Girl’s 28,000 Miles by Car
Miss Aloha Wanderwell-Baker, of Hollywood, reached Lismore yesterday morning after completing another section of her world tour in search of material for radio lectures and motion picture news reels. Travelling with her are her brother, Mr. Walter Baker, and Mr. E. W. Owen, also of Hollywood.
Miss Baker is staying at the Freemason’s Hotel, Lismore. Her car is on view at the garage of Trevans Ltd. Miss Baker will sign autograph books while at the garage this morning and others may be left at the Freemason’s Hotel and called for later.
Miss Baker will make a personal appearance at the Star Court Theatre, Lismore, tonight. Her own film “Travel and Adventure in 75 Countries” has been added to the program. She will speak again from 2LM next Monday night.
A charming personality, Miss Baker is a delightful conversationist and has a wealth of hair-raising experiences on which to base many interesting tales. She is tall and distinguished looking. Her parents are English. Many of her strange and thrilling adventures in remote countries are shown in the film “Around the World by Car.”
Her Ford V8 bears 75 badges affixed round the Cody, representing the majority of countries she has visited in the course of her travels. Fascist and Soviet emblems are among the badges, while Chinese characters are painted on one of the mudguards.
Miss Baker has an unusual hobby, collecting beautiful bracelets. One of these is of solid gold, weighing half a pound, and is over 2000 years old. It came originally from Siberia.
9000 Miles across Australia in her Ford
The traveller’s present trip already has covered 28,000 miles, of which 9000 have been in Australia. She reached Fremantle after traveling through Japan, China, the Phillipines, French Indo China, Siam, Malaya, Java and Bali. On arrival at Australia, the party crossed the Nullabor Plain to Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. and thence through Toowoomba to Brisbane. Miss Baker has travelled as far north as Townsville, and subsequently she will go to New Zealand.
Miss Baker remarked yesterday that she liked Australians, who were a homely people. One of the features of the country which had impressed her was the hospitality of the people. Another of their virtues was the fact that Australians had no inferiority complex, which made them very friendly.
Flew Over Amazon
Miss Baker, who can speak 14 languages, flew once over the upper regions of the Amazon in search of the lost Colonel Fawcett. On this trip her plane made a forced landing on the River of Death, and it became necessary for her mechanic to return to the coast, a six weeks trek over jungle and swamp, to replace the necessary parts for the plane. During this time the adventurous young woman lived with a semi-savage, stone-age people who lived in fear of her “iron bird,” as they called her plane.
She had also the distinction of being the first woman to drive a car frcm Capetown to Caito. The trail-blazing over desert wastes and poisonous jungles occupied more than two years, during which it was necessary to live almost exclusively on native food. Soviet Commissars made her an honorary colonel in the Red Army.
Miss Baker was educated in a French Convent, which she left to travel, eventually becoming associated with the American broadcasting interests. In this work she has already travelled extensively in many lands. In all she has visited more than 60 countries, and her present tour will include all lands that have been omitted on previous expeditions. She will speak from 2LM again next Monday evening.