In 1843 two teenagers fled the brutal life of a whaling station at Fowlers Bay on the far west coast of South Australia and walked more than 500 kilometres through a pristine landscape to be rescued.

Key points: Overseas whalers Joseph Cummings, 16, and Samuel Harris, 14, escaped from Fowlers Bay whaling station by walking to Point Drummond

Overseas whalers Joseph Cummings, 16, and Samuel Harris, 14, escaped from Fowlers Bay whaling station by walking to Point Drummond They had a map, a barrel of water and some stolen supplies to make the isolated, 500-kilometre journey

They had a map, a barrel of water and some stolen supplies to make the isolated, 500-kilometre journey The teens were arrested for being illegal immigrants but later pardoned and given land to farm

They stole supplies and a barrel of water as they fled and were guided by a Matthew Flinders 1802 map of the coast and a desire to reach Port Lincoln.

Sixteen-year-old Joseph Cummings was born in England and Samuel Harris, who was born in the United States, was just 14 when they became only the second westerners to trek through that part of Australia, following in explorer Edward John Eyre's footsteps.

The story captivated Adelaide long-distance walker Steve Woore when he was a schoolboy in the classroom at Lock, on the Eyre Peninsula.

Mr Woore says the teens' story is one of survival that should be recognised. ( ABC Eyre Peninsula: Jodie Hamilton )

Now more than 40 years later, armed with Flinders' map, he has just completed the 500-kilometre walk following Cummings' and Harris's coastal route in their honour.

"I just thought it was an incredibly brave thing that they did," Mr Woore said.

Their backgrounds and why they ended up at Fowlers Bay is not known but the two teens' escape was well documented in newspaper reports when they went to court for being illegal immigrants.

But their feat was rewarded after retelling their story to a sympathetic magistrate in Port Lincoln who pardoned them and gave them a block of land each at Sheringa — where they farmed next to each other for years.

Cummings was buried at the Sheringa cemetery and Harris's wife was buried there too, although Samuel left to live out his life in the US.

Many descendants of the then-teens still live in the region today.

Cummings and Harris's wife are buried in Sheringa's cemetery. ( ABC Eyre Peninsula: Jodie Hamilton )

19th-century whaling a 'brutal, horrible life'

Mr Woore took 20 days to walk from the Fowler's Bay whaling station site to Point Drummond, where the runaway teens waved down the Governor Gawler survey ship.

"It's a story of survival and I wanted people to recognise their efforts," he said.

Whaling in the 1800s was a brutal and difficult life. ( Supplied: Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery )

"I imagined they just signed on to whaling boats to earn some money and have a job and it's a fairly brutal life.

"They just decided they didn't want to go back out to sea chasing the oil whales so they must have hatched up a plan to get to Port Lincoln and the only way they could do that was to walk.

"They weren't quite explorers … they were just trying to escape their horrible life and took on this 650-kilometre walk to escape."

The only people north of Port Lincoln in those days were the workers at three whaling stations and a couple of sealing stations, and there were no roads or settlements.

Mr Woore treks through sandhills at high tide — just as the teens would have encountered 170 years ago. ( ABC Eyre Peninsula: Jodie Hamilton )

Cummings and Harris were the first western people to walk south of Streaky Bay. They told the magistrate that they were given assistance from a couple of Aboriginal groups along the arduous trek.

"One lot gave them some food and another lot pointed out where to get water from a well," Mr Woore said.

"They just walked through this gorgeous countryside, down south of Sheringa, and couldn't believe they didn't bump into a farmhouse because it was such beautiful country."

Catalyst for farming on Eyre Peninsula

Cummings and Harris were lucky when they reached Point Drummond that the Governor Gawler vessel was in the bay and was able to deliver them to Port Lincoln.

The pair ran away as soon as the ship docked but were caught and hauled into court.

"They mentioned this beautiful farmland they saw and the magistrate had an eye to the future about developing Eyre Peninsula," Mr Woore said.

"He agreed to pardon them on the proviso they would give the survey party direction to this beautiful countryside that we now know as Sheringa.

"So inadvertently as a result of what they did … they were the triggers that opened up Eyre Peninsula to farming and development many years before it would have happened naturally."

Mr Woore treks along one of the journey's many pristine beaches. ( ABC Eyre Peninsula: Jodie Hamilton )

During his three weeks of walking along some of SA's most isolated beaches, Mr Woore said he thought about walking in the teens' footsteps and imagined how difficult a trek it would have been for them with none of the modern equipment he had.

Along the way Mr Woore connected with descendants of Cummings and Harris.

"It was quite emotional to see the group of descendants at Point Drummond and what my walk meant to them," he said.

Among them was Ian Rodgers, the great-grandson of Harris who wrote a family booklet about Cummings and Harris when a group of family members drove the route in 2013.

Mr Rodgers would like to see a walking trail established following the route so others can trek the journey.

The trek includes isolated and breathtaking views. ( ABC Eyre Peninsula: Jodie Hamilton )

Mr Woore, who has undertaken solo treks for about 10 to 15 years, said he ranked this as his best trek because of its solitude, beauty and significance.

His other trekking highlights were an 850-kilometre solo pilgrimage in Spain and "chasing anacondas and piranhas" while backpacking in South America.

During his time in Bolivia he stayed at the infamous San Pedro tourist prison, the subject of bestselling novel Marching Powder.

Mr Woore shared the story of the prison with fellow a backpacker, Rusty Young, who later wrote the bestseller.

He said Cummings' and Harris's feat would make a great book too.