected to the Soviet Union and worked for them as an informant.[45] Finnish historian Juha Pohjonen wrote that Johannes was likely motivated by desperation and a lack of money rather than any ideological reason.[46]

Later years

Guatemala

Aftermath of the Guatemala earthquake, 1976

By 1974, Pedaja had at some stage been involved in a car accident and was receiving a disability pension. Apparently seeking treatment and an ideal retirement community, he then travelled to the United States and Mexico.[47]

On February 4th, 1976, Pedaja then arrived in Guatemala on the same day as the 1976 Guatemala earthquake. Travelling to Acatenango and witnessing the extent of the destruction, he then founded the "Acatenango Rebuilding Fund" and returned to Miami, Florida to commence a fundraising effort.[48] By this time he had also begun using a phonetic English spelling of his name, rendering it "Peter Pedaya" in some contexts. He told the Tallahassee Democrat:

I'm trying to raise $20 million. I won't go back empty-handed... I want to rebuild this town by American standards. If I can get this thing going, you'll have the people on your side over there. It will show that Americans do care... I was a little bit down when I went to Guatemala. I had no real aim in life. This has given me a purpose. The whole town is depending on me now. I can't let them down.[49]

What ultimately came of the Acatenango Rebuilding Fund is unknown.

Death

Peeter's grave in Melbourne, next to that of his mother.

By 1985, Pedaja had found his way back to Australia once again. He died on October 12th of that year while living in St Kilda. His death certificate listed the cause of death as "Hepatic encephalopathy – 10 days. Hepatic cirrhosis – years."[50] He was buried in the Estonian Lutheran section of Fawkner Memorial Park[51], next to his mother.[52]

Legacy

Despite the international media attention he received during his lifetime, Pedaja's story apparently became mostly forgotten in both Australian and Estonian history. He was briefly mentioned in Ingrid Cranfield's The Challengers: British & Commonwealth Adventurers Since 1945, published in 1976.[53]

In 2022, SUDDENLY: a Frank Sinatra podcast dedicated an episode to Pedaja's life story in the context of The Kissing Bandit, the Sinatra film which inspired him to commit armed robbery in 1950. The episode featured New Zealand comedian Tim Batt, who drew parallels between Pedaja's repeated failures at oil drum sea voyages and Batt's own endeavours to watch the same poorly-reviewed films repeatedly on the podcast The Worst Idea of All Time.[54]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Death certificate". Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Foster, Hal. "Boy, 16, Hurdles Red Barriers to Find a Haven". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Boy Finds His Family After 3½ Year Search". The Daily News. 12 October 1948. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "D4881". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  5. ↑ Lockwood, Douglas (1961). "Oil Drum Voyager". The Wide World Magazine. No. 126. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "PEDAJA Liivia (B78)". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  7. ↑ Lockwood, Douglas (14 September 1957). "They Challenged the Dread Timor". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Lockwood, 1961
  9. ↑ "Kissing Bandit Was His Model, Youth Explains". Brisbane Telegraph. 23 February 1951. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "Film Inspired Hope in Young New Australian". The Herald, Melbourne. 23 February 1951. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "Youth Wanted to Be Like Kissing Bandit". Brisbane Telegraph. 7 March 1951. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  12. ↑ ""Kissing Bandit" on £100 Bond". Townsville Daily Bulletin. 8 March 1951. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "'Kissing Bandit' in Real Life". Maryborough Chronicle. 24 February 1951. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "A1337". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "Big Scheme Brings Gaol Term". The Herald, Melbourne. 16 October 1952. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  16. ↑ "His Shape of Things to Come". The Daily News, Perth. 19 September 1953. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "He Carves the Olympic Story". The Argus, Melbourne. 17 January 1956. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "Peeter Pedaja sculpting Red Cliffs in Victoria, Australia, 1953". YouTube. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  19. ↑ "Oil Drum Voyage Hardly Gets Started". Evening World-Herald. 30 July 1957. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  20. ↑ Lockwood, 1957
  21. ↑ Allison, Dael. "Isolation and creativity : Ian Fairweather's 1952 raft journey". University of Technology Sydney. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  22. ↑ "Aussie Sets Sail on Weird Raft". The Evening Sun, Baltimore. 30 July 1957. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  23. ↑ Lockwood, 1961
  24. ↑ Cranfield, Ingrid (1976). The Challengers: British & Commonwealth Adventurers Since 1945. p. 104. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  25. ↑ "Peter Pedaja on Raft at Darwin, July 1960 (erroneous date)". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  26. ↑ "Petrol-Drum Raft Voyage Ends 20 Miles at Sea". The Canberra Times. 31 July 1957. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  27. ↑ Lockwood, 1961
  28. ↑ Lockwood, 1957
  29. ↑ Lockwood, 1961
  30. ↑ "Oil Drum Adventurer Insists On Sydney To New Zealand Sailing Attempt". Alamy. Keystone Press. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  31. ↑ "Canoe for Trans-Tasman Journey". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 December 1959. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  32. ↑ "Over the Waves on Oil Drums". NFSA. Movietone News.
  33. ↑ "Would Get No Further". The Press, New Zealand. No. 29077. 14 December 1959. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  34. ↑ "Police Unable to Stop Raft Voyage". The Press, New Zealand. No. 29078. 15 December 1959. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  35. ↑ "Weird Craft Leaves Today". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 December 1959. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  36. ↑ "Oil Drum Ocean Crossing Fails At First Attempt, La Perouse". NFSA. Movietone News.
  37. ↑ "Pedaja Told Shackles All Unsafe". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 December 1959. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  38. ↑ "Canoe Voyage Held Up By Rudder Trouble: Oil Drum Trip Lasted an Hour". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 December 1959.
  39. ↑ "Oil Drum Voyager Fails, Undaunted". The Age. 15 December 1959. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  40. ↑ "Canoe Bought for Children". The Age. 17 December 1959. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  41. ↑ "New Failure in Oil Drum Raft". The Canberra Times. 19 December 1959. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  42. ↑ "Ocean 'drive' plan". The Canberra Times. 29 August 1974. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  43. ↑ "Marriage certificate". Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  44. ↑ "1968/701 Rosalie Pedaja: Inquest". Public Record Access Victoria. State of Victoria. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  45. ↑ Käro, Allen (25 October 2008). "Kapten Johannes Pedaja – täht NKVD spioonide hulgas (Estonian language – reference is to Google translation to English)". Postimees. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  46. ↑ Ereit, Pekka (30 August 2007). "Miinileiutaja, kes mängis Stirlitzit (Estonian language – reference is to Google translation to English)". Eesti Ekspress. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  47. ↑ English, Carey (12 May 1976). "Ravaged Town Pins Hopes on Adventurer". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  48. ↑ "He's Knocking on Doors for Guatemalans". The Miami Herald. 21 April 1976. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  49. ↑ Carey, 1976
  50. ↑ Death certificate.
  51. ↑ "Deceased: Peter Pedaya". The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  52. ↑ "Deceased: Rosalie Pedaja". The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  53. ↑ Cranfield, 1976
  54. ↑ "Episode 15: This is Not a Book". SUDDENLY: a Frank Sinatra podcast. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
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