Narrogin, Katanning and Mt Barker visited by team retracing steps of Bubsie’s landmark journey 100 years on

In 1925, two Perth men, Nevill Westwood and Greg Davies, and their Citroen 5CV Bubsie, became the first to circumnavigate Australia by car.

In 2025 — exactly a century later — a team of passionate volunteers headed off to retrace their journey with a replica car, bringing the pioneering story to cities and country towns across the country.

Kevin Amos leads the team of motoring history enthusiasts who have now made a full lap around the country in a replica 1923 Citroen rebuilt from scrap.

Ms Amos said the 100th anniversary was the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to Westwood and Davies’ pioneering spirit.

“This year marked the 100th anniversary of the feat, and it’s such an incredible story, so this was a great time to celebrate their achievement and what those men set out to do,” he said last year.

The pair kept a detailed record of their journey, which Mr Amos said was a useful guide in retracing their steps.

The letters, reports and photos from the original drive were compiled into a book titled Overlander, telling the full story of Westwood and Davies’ journey.

The original route did not include many towns in the Great Southern, but Mr Amos and his crew had the opportunity to take some creative liberties and include a few more stops along the way.

The team drove through Mt Barker and Albany early in their journey, and came back to visit Narrogin and Katanning in January after completing their lap around the country, before stopping in Esperance on their way out of WA.

“On the original trip, they would have driven down through Norseman and Coolgardie and gone the inland route, but we altered history a bit,” Mr Amos said.

“As we came through Katanning and Narrogin, we set up displays in the middle of town, and took Bubsie for a drive around.

“People love to hear the story, and it’s amazing to be able to let them be part of some of Australia’s motoring history.”

The team started in South Australia last April, driving west and then north through WA and across the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, before returning through SA and wrapping up in WA, like Westwood and Davies did 100 years previously.

The new Bubsie received an enthusiastic homecoming on December 30 as the team pulled into Perth 100 years to the day after Westwood and Davies completed their history-making drive.

An excited crowd assembled at Burswood Park to watch Bubsie drive in, including Lord Mayor of Perth Bruce Reynolds and Tom and Lois Newsome, who drove around the country to mark the 75th anniversary of Westwood and Davies’ drive.

“For me, the highlight has been meeting people; we’ve met a lot of really great Australian folks along the way,” Mr Amos said.