Tracing the outline of nation: circling Australia by car

Authors

Georgine W. Clarsen Dr, University of AdelaideFollow

RIS ID

84917

Publication Details

Clarsen, G. W. (1999). Tracing the outline of nation: circling Australia by car. Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, 13 (3), 359-369.

Abstract

'Round Australia' motor journeys were something of a national obsession in 1925. That year, three cars left from Perth in Western Australia to attempt the circuit for the first time. Marion Bell, the focus of this paper, was the third around. She began in October 1925 and completed her journey in April of 1926. She was accompanied by her eleven-year-old daughter, also Marion Bell. It was a difficult journey, the largest part across country where there were no roads, and no bridges across waterways. As one report put it, 'it was a trip constantly beset with a struggle against primeval Nature' (West Australian Motorist and Wheelman, 30 April 1926, p. 39).