Francis Birtles

A narrative account of the life and times of one of Australia's most extraordinary adventurers - a man who crossed Australia more than 70 times in the early part of the 20th century - by bicycle and car.In 1927 he acheived the greatest motoring feat of the times, driving a car from London to Melbourne. This story follows his exploits across scorching Arabic deserts, through steamy Indian jungles and mountain snowstorms.In between these journeys he made a collection of documentaries and films of his encounters with the outback and documented his exploration of Australia through his 70 transcontinental crossings in his book 'Battlefronts of Outback'. He eventually travelled to the Northern Territory in search of gold and retired a wealthy man.… (more)