Kiernan, Ian (1940-2018), an Australian environmentalist and yachtsman, started the annual Clean Up Australia Day. Kiernan founded Clean Up Australia Ltd., a non-profit group that organizes conservation efforts in Australia and other parts of the world. He was also a competitive sailor for more than 40 years. Kiernan represented Australia in many races and sailed around the world.
From late 1986 through early 1987, Kiernan represented Australia in the BOC Challenge, a solo around-the-world yacht race (now called the Velux 5 Oceans Race). He came in sixth place, setting an Australian record for solo circumnavigation of the world at 156 days, 16 hours, 3 minutes, 38 seconds. During the race, Kiernan became concerned by the amount of trash he saw in the world’s oceans .
After returning to Australia, Kiernan organized a community event called Clean Up Sydney Harbour on Jan. 8, 1989. More than 40,000 volunteers attended and collected over 5,000 tons (4,500 metric tons) of trash. The next year, Kiernan organized Clean Up Australia Day. More than 300,000 people participated across the country. Kiernan also founded the Clean Up the World event in 1993. More than 30 million people from 80 different countries participated to clean their communities.
Ian Bruce Carrick Kiernan was born on Oct. 4, 1940, in Sydney . He graduated from Sydney Technical College and began working in construction, specializing in historic restoration projects. Kiernan was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1991. The order is Australia’s highest award for service to the country or humanity. He won the Australian of the Year Award in 1994. Kiernan was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1995. He died on Oct. 16, 2018.
