He was a world-class athlete, but couldn’t afford a ticket home for his daughter’s birthday. So, he did something so wild that it turned him into a living legend, but also nearly killed him in the process.
In 1964, Australian javelin thrower Reg Spiers found himself stranded in London after he traveled there to recover from an injury that had interrupted his athletics career. But after he could not qualify during the English summer, he was left penniless by the end of the season. So, he instead set his mind on raising money to fly back to Adelaide in time for his young daughter’s birthday.
Spiers even took a job at an airport in the export cargo section. But when his wallet, containing all his savings, was stolen, the 23-year-old came up with an idea that sounded insane. And it most definitely was. He decided that if he couldn’t buy a flight home, he’d mail himself back home in the plane cargo via cash on delivery and figure out how to pay later. He explained,
“I worked in the export cargo section, so I knew about cash-on-delivery with freight. I’d seen animals come through all the time and I thought, ‘If they can do it, I can do it.'” (via BBC)
The wooden crate that Spiers traveled in
So, with help from his friend and fellow athlete John McSorley, Spiers built a man-sized wooden box measuring 5ft x 3ft x 2.5ft, with just enough room to sit up straight-legged, or lie on his back with his knees bent. He loaded some tinned food, a torch, a blanket and a pillow, and two plastic bottles, and labeled the crate as “paint” to avoid any suspicion.
Inside, Spiers packed himself, said a prayer, and hoped for the best. The journey from London to Perth took more than 60 hours across multiple flights and stopovers, including in Bombay and Singapore. He spent most of it in darkness, upside-down at times, freezing, sweating, and gasping for air. At one stop, customs officers left him on the tarmac in the blazing sun.
A breath of fresh air for Spiers that made headlines
When the plane finally landed in Perth, Spiers was grinning from ear to ear. “The accents, how could you miss? I’m on the soil. Amazing. Wonderful. I made it,” he said. He then broke out of the crate after it was put in a bond shed, “jumped through the window, walked out onto the street, and thumbed a ride into town.”
Spiers arrived just in time for his daughter’s birthday, dehydrated, sore, but unbelievably alive. However, he forgot to tell his partner in crime, McSorley, that he had come through his journey intact. Desperately worried about his friend, McSorley alerted the media, and the stunt soon made headlines across Australia.
To many, Spiers became the ultimate symbol of determination, as a father who risked everything for love. But his story didn’t end there. In later years, the same daring streak led him into drug smuggling and prison sentences overseas. Still, his legendary three-day journey in a box remains one of the most unbelievable and reckless acts of devotion ever attempted.
