I finally finished it.

The story of the 1950s Round Australia Trials, written especially from a Volkswagen perspective, with lots of photos you (hopefully) haven't seen before. Click on the photos to enlarge.

VWs won 1 of the 3 Redex Trials and 1 of the 3 Ampol Trials. But they won all 3 of the Mobilgas Trials. In the 1957 Mobilgas, VWs finished 1-2-3-4-5-6. These trials successes were what established Volkswagen on the Australian market. In fact, VW's ongoing, predicable success was one reason the trials ended.

The best VW drivers were Laurie Whitehead, who won the '55 Redex and the '57 Mobilgas, and Eddie Perkins ('56 and '58 Mobilgas). Jack Witter won the '57 Ampol and almost won the '58.

Enjoy!

http://www.clubvw.org.au/roundaustralias 

That's excellent stuff!
Thank you.

Great job yet again Phil.

Great pictures and story mate, well done.
After meeting, and talking to a member of one of the all-lady VW crews that participated in the Mobilgas Rallies, I'm in awe of what all the crews -regardless of make- did to compete in these events.
Again, well done.
Rob.

Great article and pics Phil.

Dan

Great Work!

Thanks for the pics and story.. you did it again!

Denver