Bubsie and the Boys: The First Journey Around Australia by Car
by David Riley
One hundred years ago, two young Adventists set out to drive from Perth to Darwin, commissioned by their church to explore the possibilities of establishing a mission outpost in the Northern Territory and to sell books and collect donations along the way. So many aspects of this journey were remarkable—an unlikely, second-hand, borrowed vehicle, travelling without roads, maps or fuel stations—but they made it to Darwin, then turned their minds to the possibility of becoming the first to complete the rest of the journey around Australia in a race against two larger vehicles that were then also setting off from Perth.
This is the story Pastor David Riley has carefully researched and engagingly re-told in Bubsie and the Boys. The evocative storytelling takes readers on the journey, shaped by Pastor Riley’s own travels on the specific route and locations that make up this story. It is also a snapshot of the nation as it was at that time, highlighting some important facets of Australian history that continue to shape its people, places and culture today.
Bubsie and the Boys also serves as a gentle introduction to Adventist faith, showing how the vegetarian, teetotalling Sabbath-keeping Nevill Westwood and Greg Davies were out of step with the communities and stations they visited. But it is their Sabbath practice that shapes the storytelling, with each chapter ending with their prayers to acknowledge the beginning of Sabbath. Their “mission” work and interactions with church institutions and leaders are also recurring features within the story.
While the successful completion of this first “big lap” is the pretext for the story and the triumphant return to Perth is described in the prologue to Bubsie and the Boys, the vast distances, mechanical challenges, interpersonal tensions and the progress of the pursuing vehicles make a compelling story. As such, this is a reading experience that you will enjoy, as will those with whom you share the book or to whom you offer it as a reading recommendation. Whatever your road-tripping plans, Bubsie and the Boys is the great read for this summer.
Bubsie and the Boys is available now from Adventist bookshops in Australia and New Zealand or online. It is also available from all booksellers and as an audiobook from your favourite audiobook service.
