Trial by Trouble

Just before the rally began, the finance company seized one contestant's Fiat. The jack-booted driver of an Australian Ford showed up with his rear seat cramped by an ice-cream-packed icebox. The crew of a Queensland Volkswagen whooped it up in American Indian headdress. But most of the competitors in the 10,563-mile, round-Australia Mobilgas Rally who started west from Melbourne last month spent their last spare minutes sensibly checking safety equipment. They would have to drive a distance more than one-third the circumference of the earth, bounce over the worst of the world's worst roads, put in a scheduled 272 wearying hours at the wheel. Trouble along the way was just about the only thing they could count on.

No Siren Left. Only 30 miles before Geelong, an Aussie Ford missed a sharp turn at 70 m.p.h., skidded through a fence and wound up with its rear wheels hanging over a small cliff. That first casualty lost the rally its only car equipped with a siren for scaring off kangaroos.

West across lonely Nullarbor Plain, the cars slewed through mud flats and jounced across frame-cracking bogholes. Nine cars overturned in one nightmare, 557-mile stretch from Albany to Narrogin in Western Australia. Of the 90 cars from eight countries that left Melbourne, only 79 got as far as Perth, all but two losing points all the way. As in most rallies and reliability trials, cars were penalized for passing secret checkpoints too early or too late, for breaking traffic laws and for making any of a long list of repairs.

Almost a Shoo-In. From Carnarvon on the northwest shoulder of the continent, the bone-weary drivers struck out into the barrens of the "Never Never Land." Talcum-fine red dust blinded them, and tired eyes tricked them into braking their cars for no reason at all; strange, unearthy shapes seemed to dance across their headlight beams. This is kangaroo country, and the long-necked leapers chased cars down the road at speeds up to 40 m.p.h. One Japanese entry, a Toyopet Crown de Luxe, skidded off the road after a kangaroo bounced on its motor hood, dented a fender and smashed a headlight. Said Driver Kojiro Kondo to his navigator: "Jumping devil come from tree."

As the trial ground down from Darwin across the horrible roads of Queensland, rough creek crossings and rocky stretches ripped tires and shattered windshields. By the time the cars reached Brisbane, the first seven places were held by sturdy little Volkswagens. Well up in the running, though, was Mrs. Doris Isabel ("Geordie") Anderson, 46, a Brisbane housewife and mother of six, who was driving her own brand-new, cream and grey Mark VIII Jaguar--a $6,750 job complete with automatic transmission.

Almost a shoo-in for three prizes (best of the big-car section, best woman entrant, best Queensland entrant), Geordie Anderson took time out to go home, do her washing, and check up on her daughters' housekeeping. Refreshed by a nap, she whipped through Canberra so fast that she was picked up for speeding. But apart from a damaged windshield, her Jag was still in good condition. Geordie finished far up in the overall standings (behind five Volkswagens), easily earned her three prizes, and went home with $1,215 plus assorted trophies, including an electric razor and a supply of stockings.

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