TOUR DE OZ

<p>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 18507km. 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. </p>