Bob Mouatt, the man who worked tirelessly to put the sport of orienteering on the map, has died, aged 85.
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He was still finding his way through the forests around Canberra well into his 80s and will be fondly remembered by many for his passion for the sport.
Mouatt began orienteering in the late 1970s when he was in the Royal Australian Air Force and he wasn't a natural at the sport, he once told The Canberra Times.
"I was a terrible navigator ... and orienteering is brains over brawn," he said.
He went on to become one of the sport's longest serving administrators, serving on boards and committees at a local and national level for decades.
In 1997 and 1998 he received the ACT Chief Minister's Award for Excellence in the Sport and Recreation Industry. In 2018, he was inducted into the Orienteering Australian Hall of Fame.
In 2010 he was recognised with the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to orienteering and was inducted into the ACT Sport Hall of Fame in 2013.
''[This induction] is an honour for the sport and reflects on the people who've supported me over the years,'' Mouatt said at the time.
![The late Bob Mouatt, left, with David Hogg at the 50th birthday celebrations for Orienteering ACT in 2021. Picture: Karleen Minney
The late Bob Mouatt, left, with David Hogg at the 50th birthday celebrations for Orienteering ACT in 2021. Picture: Karleen Minney](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/94b586fc-aa62-479f-a0a8-eab0aa3e2730.jpg/r0_532_5568_3675_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
''There's no one highlight, just the fact I've been able to introduce so many people to the sport. There's no city in the world that has as many orienteering venues with as much diversity as here in Canberra.''
He founded the Canberra Cockatoos who represented the ACT in the National Orienteering League - the highest level of competition in Australia - and for years they were finalists alongside Canberra's more high profile teams in the ACT Sports Awards.
One athlete Mouatt mentored was Grant Bluett who won a gold medal at the World Games in 2001. His victory was the first by a non-European competitor in the history of the event. Bluett was also inducted into the ACT Sport Hall of Fame in 2023.
"Bob did so much for the sport and for me personally, I'll be eternally grateful," Bluett said.
"He made it his mission to let people know what was happening in the sport and even when I was competing overseas I was amazed he was contacting the media about it to let them know what was happening."
Bluett said he didn't know where Mouatt's love of orienteering came from.
"It's that kind of sport where you maybe can't predict what you're going to love about it."
Mouatt spent 30 years in the RAAF and played many sports, including cricket, tennis and rugby. On retiring from playing he was a successful coach of defence force rugby teams in the Newcastle and Melbourne competitions. But once he tried orienteering he knew it would be "his sport" for life.
David Hogg helped establish Orienteering ACT alongside Mouatt 50 years ago and he remembers his colleague and friend as someone that all people got along with, whether they were new to the sport, competing at the international level, or volunteers who sat on committees and boards.
"Bob was always promoting the sport of orienteering, whether it was with sponsors, governments or the media." Hogg said.
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As a young sports journalist at The Canberra Times I remember being sent downstairs by various sports editors to "deal with Bob". He was always keen for a chat about orienteering and exuberant in his promotion of the sport across all levels.
I remember every Christmas he would try to "bribe" us with cake and wine (the way to every journalist's heart) and the offer was always made and accepted somewhat tongue in cheek.
He is survived by a son Peter and a daughter Karen and their families. A service to celebrate his life will be held at the chapel at Norwood Park Crematorium in MItchell on Friday, July 12, at 1.30pm.