Nissan Australia will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first vehicle crossing of the Simpson Desert with a re-enactment of the historic event featuring two of the original participants.

Geologist and explorer Dr Reginald Sprigg, his wife Griselda and their two children, Doug (then seven) and Margaret (10), made the pioneering trip from Andado Station to Birdsville in 1962 driving a short wheelbase Nissan Patrol G60 along with a small group of other four wheel drive vehicles.

The Patrol was the only vehicle to complete the gruelling 12-day crossing of the 176,500 square kilometre desert and its 1,000 parallel sand dunes.

The successful crossing was one of a number of pioneering achievements by Reg Sprigg, who also discovered oil and gas fields in the Cooper Basin, founded SANTOS, Geosurveys and Beach Petroleum, discovered the world’s oldest fossils and in 1967 set up Arkaroola Wildlife Sanctuary in the Northern Flinders Ranges, one of Australia’s first Eco-Tourism resorts.

The 50th Anniversary Nissan Patrol crossing will largely follow the Spriggs’ original route and will be led by an identical Nissan Patrol G60 to that used on the first crossing, crewed by Doug and Margaret Sprigg, who today run the Arkaroola Sanctuary.

The actual Nissan Patrol used in 1962 disappeared many years ago and Nissan Australia is staging a country-wide search to locate it in time for the 50th Anniversary celebrations.

Based on the first short wheelbase Nissan Patrol developed in 1951 for military use, the Spriggs’ Patrol featured a 3,956cc overhead valve straight six-cylinder petrol engine, a three-speed dual range transmission, live axles and leaf springs.

A documentary film will be made of the re-enactment while Nissan Patrol owners from around Australia will be invited to celebrate its conclusion in Birdsville.