General News
21 May, 2025
From Townsville to Darwin: Norm's walking for own cause
The Vietnam veteran isn’t walking to raise money or gain social media clout.
Motorists travelling along the Flinders and Barkly Highways in the coming few weeks should keep an eye out for a solitary figure pulling a handmade trailer.
Norm Thirkell is making the colossal 2500km trek from Townsville to Darwin via Mount Isa.
The 75-year-old Vietnam veteran isn’t raising money for charity and isn’t trying to earn any social media clout.
Instead, Norm said he is just walking beside the road because it’s proven to be good for his own mental health.
“Last year I walked the Nullarbor, and I thought that was really good,” he said.
“When I finished, I was sitting on the veranda of a pub having a lemon squash by myself and wondering what to do next.
“So, I thought I would just walk to Darwin.”
The long time Townsville resident set off for Darwin two days after his grandson’s second birthday in the second week of May.
When North West Weekly caught up with Norm, he was about 40km east of Richmond and was preparing to pull up stumps for the afternoon.
He said he had spent the day walking the Flinders while humming the same Wiggles tunes that were playing at his grandson’s birthday party a week earlier.
Norm said he was familiar with the highways he would be walking along, having travelled them many times whiles serving in the Australian Army for 35 years.
He aims to walk about 30km to 40km per day and carries about 30 litres of water.
He wears a backpack that carries Bud, a teddy bear that belonged to his son, and pulls a small trailer using a few pieces of timber cobbled together into a handle.
There is an Australian flag flying proudly at the rear of his setup.
Norm said it was pleasing to see the Aussie spirit was alive and well, with a steady procession of motorists regularly honking their horns in support, or pulling over to offer some food or water.
“I could have walked the entire Nullarbor with only about four litres of water – so many people were stopping and giving me some water,” he said.
“I think by the time I reach the Barkly Highway, I might need a hand with some water.
“That road to Camooweal and beyond looks like a place where you’ll need to carry a lot of water.”
Norm expects it to take about three months to complete his massive journey.
He said there wasn’t a celebration planned for his Darwin arrival, nor does he have anything specific in mind to stop and see along the way.
“I don’t know what I will do after I get to Darwin,” he said.
“But I still have a few months to go before I have to work that out.”