The women who crossed the country to fight crocodiles.

In 1937, a 23 year old Catherine Gregson, her mum, and her mum’s friend Sybil became the first women to drive around Australia, navigating by compass and infamously stopping off in Darwin to go buffalo and crocodile hunting. Catherine Gregson and her mum were told explicitly that it was “too dangerous” for them to head out on a drive around Australia, but in a classic Aussie move, they said “bugger it” and did it anyway. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
On August fifth, eighteen eighty eight, the world's first long
distance driver took off in a motor wagon and drove
one hundred and five kilometers through Germany, breaking the world record.
Her name was Bertha Bens, and she started a legacy
of great women drivers smashing records around the world, including
a trio of women right here in Australia. So slip

(00:24):
on your driving gloves and let's go back in time.
I'm Amanda Keller and this is brain fuel Great Aussie
stories from the Road, fueled by Ampole, Australia's own. We're
in Melbourne nineteen thirty seven. Catherine Gregson is a twenty
three year old from Tamworth and she has a dream

(00:46):
to be the first woman to drive through the heart
of Australia. She's plotted a twenty thousand, one hundred and
sixteen kilometer journey long way, especially at a time when
rest stops didn't even have coffee machines, and she convinced
her mum and a friend to come along for the ride.
It was a wild ambition. Here's what Catherine had to

(01:07):
say at the time, with these words from her actual diary.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
At first, no one took any notice of our statement,
and then it suddenly dawned upon everyone that my mother
and self were in earnest, But why and a girl
could never drive her mother? There were chorused on every
side of us. We assured them that it was possible
and warmed to the task. As the fresh and stale
information concerning overland roads was constantly given to us, we

(01:32):
became so feverish with knowledge that we announced our intention
of continuing to die in from Alice Springs. This piece
of news so astounded our hearers that we ventured to
state our intention of returning via Broom Perth and the
Nullabore planes. Words were useless Thereafter.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Shunning the naysayers, the trio took off from Melbourne, shot
up to Sydney, and then drove straight towards Alice Springs.
They treked over untested roads and used sand mats to
cross rivers without bridges. When they hit the northern territory,
they found a breathtaking view.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Many who did go to Central Australia did so expecting
to see the particular type of scenery that'd been accustomed
to down south, But the scenery there was remarkable, for
the magnificence in its vivid colour effects in blue, red,
purple and orange.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Once in the top end, the girls landed in Darwin,
where they were taught how to hunt wild buffalo and crocodiles.
Tell that to your teenage kids when they get bored
on a long trip. They moved from city to city,
choosing most knights to sleep under the stars. From Darwin
out to Broom, then down the west coast before heading

(02:40):
east into the most uninhabited part of the continent at
that time. The Great Australian Bite sounds scary, but the
team was never phased.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Before we left the safety of the cities, almost everyone
warned us against undertaking such a journey. As we were
setting out on. However, we encountered no serious difficulty or
danger whatsoever, nor did we at any time feel that
we were lost. When the track in parts was not
so easy to follow, we carried a compass, but it
served mostly to prove that the moon each night rose

(03:13):
in the wrong part of the sky.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
They drove for six months, all up through changing seasons
and landscapes. Together they triumphed, breaking the Australian record for
the longest drive ever undertaken by a woman and setting
the stage for all the women who came next. From
breaking driving records or whatever your journey, Ampole is the

(03:38):
fuel that gets you there. Make sure you follow our
adventures for free in your favorite podcast app. I'm a
Mandkella and this is brain fuel.