Australian orienteering has lost one of its most accomplished and popular participants with the passing of Bob Allison on 21 September, following a long illness. After being introduced to orienteering in Victoria in the mid-1970s through Yarra Valley Orienteers, Bob moved to Canberra with his family in late 1979, joining Canberra’s Red Kangaroos club (now known as Red Roos).
The following decades saw Bob rise as a formidable masters-level competitor and contribute to the sport as a mapper, event organiser, course planner, controller and administrator at the local, national and international levels. His significant contribution to Australian orienteering was recognised through his induction into the General Division of the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Bob served as the Public Officer for Orienteering Australia for many years while it was an incorporated body registered in the ACT.
While illness seriously limited his recent orienteering activities, Bob made every effort to get to events where possible, and participate in courses to the best of his ability. He will be greatly missed on the Australian orienteering scene, and particularly by his wife, Judy, daughters Belinda and Jo, and their children, who have all shared his journey through orienteering over many years.
