At the National Motor Museum there is a rather battered 1956 Land Rover Station Wagon and imagine the AWEsome stories it could tell!

One of the two original cars Mike and Mal Leyland used to cross Australia from West to East, it was the first vehicle to successfully complete this crossing, travelling from Steep Point in Western Australia to Cape Byron in New South Wales. The expedition and its subsequent media coverage helped to launch the highly acclaimed television program 'The Leyland Brothers'.

Leyland brothers Mal and Mike were 4WD pioneers traveling outback Australia before it became popular to do so. From the 1960s to the 1980s their travelogues captured the AWE of our vast continent, bringing the natural wonders of Australia into the living rooms across the country. The Leyland brothers became a household name and inspired 4WD tourism — to get out, explore, and travel all over the countryside.

Join us as we hear HTSA motoring historian and Curator Matthew Lombard, and Ethan White, from the series Off the Couch with Ethan, reflect on the AWE of the Leyland brothers’ legacy and achievements and the pull of Australia’s remote locations and the vehicle to get us there.

Image: 1956 Land Rover Series 1 LWB Station Wagon. Photographer Epsom Rd Studios, History Trust of South Australia.