Warren May with his restored Bubsie replica. Photo: Nikki Bailey.
The “big lap” of Australia has become a popular trip for Aussies and backpackers alike and last week a carbon copy of the first car to pioneer the route was showcased in Esperance.
It has been 100 years since Neville Westwood drove his 1923 burgundy Citroen 5CV, nicknamed Bubsie, more than 14,500 kilometres around the country.
The 7.5 horsepower car boasted a three-speed gear box, a 4.5-cylinder engine, a do-it-yourself windscreen wiper and enough leg room for a small child.
The original now sits in the National Museum in Canberra but this year religious group “The Incredible Journey” is marking the centenary of Westwood’s trip by retracing his tracks in a restored replica.
On Wednesday the car was exhibited on the Esperance Christian School oval alongside other vintage vehicles from the Esperance Car Club.
School principal Nicholas Boucher said his students enjoyed hearing about the Citroen’s journey, though he seemed just as impressed.
“I think it’s just amazing that a tiny little car in 1925 drove all around Australia… they travelled with six spare tyres strapped to the side and went through all of them,” Mr Boucher said.
“The kids particularly enjoyed being able to sit in some of the old cars and of course, to press the horns.”
Westwood bought the original Citroen second hand from bakers in Fremantle with 30,000 kilometres on the clock.
On the contrary, car enthusiast Warren May purchased the replica 5CV from NSW in a “pretty sad” state.
But with help from fellow motor aficionados Collin Gibbes and Graham Tyler, the trio spent four months and more than 1000 hours restoring it.
“We stripped it right down and found it was a lot worse than we were initially led to believe,” Mr May said.
“We went into a full restoration of making new panels for the doors, the cowling, mudguards – it’s all handmade.
“We are pretty pleased with it because the quality of the build has turned out to be exceptionally good.”
He said the process was not cheap but being involved was a “buzz”.
The tyres are an unusual size so we had to wait to get them made and they cost $700 each,” he said.
“It [doesn’t drive] like the new cars… it’s about 45km/hr as a comfortable top speed so it’s a different animal to drive, that’s for sure.”
Bubsie event coordinator Glenda Amos is part of the team making their way around Australia.
She said the group wanted to share a lesser-known Australian history that instilled a message of courage and resilience.
“What particularly struck me was their perseverance to do something that was a real challenge and I think that’s something we all need in our lives – just to keep going when things get tough,” she said.
“In today’s world there’s a lot of people that don’t show a lot of gumption and just kind of give up easily and these men had a passion and they believed in it and went for it.
“They ran out of petrol and got punctures and went through all their tyres but they just didn’t give up.”
Ms Amos said the replica route has been slightly different to Westwood’s so they could interact with more communities.
“We’ve contacted over 10,000 people at events, and it’s been great,” she said.
The team is making its way up to Perth to officially start the lap.
This trip will closely mimic Westwood’s by starting and ending in Perth but with limited speed and more modern cars to compete with, it is being hauled by trailer instead.
