What do you think?
Rate this book
Tour de Oz: The extraordinary story of the first bicycle race around Australia
Four years before the inaugural Tour de France, four cyclists known as 'Overlanders' set out on a race around Australia.
On 24 November 1896 a wiry and wily bushman named Arthur Richardson left Coolgardie for Adelaide by bicycle. Carrying only a small kit and a water-bag, he followed the telegraph line. After much 'sweating and swearing' on sandy roads west of Eucla, and enduring the scorching heat, 31 days later he became the first man to pedal across the Nullarbor. But within three years Richardson had set his sights on becoming the first person to ride around the vast island continent, not yet a nation, and some 18,507km. On 5 June, 1899, he left Perth, heading north, carrying no more than a swag and a pistol. It took courage, self-confidence, endurance and resourcefulness to tackle such a ride. Richardson would follow dirt tracks, cattle and camel pads and stars in the night sky as he battled thirst, hunger, exhaustion, crocodile attack and spears from Aboriginal warriors to realize his dream. But he also had competition...another party of cyclists with the same ambition. New Zealand-born Brothers Frank and Alex White and wealthy adventurer Donald Mackay from Wallandbeen Station, NSW, were attempting the ride in a counter-clockwise direction from Melbourne and Brisbane respectively. Set against the fledging pastoralist empires of pre-Federation Australia, Tour de Oz, is the extraordinarily true story of a remarkable race to 'circumcycle' the Australian continent - before we became a nation.
On 24 November 1896 a wiry and wily bushman named Arthur Richardson left Coolgardie for Adelaide by bicycle. Carrying only a small kit and a water-bag, he followed the telegraph line. After much 'sweating and swearing' on sandy roads west of Eucla, and enduring the scorching heat, 31 days later he became the first man to pedal across the Nullarbor. But within three years Richardson had set his sights on becoming the first person to ride around the vast island continent, not yet a nation, and some 18,507km. On 5 June, 1899, he left Perth, heading north, carrying no more than a swag and a pistol. It took courage, self-confidence, endurance and resourcefulness to tackle such a ride. Richardson would follow dirt tracks, cattle and camel pads and stars in the night sky as he battled thirst, hunger, exhaustion, crocodile attack and spears from Aboriginal warriors to realize his dream. But he also had competition...another party of cyclists with the same ambition. New Zealand-born Brothers Frank and Alex White and wealthy adventurer Donald Mackay from Wallandbeen Station, NSW, were attempting the ride in a counter-clockwise direction from Melbourne and Brisbane respectively. Set against the fledging pastoralist empires of pre-Federation Australia, Tour de Oz, is the extraordinarily true story of a remarkable race to 'circumcycle' the Australian continent - before we became a nation.
338 pages, Paperback
Published July 24, 2018
5 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 21, 2019
This book documents the amazing feats of 'the overlanders' who set out to be the first to circumnavigate Australia by bicycle in 1899. Arthur Richardson set off in a clockwise direction from Perth by himself and, a few weeks later, the brothers Frank and Alex White set off from Melbourne in an anti-clockwise direction and met up with Donald Mackay in Brisbane.
The ride was tough through rough terrain, searing heat, rain and even encounters with unfriendly indigenous people. At times, even their lives were in danger. Arthur completed his ride first, but his record was beaten by Donald Mackay.
The book was interesting in parts, but frequently became a list of the stops they made along the way, possibly due to a paucity of source material, largely relying on telegraph reports to newspapers and sponsors, though Donald Mackay left more detail of his ride.
The ride was tough through rough terrain, searing heat, rain and even encounters with unfriendly indigenous people. At times, even their lives were in danger. Arthur completed his ride first, but his record was beaten by Donald Mackay.
The book was interesting in parts, but frequently became a list of the stops they made along the way, possibly due to a paucity of source material, largely relying on telegraph reports to newspapers and sponsors, though Donald Mackay left more detail of his ride.
September 6, 2023
The cycle was some achievement, the book less so. Interesting piece of history overall.
January 23, 2018
While this book was a bit slow to get started and not initially written in a style I typically enjoy it did hold my attention sufficient to get through the preliminaries and into what became a ripping good yarn about an almost unimaginable adventure.
The narrative generally follows a style that switches back and forth between Arthur Richardson’s solo clockwise attempt and the team of the White brothers and Donald McKay, in the other direction, who were all trying to be the first to cycle around Australia on the eve of Federation. Initially the back and forth narrative is a little distracting but it does add a sense of urgency and high drama as the stakes for ultimate victory and disappointment play out.
Well researched, Brett Harris has done a wonderful work in compiling an almost lost history into a book that every cyclist and any Australian who loves our wide brown land ought to read.
The narrative generally follows a style that switches back and forth between Arthur Richardson’s solo clockwise attempt and the team of the White brothers and Donald McKay, in the other direction, who were all trying to be the first to cycle around Australia on the eve of Federation. Initially the back and forth narrative is a little distracting but it does add a sense of urgency and high drama as the stakes for ultimate victory and disappointment play out.
Well researched, Brett Harris has done a wonderful work in compiling an almost lost history into a book that every cyclist and any Australian who loves our wide brown land ought to read.
January 29, 2018
An account of an interesting adventure, that is ludicrous when you compare the bicycle technology available today and in 1899, and what the 1899 riders had to contend with in the Australian north and northwest. The author states at the beginning that one key character of the book is Australia itself, but I think he fell short of his aim here. While he digresses about some of the Europeans the riders encounter, or European events in the land they traversed, there is no expansion on the riders' contacts with Aborigines: What tribe were they of? What are some of their customs? How long had they been in contact with Europeans? What had they suffered so far from the European incursion? A lot of this ethnography should not be hard to find and would add to the value of the 'tour of Australia' the title and foreword promises.
April 30, 2023
The tale of the first round Australia cyclists makes an interesting and at times harrowing tale as they traverse a harsh landscape, largely without roads of any kind. Although aimed at cyclists there's enough early history (especially WA) to keep a lot of others interested. It's pretty well researched and told but there are a few factual errors (eg the cotter joints in the Humber "Brazeless" bicycle hold the frame together, not the cranks) and way too many chapters that conclude with "No-one expected..." type teasers, as annoying here as they are in click bait. As others have commented, detailed maps per chapter would have been a huge help. On the whole though, well worth a look.
November 9, 2017
A fascinating tale of extraordinary determination. It was so interesting to ponder how hard their circumnavigation of Australia was on early model bikes in insufferable heat, with limited food and water, threats of flood, fire and Aboriginal resistance, pests including rats, snakes, mosquitos and not to forget crossing rivers full of crocs.
August 4, 2024
In some ways a fascinating story, albeit told more as a diary than an adventure.
The obvious racism and white privilege of the time is (almost) not questioned. Recounting these white cyclists having to carry guns with them as defence against the ‘blacks’ in remote northern Australia, ignores the fact they shouldn’t have been cycling there at all.
The obvious racism and white privilege of the time is (almost) not questioned. Recounting these white cyclists having to carry guns with them as defence against the ‘blacks’ in remote northern Australia, ignores the fact they shouldn’t have been cycling there at all.
August 22, 2017
A great story for its day, well written and researched by Harris. A travelogue like this could have been boring, but the author has added enough contemporary and historic information to make it interesting and entertaining
July 16, 2020
Fun read. More of a survival tale than one of what we call today, “bicycle touring.” Amazing that none of the riders died from exposure, thirst, illness or from encounters with indigenous people (who were justifiably defending their land).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2021
It would have been a great read if a detailed map had been provided before each chapter. I literally had to open Google maps everytime an obscure place was mentioned in the story. Hats off to the sports journalism though.
May 14, 2020
Amazing story if endurance and stupidity
December 2, 2020
3.5 stars. Has a little too much ‘riding x kms to get to y town’ to really enjoy but great history of the first to ride around Australia and how difficult the conditions in which they rode were.
August 1, 2021
A well related story of an incredible feat of endurance and overcoming adversity. Unimaginable in modern times.
October 20, 2023
This book masterfully tells a long story in a light and readabsle way. Ii is interesting how much pressure the overlanders were subject to.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews