August 20, 1908
A first-of-a-kind automobile journey in Australia came to a successful end when a trio traveling in a Talbot car arrived in the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory. The three men completing this long-distance trip, which that had begun in the city of Adelaide in South Australia, were Henry Hampden Dutton (1879-1932), an avid motorist and yachtsman; Murray Aunger (1878-1953), a mechanic and cyclist; and Ernest Allchurch (cira 1870-1932), a telegraph officer. Their trip was the first one between those cities to be carried out via automobile.
The Adelaide-based Express and Telegraph reported, “The arrival at about 6 this evening of Messrs. Dutton, Aunger, and Allchurch, in the Talbot car, caused considerable excitement, this being the first motor car seen here.” This newspaper also confirmed that the automobile “arrived in splendid running order, and appeared to have suffered little in the long and rough journey.” The Express and Telegraph then noted, “The motorists are, however, glad that their self-imposed task is ended, and express no anxiety to undertake such a hazardous trip again.”
This record-setting journey was the second one to be attempted by both Dutton and Aunger. The first trip began on November 25, 1907, when they departed from Adelaide in the Talbot at noon. (The attached photo of Dutton and Aunger in the Talbot was taken during that trek.) The Adelaide-based Advertiser stated at the time, “The hazardous undertaking shows that the two gentlemen have confidence in motor traction to surmount the difficulties of a journey, a large portion of which must necessarily be through roadless country.”
Dutton and Aunger fell considerably short of reaching Darwin on this journey. They made it only as far as the Northern Territory’s town of Tennant Creek, which is 615 miles (989 kilometers) south of Darwin, when — on December 27 — they decided to stop traveling any further in the Talbot. They left that automobile there in the town.
Their second effort to travel from Adelaide to Dawin via a motor vehicle began on June 30, 1908, in an automobile similar to the Talbot that was still in Tennant Creek. It was while they were en route to Darwin that Dutton and Aunger picked up Allchurch for the remainder of the trip. In addition, they retrieved the Talbot for use in the final long stretch of their journey.
In its account of the successful completion of the trip, the Express and Telegraph also elaborated on the formidable challenges that the trio had to contend with while traveling in the Northern Territory. This newspaper reported, “Territorians who know the road traversed express much surprise that a vehicle could have come through safely, as great boulders, tree stumps, anthills, and other serious obstacles to travelers abound at this end of the route.”
Nearly seven decades later, the Talbot used in both of those efforts to travel between Adelaide and Darwin was acquired by the National Motor Museum in the town of Birdwood in South Australia. In 2008, this automobile was driven in a 51-day tour retracing the historic expedition took place a century earlier.
Photo Credit: Public Domain
For more information on the pioneering automobile journey between Adelaide and Darwin in 1908, please check out https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/208831318
Additional information on Henry Hampden Dutton is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hampden_Dutton
Transportation History 
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