World's Longest Taxi Fare

It sounds like Paris Hilton-esque extravagance, but this actually happened - in 1930 - and the taxi driver, Charlie Heard, did actually drive the fare-paying passenger, Miss Ada Beal, plus her housemaid and a friend all the way to Darwin and back!

Over three months, the intrepid travellers took Heard's '28 Hudson taxi over some of the roughest terrain in the country. For long stretches in the trackless interior, Heard navigated by compass alone. In sections where bullgrass reached as high as the car's roof, one of the passengers had to stand atop the bonnet and shout out directions.

Heard kept a photographic record of the epic journey, a record that was thought to be gone forever, until it was recently passed on to Charlie Heard's grandson, Steve, by an aunt.

Through the photo captions, family recollections and his own research, the scale of the 7,000 mile odyssey became apparent.

Inspired by his grandfather's example, Steve decided to recreate the trip in a vehicle of the period - with the help of his brothers, sister and a support crew -to mark the 78th Anniversary of the original journey.

With a 1929 Essex Six as their cab and support from taxi company, 13 CABS, the Heards set off on their re-tracing of the World's Longest Taxi Fare on June 20.

Look out for more on the taxi trip - and the original that inspired it - in a future issue of JUST CARS.