General News
21 April, 2025
Walking for MND
Going for a walk is a natural enough thing but when it involves about 15,000 kilometres, it's a long walk indeed, in fact, it's around Australia.
But Billy Whiston is on a life-changing challenge to walk the 14,418+ kilometres while pushing a wheelchair to raise awareness about Motor Neurone Disease.
Billy arrived in Horsham on Monday, April 7 on his way to Adelaide through Nhill along the Western Highway.
So, how and why does a person decide to walk around Australia when you are safely at home in the United Kingdom?
"Well it's a funny story really," he said.
"My Mum loves Coronation Street, the British Television Program, and she was watching it one night in January last year.
My Dad was watching a rugby match in another room.
During the break, she told me that one of the actors in the episode she was watching, was playing someone with MND and had won an award for his portrayal of the condition.
"Because the rugby match was on, it reminded me of one of Britain's star rugby players. Rob Burrow, who had MND," Billy said.
"One thing led to another and I said, I bet if I walked around Australia pushing a wheelchair I could raise awareness about MND.
"So here I am."
It is not Billy's first time in Australia, he came here to play rugby and spent time here before he embarked on circumnavigating the continent that is home to some of the most dangerous animals in the world.
He took his first steps of this walk on March 3 2025 on the steps of the Sydney Opera House plans to complete the walk in a year covering an average of 39.75 kilometers a day.
While Billy recognised it was a massive physical and logistical challenge he said he is fully committed to making a difference for those affected by MND.
He is not travelling alone, he has a support vehicle driven by his partner Lucy and she takes care of the travel and accommodation.
"We often just sleep in the van or get a no-powered site at a caravan park so we can shower and be safe," he said.
"And it's a great way to meet people," he said.
The travellers stayed in Ararat at the Acacia Caravan Park at the weekend and were shown true Aussie hospitality.
"We just asked for a no-power site but they gave us a two-bedroom cabin and we slept in luxury," he said.
"They were great."
The trip is planned to take a year and they'll cross the finish line at the Sydney Opera House where it started on March 3 2026.
Billy said he wanted people to know this GoFundMe was not for donations directly to the charities.
"One hundred percent of the money raised here will go toward ensuring I can complete this walk successfully and bring as much attention as possible to the cause.
"Any funds donated through this page that are not used by the end of the challenge will be evenly split between the four charities, FightMND, MND Australia, MND Association, and My Name’s Doddie Foundation
For those looking to donate directly to the charities you can find the donation pages at: