Aloha Wanderwell (Idris Galcia Hall née Welsh, October 13, 1906 – June 4, 1996) was a Canadian explorer, author, filmmaker, and aviator. Beginning when she was 16 years old, she became the first woman to drive around the globe, driving a Ford 1918 Model T over a five year period (1922–1927). Ultimately she traveled 500,000 miles across 80 countries.

Early life

Idris Galcia Welsh was born on October 13, 1906, in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, to Margaret Jane Hedley and Robert Welsh. When her mother married Herbert Hall in 1909, her name was changed to Idris Hall. Her step-father was a developer and rancher on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

and the family lived in Parksville and Duncan. In 1914, at the start of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, her step-father joined the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

and after arriving in England was transferred to the British Army and made a lieutenant in the Durham Light Infantry. The family (Idris, her sister Margaret Verner "Miki" Hall, and their mother) followed him to Europe, where they traveled around England, Belgium, and France. In June 1917, Herbert Hall was killed in combat in

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

, Belgium. During this time, Idris attended boarding schools in Europe: Benedictine Soeurs du Saint-Sacrement in

Courtrai Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. With its 80,000 inhabitants (2024) Kortrijk is the capital and largest cit ...

, Belgium; and Chateau Neuf in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million

Career

Idris began her adventuring career when she met her traveling companion, Walter "Cap" Wanderwell, in 1922. They married in 1925 and had two children. As they continued to travel the world, Aloha Wanderwell performed on stage, giving travel lectures against the backdrop of a silent movie, ''Car and Camera Around the World''. The Wanderwells made films of their travels on 35mm nitrate and

16mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

which are now held in the archives of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

and the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

. Wanderwell was stranded in Brazil for six weeks and during this time she lived among the Bororo people and made the earliest film documentation of them. In 1932, her husband was shot and killed on their yacht ''Carma'' in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. One year later, Wanderwell married Walter Baker and continued her travels, ultimately visiting over 80 countries and six continents, and driving over 500,000 miles in Ford vehicles.

The Wanderwell Expedition

In 1921, Walter Wanderwell (born Valerian Johannes Pieczynski in Poland) was capturing headlines with the Million Dollar Wager, a round-the-world endurance race between two teams racing Ford Model Ts to see which team could visit the most countries. A controversial figure, Wanderwell had been jailed in the United States during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

on suspicion of being a German spy, but was released in 1918. Wanderwell was inspired by his meeting with the League of Nations and around 1930 he formed his own organization Work Around the World Educational Club or (WAWEC). In 1922, when she was 16, Idris applied for a job of mechanic and filmmaker as the team motored around in 1917 Model Ts. After responding to an advertisement reading, "Brains, Beauty & Breeches – World Tour Offer For Lucky Young Woman…. Wanted to join an expedition… Asia, Africa…", she met with "Captain" Wanderwell in Paris and secured a seat on the expedition. She served as the expedition's translator, driver and film maker, and took on the name "Aloha Wanderwell," even though Walter was still married at the time. Idris quickly became the face of the expedition, which captured her adventures in a series of movie travelogues. AlohaWanderwell1925

"First Woman to Drive Around the World", 1922–1927

Wanderwell became the first woman to drive around the world, beginning and ending her journey in Nice, France, between December 29, 1922, and January 1927. In a

Model T Ford The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. Th ...

, Wanderwell made the journey as driver, translator and filmmaker for Wanderwell Expeditions, a round-the-world motoring tour led by Walter "Cap" Wanderwell (Poland). The first woman to circumnavigate the world in an automobile was Harriet White Fisher in 1909–1910, but she used a chauffeur and did not drive herself. Partially sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, the round-the-world tour also sustained itself through filming and travel lectures, from Africa through the Middle East and on to Asia. In Calcutta in 1924, their tour crossed paths with planes from the first aerial circumnavigation, and Idris filmed their meeting.

Encounter with Bororo people, Brazil

In 1930 and 1931, Aloha Wanderwell learned to fly a German seaplane, "Junker", that she would later land on an uncharted part of the Amazon River when the Wanderwells traveled to the state of

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

in Brazil. They set up camp at the Descalvados Ranch in

Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city and the largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várz ...

and were ostensibly searching for the lost explorer Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett, who was looking for the legendary

Lost City of Z The Lost City of Z is the name given by Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett, a British surveyor of the early 20th century, to an indigenous city that he believed had existed in the jungle of the Mato Grosso state of Brazil. Based on early histories o ...

. They made several flights with a seaplane, once running out of fuel on the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (''Ysyry Paraguái'' in Guarani language, Guarani, ''Rio Paraguai'' in Portuguese language, Portuguese, ''Río Paraguay'' in Spanish language, Spanish) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bol ...

and receiving help from the Bororo people. The crew's cameraman filmed a ceremonial dance, a first contact scenario with Boboré villagers, and Bororo men experiencing sympathetic labor pains. The 32-minute silent film called ''Last of the Bororos'' is preserved in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Human Studies Film Archives The Human Studies Film Archives (HSFA) is a sister archive to the National Anthropological Archives within the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. HSFA preserves and provides access to ethnographic films and Anthropology, anthropologic ...

and includes Aloha Wanderwell's meeting with Brazilian explorer Cândido Rondon.

Marriage to Walter Wanderwell

Arriving in the United States in 1925, Aloha married Walter Wanderwell on April 7 in Riverside, California. Their marriage prevented the FBI from arresting Wanderwell under the

Mann Act The Mann Act, previously called the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910, is a United States federal law, passed June 25, 1910 (ch. 395, ; ''codified as amended at'' ). It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann (Illinois politician), James Rob ...

, a law that prohibits transporting women across state lines for "immoral purposes." Aloha gave birth to a daughter, Valri, in December 1925 and a son, Nile, in April 1927. The Wanderwells continued their travels, sailing to Cuba and South Africa. Aside from dealing with poor roads, the Wanderwells also had difficulty finding gasoline for their vehicles. During their travels through Africa from 1926 to 1928, they used crushed bananas for grease and elephant fat for engine oil. The global tour included 43 countries. Author Stookie Allen contends that during this time, Aloha cut her hair and fought as a member of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. The Wanderwells returned to the United States where they made a home in Miami in 1929 and donated one of their Model Ts, known as ''Little Lizzie'', to

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...

before the screening of the film, ''Car and Camera Around the World''. In 1942, Henry Ford decided that ''Little Lizzie'' and 50 other autos would be scrapped for the war effort.

Murder of Walter Wanderwell

In late 1932, the couple purchased a yacht, the 110-foot ''Carma'', intending to document their voyage to the South Seas on film. On December 5, 1932, the day before they were to embark, Walter Wanderwell was murdered on the yacht in the harbor near Long Beach, California. William James Guy, a member of their 1931 expedition to South America who had attempted to mutiny on a previous voyage, was tried for the crime. Guy had an alibi and was acquitted by the jury and Judge Kenny. Another man, Edward Eugene Fernando Montague, was briefly considered a suspect, but was never charged.

Later life

Wanderwell married Walter Baker in 1933 in Louisiana. The couple traveled to New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, India, Cambodia, Wyoming (USA) and

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

, with Aloha later recounting being surrounded by five herds of elephants and having to shoot their way out. Her final films include ''To See the World by Car'' (1935–37), ''India Now'', and ''Explorers of the Purple Sage, in Technicolor'', which contains the only known footage of Desert Dust, the famous

palomino Palomino is a equine coat color, genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane (horse), mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. The palomino color derived from the breeding of Spanish hor ...

wild horse. Aloha continued to give lectures, and during this period, she wrote an autobiographical account of her travels, ''Call to Adventure!'', which was published in 1939, and republished in 2012. The couple settled in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio, where Aloha worked in radio broadcasting ( WLW Radio) and print journalism. In 1947, she and Baker moved to Lido Isle community in

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

. Aloha gave her final performance for 150 family members and guests, with Dr. Pete Lee, curator at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

in Los Angeles in 1982. She died on June 4, 1996.

Works

Filmography

*''Australia Now'' *''Cape to Cairo'' *''Car and Camera Around the World'' *''Explorers of the Purple Sage'' *''Flight to the Stone Age'' *''India Now'' *''Last of the Bororos'' *''Magic of Mexico'' *''My Hawaii'' *''River of Death'' *''To See the World by Car'' *''Victory in the Pacific''

Books

*''Call to Adventure!''

References

External links

Aloha Wanderwell website''The Aloha Wanderwell Story''Short video
of the Wanderwells in Bucharest
Aloha Wanderwell Baker
on Women Film Pioneers Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanderwell, Aloha 1906 births 1996 deaths Canadian documentary film directors Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian explorers Canadian women documentary filmmakers Canadian women film directors Circumnavigators of the globe Female explorers Film directors from Winnipeg Escapees from monasteries