Reproduction of a photograph of Francis Birtles in his car. The young lady holding Francis Birtles hand is Tasmanian born Phyllis Von Alwyn, Miss Australia 1927.

Reproduction of a photograph of Francis Birtles in his car leaving London, surrounded by friends. The young lady holding Francis Birtles hand is Tasmanian born Phyllis Von Alwyn, Miss Australia 1927. In July 1928 Birtles became the first person to drive from London to Melbourne, a nine-month part-solo journey completed in 'The Sundowner' which he donated in 1929 to a proposed national museum in Canberra. [Australian Dictionary of Biography