On 20 August 1908, when Harry Dutton and Murray Aunger drove into Darwin, they had made history as the first people to drive across the Australian continent. They had set out on their journey 51days earlier on the 30th June 1908 from Adelaide. It was a remarkable feat considering that they crossed deserts, negotiated creeks and rivers and even escaped a bushfire in their 25hp Talbot.

This journey was undertaken before there were roads or bridges. Many doubted that the travellers would be successful. Indeed, their first attempt in 1907 ran into the wet season in the tropics, and their original car - known affectionately as Angelina - got well and truly bogged outside Tennant Creek.
For many people living in remote regions, this was the first time that they had seen a vehicle that could travel under its own power. Cars were so uncommon in Australia that most states did not even have a registration system for them until 1909.

There was considerable interest in their expedition, below is an excerpt from an article in an Adelaide paper in the lead up to the first attempt.

The Express and Telegraph, 5 November 1907
"Mr HH Dutton, son of Mr Henry Dutton, accompanied by Mr HM Aunger, one of the best Chauffeurs and mechanics in the State has resolved to journey from south to north across South Australia in a 20-24 hp Clement-Talbot car, specially constructed to carry sufficient provisions and petrol to take the motorists through the country that must be traversed.
Many difficulties will have to be surmounted in the way of sand and thick scrub, to say nothing of the tropical rains, but Mr Dutton and his companion are confident that the car will meet any reasonable demands on its capabilities."