Piambong resident Bob Lamond and his 1917 Model T Ford have recently returned from an 8500km journey in the path of motoring adventurer and film producer Francis Birtles.
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Birtles and Syd Ferguson and a terrier called Rex completed the first west-to-east motor crossing of the continent in 1912 in a single-cylinder Brush Car. In 1913 and 1914, sponsored by Ford, Birtles drove a Model T Ford on expeditions around and across Australia
Mr Lamond took part in the 1914 Francis Birtles Centenary Expedition 2014, which incorporated the Veteran Car Club of Australia’s 2014 Adelaide to Darwin Veteran Rally.
He drove his Model T Ford twice across Australia, from Piambong to Adelaide and from Adelaide to Darwin and Charleville.
“The T performed magnificently, being the strongest and fastest on the Adelaide to Darwin run which had 21 motor cars and 14 motor cycles, all around 100 years old,” Mr Lamond said.
“As Birtles had no back up support on his 1914 record run, my T and I had no back up.
“We had one blow out, totally destroying the tyre and tube as it occurred in a cutting and I had to drive one km to find a flat place to pull over to jack up the T and attach a new tyre – and avoid the massive road trains.”
Mr Lamond said the road trains were a great help to the veteran car drivers.
“As they pass you count one, two, three trailers, then hard over on my wheel and into their slip stream, thus gaining at least 10km/h,” he said.
“Indeed on one occasion, the T went from 85km/h to 95km/h!”
Mr Lamond was on his way home to Piambong with 944 km to go when the Model T blew a welsh plug, losing its water.
He also learned that the road home had been blown to pieced 40km from Charleville by a massive explosion of a truck carrying ammonium nitrate and of course, diesel.
“Apart from this disaster, it caused a detour of 700km and my T and I decided to call it a day.”
The Model T averaged 65km/h over 4900km excluding the veteran rally.
Mr Lamond’s son Guy brought a Hilux and trailer to Charleville and the T made the rest of the journey as a “trailer sailer”.
“The T achieved an amazing run of 8500km and is now resting happily in my shed,” Mr Lamond said.
Mr Lamond has previously driven his 1910 Brush twice across Australia in honour of Birtles, Ferguson and Rex and once around Australia for the Centenary of Federation.
He also drove from Darwin to Melbourne in honour of Birtles’ 1926 journey in a Bean car named “The Sundowner” in which Birtles set motoring records from Melbourne to Darwin and from Darwin to Sydney.
Mr Lamond said he and his fellow drivers were reminding Australians of “forgotten heroes” like Ferguson and HH Dutton and Murray Aunger who made the first journey from Adelaide to Darwin in 1908.
