General News
27 February, 2026
Tracing family footsteps
AN ADELAIDE man will be recreating a motorcycle journey his grandfather and great-uncle undertook 100 years ago, riding from Adelaide to Camperdown.
On April 3, 1926, Lionel Wills and brother Phillip rode for three days from Adelaide to Camperdown, staying at the Wiridgil homestead in Weerite.
Stephen Wills, a descendant of Lionel, said his grandfather came to Australia by ship.
“It was a family company he was working for which imported and exported between England and Australia, particularly Adelaide,” he said.
“He was 24 and his brother was 19. They brought their motorcycles out from England.
“One was a Harley Davidson – he called it a Harley Single – and the other one was called a Henderson.
“They looked difficult to ride – they had bicycle seats, gear shifts on the side and they would have been very uncomfortable.
“They just decided to do a fairly adventurous trip down – they had some friends who were in Camperdown.”
Stephen still owns the photo album containing the photos his grandfather took of his stops along the way, including Wiridgil, Mt Gambier and the Coorong.
He also has an article written by Lionel on June 24, 1926 for a motorcycle magazine detailing the trip.
Stephen said, thanks to the album and the article, he was able to piece together the route Lionel and Phillip originally took.
“I’ve got a pretty good idea where the route was – partly from the article and the photo album, and partly from research about where the roads were in 1926,” he said.
“I know they went to Wellington, and there wouldn’t have been the freeway that is there now.
“I’ve worked out roughly where they would have likely gone in that part of the route.
“They would have gone up through Aldgate and down through Strathalbyn.
“From Wellington, they went down to Coorong – they talked about the Pipe Clay Track, which is a famous track which was a perfect white floor, as smooth as a billiard table and a mile wide and ten miles long.”
Stephen’s journey will likely look slightly different, with motorcycle helmets and improved construction of motorcycles being among the major changes.
He said the motorcycles his grandfather and great-uncle rode for long days, often having to stop to deal with issues along the way due to roads being primarily dirt, rocks and sand.
“They started early in the morning and, because of breakdowns, they didn’t get into Kingston until 11.30pm,” Stephen said.
“Their second destination was Mt Gambier, and they would have gone the coastal route from Kingston.
“They did not go down the Great Ocean Road – they went inland, got lost and got to Camperdown where they stayed with the Manifold family due to a business connection.
“I’ve contacted the Manifolds to see if we could stop in for a cup of tea and take some photos of Wiridgil to match the photos taken 100 years ago.”
Stephen said he will not be alone in tackling the historic journey.
“My cousin Tim, who’s coming out from Italy and arrives in late March, and his two grandsons will be joining me in the journey,” he said.
“When I contacted him to say I’m going to do this pilgrimage ride, he liked the idea immediately and said he was in.
“There’s an attachment and connection to our history and it has a really good feel about it.
“There’s going to be six of us.
“Other friends have connected with this story and what we’re doing and they love the idea.”
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