First lap of Australia

Englishman Matthew Flinders may have been the first explorer to circumnavigate Australia by sea, but the French auto brand Citroen was the first to circumnavigate the country by road.

In the hands of West Australian Nevill Westwood, a 1922 Citroen 5CV embarked from Perth on a clockwise, five-month road trip that covered 17,220km between August 4, 1925 and December 30 the same year – 115 years after Flinders completed his ocean voyage.

For the first part of the journey Westwood was accompanied by fellow adventurer Greg L. Davies, who disembarked at the border town of Albury, leaving Westwood to complete the trip via Melbourne and Adelaide.

The three-year old bright yellow 5CV Citroen, dubbed the Petit Citron, or "little lemon" (unfortunately, in view of modern connotations) in France because of its startling paint scheme, started the journey with 48,000km already on board.

Over what was partly a trackless waste, the two-seat "Torpedo" Citroen was subjected to many challenges, including being hefted over the Fitzroy River by a group of local aboriginals. Punctured tyres were fixed by various means, including being stuffed with grass and cowhide. On their way, they passed the burned-out wreck of a car abandoned by adventurer Francis Birtles on an earlier trip to the Northern Territory.

The Citroen 5CV was powered by an 856cc four-cylinder engine producing 8.2kW and driving through a three-speed gearbox. Braking was via a handbrake-style lever or a footbrake connected to the transmission and operated on the rear wheels only. Suspension was by inverted quarter elliptic springs on live front and rear axles. The 5CV was capable of a top speed around 60km/h, and fuel consumption averaging 5.0L/100km.

The little Citroen made its debut at the 1921 Paris motor show and was in production for four years. Three body styles were available: The initial two-seat open tourer, then a convertible and a three-seat open tourer.

Because it was cheap to run and easy to handle (it had an electric starter motor) the 5CV is said to have marked the beginning of the concept of popular motoring in Europe.

The general manager of Citroen Australia, John Startari, said the epic road trip was a significant feat for 1925: "At a time when roads and support services were essentially non-existent, Nevill Westwood's 1925 journey around Australia in his Citroen 5CV was ground breaking."

With just a primitive canvas roof for shelter and absolutely no luxuries (the 5CV didn't have windscreen wipers or wind-up side windows) the first automotive lap of Australia makes any modern equivalent, on fully-sealed roads in a car with climate-control, GPS navigation, internet and mobile phone connectivity, seem an absolute non-event.

Today, the fully restored, bright yellow 5CV Citroen that was driven around Australia by Nevill Westwood can be viewed in the main hall of the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. For the launch of Citroen's updated C4 this week, local distributor Sime Darby arranged for members of the press – including motoring.com.au – to drive an identical car in Canberra to commemorate the feat.