Untold History of WA: Do-or-die cyclists crossed the Nullarbor before the bitumen was down in the 1800s

The Nullarbor Plain holds a special place in the Australian psyche. Arid, flat, featureless. Big. A divide between west and east which has always acted as a sort of invisible border. And it has also acted as a lure for those inspired enough or desperate enough, or perhaps crazy enough, to want to take it on. To travel the Nullarbor. “We crossed the Nullarbor” is still a bumper sticker. And some of the most amazing known journeys were undertaken not by a well provisioned horse, camel train or car. They were made by bicycle. The first person to pedal the Nullarbor was Arthur Charles Jeston Richardson, who was by every definition quite remarkable. An Australian Dictionary of Biography entry by Jim Fitzpatrick records that Richardson left on November 24, 1896, from Coolgardie. Toughened by mining and station life and with the skills of an experienced bushman, he set off “carrying only a small kit and a water-bag”. Fitzpatrick says Richardson followed the telegraph line, and recalled “sweating and swearing” on sandy roads and battling hot winds he proclaimed made the temperature feel like “about 1000 in the shade”. Research by Richardson’s great-nephew, Hugh Richardson, and cycling mate Geoffrey Owen, revealed the adventurer proclaimed to have only learnt how to ride a bicycle three months before he set off for Adelaide “to visit his sister for Christmas”. The West Australian of January 11, 1897, reported that Richardson had reached Port Augusta after 28 days travel, which the paper declared was “a very plucky and noteworthy feat” including cycling (or at times walking, wheeling his bicycle) over “very sandy country”. Richardson rode a Rover roadster bicycle, averaging more than 80km a day, including stoppages along the way, and, the paper said, “looked somewhat sunburnt after his trip”. “The hero of the trip started with a small water canteen and a small, though good, repairing outfit, and which was required on more than one occasion, as the ‘bike’ tyres were several times punctured and the rider met with the usual trifling accidents,” The West reported. “He got along fairly well, however, and passed several stations and residences at different stages of the journey, and wherever he had occasion to call he always met with the utmost hospitality. “Mr Richardson says that 220 miles (354 km) was the longest stretch of the trip where he travelled without seeing a representative of civilisation.” Richardson’s journey to Adelaide was completed in 31 days. In a letter to his friend Harry Sparrow, written from Adelaide on January 25, 1897, Richardson declared “I arrived in Adelaide in better condition than when I left Coolgardie, riding 126 miles (202 km) that last day and I don’t care if I ride back again.” Amazingly, in 1899, Richardson set off to be the first person to circumnavigate the continent on two wheels. The dictionary of biography records that, as he described in his Story of a Remarkable Ride, he left Perth on June 5, heading north, carrying “not more than 25 pounds (11.4 kg) of luggage” and a pistol. He arrived back in Perth on February 4, 1900, after travelling 18,507 km. He later joined the Third (Bushmen’s) Contingent from WA, destined for the Boer War, where he served as a cycle despatch rider before he was invalided to Britain with pneumonia. The dictionary records that Richardson worked briefly in West Africa and South America and was badly wounded in World War I. Tragedy stalked his later years after he moved to England, where he died in 1939 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, after shooting his second wife, the dictionary says. One of Richardson’s hand-drawn maps can be seen in a new exhibition at the Museum of Perth curated by the WA Historical Cycle Club, titled Nullarbor Crossings - a History of Challenge. The exhibition features interpretive panels telling many stories about riders and crossings that followed Richardson’s up until the modern day, as well as exhibits including rare photos, diaries, books and some of the bicycles used. Richardson gave his maps to a fellow cyclist “Scotchie” Wright. Real name John Hendrey Wright, he was the first to ride from Fremantle to Adelaide, making the journey in 1898. Wright kept notes of his ride, which were put into a diary form by his daughter Hilda, which was passed on to the cyclist’s grandson Rob and his wife Patricia, and is also in the exhibition. It shows he left from Fremantle on March 28, 1898. The Western Mail of April 1 reported that Wright rode a Rover road racer. “Without luggage it weighs 25lb. (11kg) but ‘all on’ the total weight is 52lb (23kg) — no small encumbrance to propel through the sand plains and scrub along the route,” the paper reported. As well as various tools to help in case of breakdown or puncture, Wright carried “pocket book and pencil; matches, rice, preserved potatoes, pepper and salt, one pot bovril, and one box pills.” Sometimes overnighting at hotels or stations, procuring food as he went, sometimes camping, and like Richardson, sometimes having to walk, and with occasional stops to recover, he arrived in Adelaide at 2am on May 10. “Mileage 1842 (miles, or about 2964km) right through without puncture,” Wright’s diary notes say. ”In all I had 16 days spell on the road.” Another of the names highlighted in the exhibition is perhaps the most famous — Hubert Opperman OBE. Victorian-born “Oppy” was part of Australia’s first team in the 1928 Tour de France and clocked up many Australian and international cycling records. “In 1937 Opperman set a record time of 13 days, 10 hours and 11 minutes for the 2875 mile (4626 km) crossing from Fremantle to Sydney,” the exhibition says. “Riding a Malvern Star over long stretches of rutted tracks and alongside telegraph lines, he sometimes fell asleep and crashed.” He cut five days off the previous record, but it was a long way from the rides of old, as he was accompanied by two cars with a trailer for fuel, and a caravan. Opperman later recounted that he rode to Kalgoorlie and “cut through onto the Nullarbor Plains at Zanthus”. “All I could do was land the bike on top of it, hard. I suppose I must have killed it. “Then, at Nanwarra Sands, I had to pick up the bike and carry it for 10 miles in the soft sand. “We learned that I could gain time by sleeping for only ten minutes at a time, something I have never forgotten.” Opperman served in the Royal Australian Air Force in World War II, had a long and distinguished career in Federal politics, and was knighted in 1968. Women, too, joined the ranks of cross-Nullarbor cyclists. The exhibition tells of the journey of “The Lucas Girls” — hairdresser Vera Harding and Anna Keenan, a daughter of Russian emigres. The pair was provided with a lightweight tandem by Bill Lucas, director of Lucas Cycles, and they wore Lucas “team” uniforms. On September 17, 1938, “a rousing send off from a huge crowd in Forrest Place started Vera and Anna on their 9500 km odyssey to Sydney and return”, the exhibition says. The pair was initially supported by a lone motorcyclist, Charlie Roberts, but then were guided by motorist Aub Melrose, who had been navigator for Opperman’s 1937 crossing, and his wife Gwyn, beyond Kalgoorlie. A stray dog they found east of Kalgoorlie, which they named Tandem Pete, became part of their story as the “Tandem girls” journey was followed in the media and saw them greeted by dignitaries and big crowds in towns along the way. After reaching Sydney they rested for a week and then turned to head back to the west. “After 28 days they were escorted through cheering crowds into Forrest Place to a reception from WA Premier John Willcock,” the exhibition says. The West Australian of December 8, 1938, said the pair had cycled into Forrest Place “tired and deeply sun tanned, but happy in the knowledge that they had completed the longest ride ever undertaken by girl cyclists in Australia”. The journey to Sydney and back had taken 81 days and one-and-a-half hours. “The roads were in a bad state east of Kalgoorlie, causing several falls, and on occasions they left them altogether and rode through the bush, picking a track,” the paper said. Among those the pair thanked was a school teacher from Naretha on the return journey, who had cycled ahead of them for 16km, “carrying a shovel to fill in the holes made in the road by the rain”. The paper said “Tandem Pete” was given a special cheer by the gathered crowd at Forrest Place. There have been many crossings since that time. As the exhibition shows, bicycle frames and wheel dimensions have remained remarkably similar over the years, although modern riders are able to use advanced technology and materials. Rob Frith, WA Historical Cycle Club chairperson, said water was probably the biggest challenge. “Even today there are stretches of 200km without access to water,” he said. “Today’s cyclists typically carry about the same amount of water as those over a century ago; up to 8 litres (a day). “The biggest change is probably the construction of what we now know as the Eyre Highway, during the Second World War. “Prior to that cyclists followed a variety of tracks associated with the railway, telegraph, stations and ‘doggers’. “The challenges of old were punctures, getting lost and having to backtrack (there were no maps) and rough surfaces that could cause serious damage to bikes. “Today, beyond the risk of dehydration, the biggest challenge is dealing with high-speed traffic on what is often a narrow strip of road. “Cyclists ride with rear-facing radars to alert them to traffic approaching from behind,” Mr Frith said. Nullarbor Crossings - a History of Challenge, is open at the Museum of Perth, 8-10 The Esplanade, Perth. Entry by donation.