When the Ford Model T made its way to Australian shores in 1908, it wasn’t just another invention crossing an ocean—it was the start of a revolution on wheels. This unassuming, boxy machine with its unmistakable chug brought more than just horsepower to a horse-reliant land. It introduced freedom. Independence. A taste of modernity. And most of all, it carved out a brand-new class of car owners that would reshape the Australian social landscape forever.

A Car for the People
 

Until then, cars were the playthings of the elite—expensive curiosities reserved for the wealthy, who often didn’t even drive them themselves. If you were rich enough to own a car, you were also rich enough to hire a uniformed chauffeur to take the wheel. For the average Australian, the idea of personal motor transport was as distant as the moon.

But Henry Ford had a different vision: a car that was simple, reliable, and above all, affordable. The Model T delivered on every front. It was the product of a manufacturing breakthrough—the assembly line—and this mass production method slashed costs so dramatically that owning a car was no longer a fantasy for ordinary people.

Ford also had a clever trick up his sleeve for the Australian market: knock-down kits. Instead of shipping fully built cars halfway across the world, Ford sent the parts to Australia to be assembled locally. This not only sidestepped hefty import duties, but also reduced production and labor costs. And just like that, the Model T was cheaper to build, cheaper to buy—and suddenly, attainable.

Model T comes to Australia
 

The Model T arrived in Australia in 1908 as a knock-down kit and was assembled by local dealers. It became affordable by a whole new class of potential motorists who were far from wealthy including farmers and tradesmen. The car quickly proved to be much more convenient than a horse and buggy for doctors and clergymen making house calls who didn’t have to worry about catching, hitching, feeding, watering, shoeing, housing, cleaning and generally looking after a horse. It was comfortable, convenient and could travel much more quickly than a buggy or coach.

Early Australian Drivers

It should be remembered that when the Model T arrived people knew little about cars in Australia at the time. It wasn’t unusual for them to spend one or two days trying to start the new imported car without realising that the tank needed petrol. Others would spend years driving in one gear not knowing how to, or realising they could, change gear. There were few formed roads, no garages and petrol supplies. Petrol was scarce and expensive and was purchased in tins from a few chemists or grocers. Cars were often unreliable and there were no mechanics so drivers had to repair breakdowns. Handbooks and motoring advice columns had articles on how to mend broken springs, bent axles and broken steering columns. Motorists even had to carry a comprehensive collection of nuts, bolts, wire and spare tyres to ensure returning home at the end of a drive.

In 1909, institutions such as the Melbourne School of Motoring opened to teach new owners to drive as very few people knew how to drive their cars before they bought them. Owners of the big expensive cars, the norm before the Model T, often had their own uniformed chauffeurs. However, it was the car salesman who taught the purchaser of the Model T how to drive. Farmers were apparently the worst pupils as they expected a car to behave like a horse – to stay on a course when directed and to steer automatically around any obstacles in its path.

Early Australian Roads

Dust was an enormous problem for early Australian motorists, especially until windscreens became standard issue. Men wore goggles, caps, leather gloves and motoring jackets while women required loose dustcoats of tussore silk or other light materials and scarves or veils worn over their faces to filter the air. The modern wrist watch became acceptable for men to wear at this time as it was too difficult to consult a pocket watch while at the wheel. Hills were taken in first gear and some, such as the old Lapstone Hill Road up the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, was taken in reverse as this gear was lower and the gravity fed petrol could reach the carburettor.

The Model T was to be ideal for Australian conditions. The Australian motoring writer, Pedr Davis, said that it was dubbed the ‘Squatter’s Joy’ because of its popularity, especially with farmers. The simple, lightweight design, which was criticised at first, proved more rugged than its heavier more sophisticated competitors and the 25 cm ground clearance, ability to ride over stumps and being able to go through water made it popular and useful on rough bush tracks. Weighing only 760 kg, the car could be easily righted if it overturned and was extremely economical to run for the time. The car was so reliable and tough that it accomplished a number of cross-country trips to prove the car was a useful form of transport in outback Australia.

A Nation Behind the Wheel
 

The response from Australians was electric. In no time, the Model T became the vehicle of choice for clergymen doing their rounds, country doctors rushing to remote homesteads, and farmers tired of saddling up after a long day’s work. Families who once squeezed into buggies behind tired horses were now motoring down dusty country roads, marveling at the strange new power under their feet.

What once symbolized luxury now became a tool for the working class. The Model T didn’t just sell—it spread. It was like wildfire on four wheels, and Australia, vast and sparsely populated, was the perfect place for it to thrive. In the eyes of many, it wasn’t a luxury anymore—it was a necessity.

Francis Birtles

One early cross-country journey was by the famous overlander, Francis Birtles, whose 5,600 km journey down Australia from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Port Phillip Bay in 1913 was sponsored by Ford and achieved in a Model T. Birtles was accompanied by his faithful friend, Rex the “wonder dog”, who wore his own special pair of dust goggles. Birtles had to dig the car out of numerous bogs in the Gulf country and sandy creek crossings in the centre. Camping along the way, he caught his own bush tucker and used fuel left in special dumps for the trip. The car was said to be in perfect condition on its arrival in Melbourne and during the trip even won an impromptu race against a British car, which had cost 1,000 pounds to buy. (At the time a Model T with a touring car body only cost 210 pounds).

Advertising the Model T

A Ford advertisement in ‘The Land’ newspaper of 1914 showed how tempted the Australian public were by this amazing little car:

Obey that urge! Do it now! Get a Ford! It’s the one “hunch” on which you can’t go wrong. More than 325,000 owners will vouch for FORD merit Ford simplicity Ford serviceability and Ford economy. Obey that urge! Do it now!

The advertising was obviously working because in 1914 over 100 Fords were being sold per month in NSW alone. The population of the state was only 1.8 million at the time. The Model T was so good it virtually sold itself and all advertising for the car was suspended between 1917 and 1923 with the exception of promotion by local dealers. To demonstrate just how simple the Model T was to construct, Ford technicians assembled a complete car in only 150 minutes during the South Australian Agricultural Show of 1917, a display watched by some 4,000 people. Stunts like these helped to sell the car but it was its low price that was the real attraction.

A Model T was many families’ first car and took car ownership from the rich and privileged to the general public. It was easy to maintain, simple, sturdy and versatile, had interchangeable parts, and was virtually unchanged throughout its long 19-year production run. The car forced many competing manufacturers out of business, including a number of fledgling Australian car makers who could not compete with Ford’s low price. Some dealers were assembling Model T’s better than others so to standardise production, the Ford Motor Co. of Australia was formed in 1925. Assembly of Model Ts was established in a disused wool store in Geelong, Victoria, using a type of production line system.

In all a total of 250,000 Model Ts were sold in Australia and Ford assembly plants were subsequently built and opened in Brisbane, Fremantle, and Adelaide. Known affectionately as “Tin Lizzies”, Model Ts are one of the few cars that over the years have been celebrated in song, legend and folklore. In the words of Ford’s advertising of the day, it was “truly the car for the multitudes – The Universal Car”. In 2001 the Model T was voted Car of the 21st Century by an international jury of 126 automotive journalists from 32 countries.

The End of the Horse Era
 

For generations, Australians had relied on horses for everything from transport to agriculture. But horses were high maintenance. They needed feeding, grooming, stabling, and rest. They spooked easily and couldn’t cover long distances without a break. By comparison, the Model T felt like something out of science fiction. You didn’t have to brush it, feed it, or coax it into moving. You turned the crank, gave it petrol, and off you went.

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The roads were terrible—most were unsealed dirt tracks that turned into sludge when it rained and dust storms when they dried. Motorists had to dress for battle: men wore thick leather gloves, goggles, dustcoats, and hats; women wrapped themselves in scarves and donned long coats to protect their clothing and lungs. It was an adventure every time you left home.

Learning Curve on the Move
 

As more Australians got behind the wheel, a new problem emerged—nobody knew how to drive. Before the Model T, driving was a specialist skill, learned by chauffeurs and mechanics. Now, everyday people were buying cars with zero training and heading straight for the open road.

Crashes were common. So were breakdowns. Fuel was hard to find in remote areas, and when the car coughed or spluttered, there were few mechanics around who knew what to do. Farmers, in particular, struggled. Many were used to horses that instinctively avoided trees and rocks. They expected their new "iron horse" to do the same—and were sorely disappointed when it didn’t.

The demand for education grew quickly. By 1909, schools like the Melbourne School of Motoring opened their doors, teaching would-be drivers not just how to steer and stop, but also how to change oil, patch tires, and coax a cranky engine back to life.

The Great Leveler
 

The arrival of the Model T didn’t just transform transport—it reshaped society. It blurred class lines, gave rural Australians newfound independence, and helped bring distant communities closer together. For the first time, people who lived hours from a town could visit family, attend church, or even deliver their produce to market—all in the same day.

Cars were no longer a symbol of excess. They were a symbol of progress. And at the heart of it all was the humble Model T: a rattling, sputtering, dust-covered machine that connected a continent.