A blast from the past rolled into Narromine last Sunday, January 18, as the community welcomed the team re-enacting the 100th anniversary of the incredible journey of the first circumnavigation of Australia by motor car.

Although Narromine wasn't on the official list of places visited during the original event, last Sunday's visit was the 385th – and final – stop on the re-enactment team's journey with a clone of the original red Citroen 5CV vehicle, nicknamed "Bubsie" in honour of the original vehicle, to promote the centenary and its incredible story to Australian communities.

Communities for Children organised a sausage sizzle and entertainment in Dundas Park to coincide with the visit, which was attended by community members and also featured several classic vehicles from the Narromine Car Club.

Dubbo Photo News stopped by and spoke with re-enactment team member, Warren May.

The original journey around Australia began in August 1925 when two young men – Nevill Westwood and Greg Davies – set off from Bickley in Perth on a Christian mission to visit people in remote parts of Western Australia, to see what their needs were and to sell some Christian literature, Warren said.

It was also likely the very first "working holiday" in Australia, he added.

"[Locals] would buy a book off Nevill and Greg, who'd then say, 'Well, can we now buy some petrol to keep going to the next town?' And that's how they worked their way around the country and supported local communities," Warren said.

If you think Australia's roads are poor now, imagine what Greg and Nevill encountered a century ago, particularly travelling in outback Australia.

The tyres on the historic two-seater, four-cylinder, retractable-top Citroen aren't like those today and suffered terribly along the way.

"By the time they'd got to Katherine [NT], all their tyres were done for. The tubes were totally finished. And so they left the car at Katherine and took a train up to Darwin, and they were up there for a couple of weeks selling books," Warren explained.

"They couldn't buy car tyres because Darwin was a pretty isolated port 100 years ago, but they did buy motorbike tyres that fit. So they brought back motorbike tyres, and decided not to go back the way they came."

This led them on into Queensland and down the eastern seabord on what were considered much better roads.

"From Toowoomba, they went to Brisbane, Sydney, then Greg left Nevill at Albury. So from Albury right through to Melbourne, Adelaide, across the Nullabor and back to Perth, Nevill did it solo."

The re-enactment team, which first set out in February 2025, hasn't followed the exact same route as the original tour. Those involved, Kevin and Glenda Amos and Warren and Desiree May, have taken the opportunity to show Bubsie off and talk about the centenary tour to many people in other communities as well, averaging 1000 people per week, Warren said. The team is now on its way back to Newcastle.

"What we've tried to do with this whole project is to tell the story and show the car to as many communities as possible," he added.

"We tell the story about their resilience and the courage. These guys never had GPS, they never had roads, they never had four-wheel drive, and this thing's [Bubsie] only has five horsepower."

The original Bubsie is safe at home in the National Museum, Canberra, Warren said, and is now painted yellow. Its red clone will eventually find a place in similar surroundings.