Mal Leyland’s 82nd Birthday: Celebrating Dad’s Lifetime of Adventure

Mal Leyland’s 82nd birthday is on 2 October, and as the day approaches I’ve found myself thinking about the extraordinary life Dad has lived and just how much of that life has been spent travelling Australia.

It’s a strange thing trying to write about Mal Leyland’s 82nd Birthday when he is your own father and so many other people feel as though they know him too.

To generations of Australians, he’s Mal Leyland.

One half of the Leyland Brothers.

The man who travelled across Australia, pointed a camera at places many people had never seen before and helped inspire families to pack the car, unfold a map and discover this enormous country for themselves.

But to me, of course, he’s simply Dad.

When you’re part of a family like ours, extraordinary things have a habit of becoming normal.

An Extraordinary Life That Became Normal to Me

Dad had already lived an incredible amount of adventure before I came along.

There were the early expeditions with his brother Mike, including their journey across Australia in 1966 that became Wheels Across a Wilderness.

There were years of filming, travelling, exploring and telling Australian stories. Of course mum; Laraine Leyland came along in 1969 to join him on all of his adventures. Then, years later, I found myself travelling Australia with Dad too.

In my early twenties, I spent around four years living on the road while we travelled and filmed Leylands Australia.

Sometimes you have to get a little older yourself before you understand what you were given.

Dad Gave Me Australia

I’ve written before that I didn’t fully appreciate some of the places Dad took me until I was older.

I think that’s true of the experience as a whole. Dad didn’t just show me Australia.

He gave me Australia, A passion for travel, writing, photography and somewhere along the way food. (I love discovering cafes with great coffee, using local produce, making amazing products that I take with me to enjoy further down the road).

Australia from a brochure is not the same as seeing it yourself. Thats why I wanted to start operating tours. So I can share my passion with others. Dad showed me the Australia you discover when you spend months and years on its roads.

And perhaps most importantly, he gave me curiosity and a thirst to see more.

The Man Behind the Adventures

People naturally remember the adventures, the television programs, Mal and Mike.

When it’s your dad, you remember different things too.

I remember dad doing his silly dance in the mornings or when he pulled silly faces to get me smile…..especially as a cranky teenager….lol

Mal Leyland’s 82nd Birthday, and I Still Have Questions

When I recently asked Dad over breakfast what his favourite trip had been. He didnt have to think about the answer.

Wheels Across a Wilderness.

That journey with Mike in 1966 still holds that place for him all these years later.

The Greatest Journeys Aren’t Always Measured in Kilometres

Dad has travelled an extraordinary number of kilometres in his lifetime. He’s crossed deserts, followed remote tracks and visited places that were once little more than names on a map to most Australians.

But perhaps a life of travel isn’t ultimately measured by kilometres its the journey that he got to share with my mum Laraine that was most important to him.

I understand how precious those ordinary moments really are.

Happy Birthday Dad

This is simply a daughter wishing her dad a happy birthday.

And saying thank you. Thank you for the stories. Thank you for teaching me to be curious about what’s beyond the horizon.

Happy 82nd Birthday Dad. ❤️

Carmen Leyland
Leylands Travel Australia