Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituari ... z27ipTXNBv" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Wendy Law was celebrated across Australia and beyond as one of the two ''girl cyclists'' whose three-year odyssey of riding their bicycles up and across the continent began soon after the end of World War II.
In 1946, at 19, she and her equally adventurous school friend, Shirley Duncan, 21, were dissuaded from travelling across war-ravaged Europe and instead opted to ride their Malvern Stars to Queensland. They had already ridden in Victoria, to Adelaide and around Tasmania to prepare themselves. They envisaged being on the road for six months - but did not get back to Melbourne until April 1949.
It took them a year to get to Queensland and on to Darwin, then they pedalled south to Adelaide and crossed the Nullarbor to the west. They were the first female cyclists to cross the Nullarbor, but by then they had already attracted the attention of the press and were dubbed the ''girl cyclists'' as they drew crowds in every city they passed through. Their trip also featured on Movietone News.
Regards
Andrew