Ivan Francis Champion served in the territory of New Guinea and later Papua New Guineas as a patrol officer and public servant. He became a Patrol Officer in 1924. From December 1926 to January 1928 he accompanied Assistant Resident Magistrate, Charles Henry Karius, on the North-West Patrol, crossing New Guinea from the Fly to the Sepik. In 1936 Champion was leader of the Bamu-Purai Patrol, and from 1937 to 1940 he was in charge of the exploration of the Southern Highlands. He held a number of posts as Resident Magistrate until 1942, when he was appointed to the Australian Navy. After the Second World War, he held a number of senior administrative posts. He was in charge of rescue work at the Mt Lamington volcano eruption in 1951. He retired from service in 1964.