Historical information

Graham Wells Middleton was born in Corryong in Northeast Victoria in 1935. He was the first person to swim the length of the Murray River. He began on November 30th 1991 at Bringenbong, near Corryong. After completing a distance of 2366 kilometres over 138 consecutive days, Graham finished his marathon swim in Lake Alexandrina, South Australia on April 14th 1992. This feat was recognised in The Guiness Book of Records and was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Corryong. His motivation was to raise money to help children with cancer. In the process he raised $100,000 for cancer research which made Graham Middleton the first individual in Australia to raise $100,000 for the cause. In the weeks and months after his swim ended, donations continued to be made, with the final total exceeding $200,000. The proceeds raised by the swim were donated to " Kids 'n' Cancer" and the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund.
Graham Middleton died on October 27, 1995

Significance

This photo is significant as Graham Middleton was a resident of Northeast Victoria who made an outstanding contribution to the community and to supporting medical research as a result as the Murray River swim depicted in this image.

Physical description

A black and white photo of Graham Middleton, a marathon swimmer who swam the Murray River. The photo has been mounted in a metal frame.