Sydney Morning Herald (Enlarge photo)

27/06/2008 14:39. Pushed, carried and cajoled, a Citroen was the first around Australia on unsealed roads.

Travelling around Australia by road today is a relative breeze on fully sealed surfaces. But back in the early 1920s much of the Top End, especially in the north-west, was little more than a goat track.

The first car to circumnavigate Australia was a 1923 Citroen 5CV two-seater. It made headlines in 1925 when 22-year-old Perth missionary Neville Westwood completed the epic journey on largely unmade roads.

The Seventh Day Adventist adventurer bought the diminutive Citroen second-hand shortly before the trip. The bright yellow 1.3-litre four-cylinder 5CV had already travelled 48,000 kilometres before Westwood and his evangelist companion Greg Davies began their adventure on August 4, 1925.

The... // Sydney Morning Herald