Century-old Bubsie the Citroen visits Murray Bridge

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In 1925, an intrepid, 20-something Western Australian named Nevill Westwood decided to drive from Perth to Darwin, a journey that eventually led to the first circumnavigation of Australia by car.

The very same car used for the journey – a 1923 Citroen 5CV – visited Murray Bridge on December 19 with television presenter Gary Kent and a group of Seventh-Day Adventists.

The group is retracing the original, incredible journey around the country.

Along with his best friend, Greg Davies, Westwood set off from the outskirts of Perth in April 1925 with the same missionary spirit that literally drove so many others before him.

Their goal was to arrive back in Perth by Christmas.

Westwood’s vehicle was a second-hand 1923 Citroen 5CV, even then an odd choice of car for such a journey especially as both men were well over 190 centimetres tall, or six foot three.

Citroens were typically yellow, but Bubsie was reddish-brown.

Given the almost complete lack of roads in most of Australia, theirs was an astonishing achievement, especially in a tiny car that wasn’t made for our harsh environment.

Visiting the few outback stations they came across allowed the men to have a rest, stock up on supplies and chat with locals about the drive ahead.

These breaks allowed them to explore parts of our country that had never been photographed or written about before, especially by two young men with hand-held cameras.

The journey took the men from Perth to Marble Bar, Derby and Broome, then across to Katherine and eventually into Darwin, where they stayed for a few weeks while waiting for a new set of tyres to be sent from the Citroen dealership in Brisbane.

After leaving Darwin they crossed the Queensland border in October and headed south-east.

Compared to the first part of the trip, they practically zipped around the rest of the country, as in most places the roads were better and the ability to find supplies and service Bubsie was easier.

Leaving Brisbane on November 11 and Sydney on December 7, Davies was dropped off in Albury to catch the train home to Perth and Westwood completed the remainder of the journey on his own. 

Bubsie had already driven more than 12,000km.

Determined to honour his promise to arrive in Perth by Christmas, Westwood drove all night from Melbourne and arrived in Adelaide in mid-December, passing through Murray Bridge in the early morning hours.

He reached Port Augusta on December 16 and was warned not to try to cross the Nullarbor due to the extreme heat and total lack of road in many places.

Somewhere out on the Great Australian Bight, he came across a broken-down car with its three occupants – a man and two women - close to death from dehydration.

After fixing their car, he escorted them to the WA border and no doubt saved their lives.

Westwood didn’t quite make it to Perth for Christmas, but he was given a hero’s welcome when he arrived at the Perth Citroen dealership on December 30 by a crowd of people who had been following his exploits for months via irregular newspaper articles.

You’d assume a rest was in order, but Westwood’s wanderlust had been ignited and he set out to recreate his journey in April 1926, this time starting from Sydney and going in the opposite direction.

Bubsie was rightfully retired after her epic adventure and is now housed at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.

Nevill Westwood epitomised the youthful spirit of Australia at the turn of the 20^th century.

He faced countless challenges, especially on the 1925 journey, and yet he went on to forge his own place in our history despite those numerous adversities only to be so inspired he couldn’t wait to do it all again.

• More information: Visit rightaroundaustralia.tij.tv or www.nma.gov.au.