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1923 5CV 'Type C' torpedo' Citroen motor car that Nevill Westwood drove on the first around Australia circuit by a car in 1925
Object type
Motor cars
Object number
2005.0056.0001
Description
1923 Citroen 5CV 'Type C'torpedo'. The car is a right-hand drive two-seat boat-tail roadster, which is painted bright yellow, with black mudguards and black metal disc wheels. The collapsible black canvas roof is on a black metal frame and it has a small oval window in the back. The spare wheel is mounted vertically on the right-hand side of the body alongside the driver's seat, so the only door to the car is on its left-hand side. The vehicle's chassis number is "38646" and the serial number of its 856cc four cylinder engine is "VA80524". It carries West Australian vehicle registration number plate "5013".
Collection name
Ron Westwood collection
The Ron Westwood Collection comprises a 1923 5CV Citroen, a collection of lantern slides with a lantern slide projector and a collection of newspaper articles, letters, photographs and other paperwork. The car underwent some restoration in the 1970s and is in reasonable condition.
The Citroen was the first car to be driven around Australia. The journey was undertaken by Nevill Westwood, a Seventh day Adventist missionary, between August and December 1925. While each item, the car, lantern slides and ephemera resonate on their own, as a collection they represent an important moment in Australia's motoring and tourism heritage. The 1920s was a boom time in car ownership and the motor allowed people to travel further for work and leisure. The Westwood trip is an important example of the way people utilised the car to explore the land and the intense interest there was in the capabilities of the car when pitted against the Australian landscape. The fact that Westwood undertook the trip as a missionary also provides an insight to the activities of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in the 1920s.
Maker
Citroen
Restorer
Coventry Motors
France
Place of restoration
Morley, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Date made
1923
Date of restoration
1975
User
Nevill Westwood
Associated person
Greg L. Davies
Greg Davies accompanied Nevill Westwood on the round Australia trip in 1925 until they reached Albury, New South Wales
Agents
Gilbert Motors
Nevill Westwood purchased the car second hand in 1923 from Gilbert Motors in Perth
Associated organisation
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Nevill Westwood was a Seventh-day Adventist missionary
Place of event
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Place of event
Meekatharra, Western Australia, Australia
Place of event
Nullagine, Western Australia, Australia
Place of event
Marble Bar, Western Australia, Australia
Place of event
Broome, Western Australia, Australia
Place of event
Halls Creek, Western Australia, Australia
Place of event
Barkly Tableland, Northern Territory, Australia
Place of event
Barkly Tableland, Queensland, Australia
Place of event
Camooweal, Queensland, Australia
Place of event
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Place of event
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Place of event
Albury, New South Wales, Australia
Place of event
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Place of event
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Date of event
04/08/1925 - 30/12/1925
Driven around Australia by Nevill Westwood
Materials
Metal - non specific, Wood, Canvas, Rubber, Glass, Petrol, Mineral oil
Dimensions
Length: 3250mm
Width: 1400mm
Height: 1650mm
Weight: 580kg