John was a member of Coast and Mountain Walkers (CMW) for 50 years. He was a dedicated walk leader and committee member who devoted thousands of hours to assist in the running of the club, holding the position of: President (3 years), Secretary (1983 – 1996), Treasurer, Social Secretary, Walks Recorder, and printed the club magazine from 1980 – 2000. He walked the Burragorang Valley during the 1950s prior to it being flooded for the Warragamba Dam project and gave slide presentations on the natural beauty of the valley. He and Col Watson extensively explored the Budawangs during the fifties, at a time when there were only rough hand-drawn maps to aid navigation. John enjoyed many hours of bushwalking with CMW in the Blue Mountains, the Shoalhaven, Snowy Mountains, Overland Track in Tasmania, New Zealand Alps, and Canada, particularly after his retirement from the public service. John shared his love of bushwalking with his wife Gwen and his sons, taking them on family camping trips to many national parks, including the Warrumbungles and Grampians. Tragically he was killed in a road accident April 2002.
For more information on John Bednal see his obituary in the August 2002 edition of The Bushwalker https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13jl1BBxWLAv68-HhQILjoAw3WiTlBMhm