Birtles, Francis (1881-1941), was an Australian adventurer. He traveled about 150,000 miles (240,000 kilometers) through the outback by bicycle. Born in Melbourne on Nov. 7, 1881, Birtles ran away to sea as a youth and later fought in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. He cycled twice around Australia, in 1907 and 1910. He drove from Fremantle to Sydney by automobile in 1912. He pioneered the England-to-Australia motor route through Singapore in 1927. He died on July 1, 1941.
