Although I lived my early teenage years in Norseman, I sort of always referred to the Nullarbor Plain as my
"Back Yard". The word Nullarbor comes from the Latin language, with "Null" meaning "No"
and "arbor" meaning tree. Therefore the literal meaning of Nullarbor is simply "No Tree', and in some
places it could not have a more apt name. The Nullarbor Plain stretches from the escarpment (which in places reaches
the coastline) North until it meets the Great Victoria Desert. It is basically an old raised sea bed, and many
fossils of water living animals have been found on the Plain. There has been some sheep farming, especially on the
Southern ends, but basically it is a dry, arid and flat countryside. The Nullarbor Plain is crossed by road on the
Eyre Highway, and by rail on the Trans Australian Railway. I will try to take you on a journey across this landscape
by road, travelling from Norseman in Western Australia, to the small township of Penong in South Australia.
Before I begin the road journey, and associated photographs, it might be worthy to point out that the railway line across
the Nullarbor contains the longest straight stretch of railway anywhere in the world. The distance without a bend is
in excess of 480 kilometres (300 miles). However a trip by train is not the same as a trip by vehicle. You are
in air-conditioned luxury and travelling constantly on the train. In a vehicle, there are the required stops, and of
course the usual hazards that you might meet.
If you look at the map above, you will see that the road from Norseman begins inland from the sea (about 190 kilometres or
120 miles), but as it travels East it gets closer and closer to the coast, until it actually meets the coast near the
Western Australian ~ South Australian Border. (More about that later)
The above photograph is obviously very old, and shows what I think are people surveying the original railway route.
However I am not entirely certain of that having been given the photograph many years ago. It clearly shows the
barren surroundings, and I think the cairn and flag mark the Western Australian ~ South Australian Border.
The two photographs above were taken in March 1974. The one on the left shows the road as it was back then,
Western Australia completed sealing their section of the road in 1969, but South Australia chose to build a new road South
of the original road, and that was not completed until 1975. With the opening of the new road in 1975, two of the
roadside communities that once catered for the traveller simply ceased to exist. This section of road was extremely
rough and travel was very slow. Because a new road was being built to the South, there was very little maintenance
done, and some of the holes in the road were up to half a metre (two feet) deep. What made it worse was that they
were filled with very fine dust (commonly called "Bulldust") and you would not see the holes until you actually
hit them. Many vehicles were wrecked and abandoned in those years. At the time of this photograph there was
about 505 kilometres (314 miles) of unsealed road, but on my first trip in the 1960's, the sealed road actually finished at
Norseman, and you had to travel about 1,207 kilometres (750 miles) on a road like the one above. The new road is
about 1,119 kilometres (695 miles), and therefore slightly shorter in distance than the original road. The photograph
on the right shows the old Eucla Telegraph Station, which is sometimes totally covered in sand and at others partially
exposed. At one time the vegetation would keep the sand from building up, but a rabbit plaque caused the loss of all
the vegetation, and the sand is now at the mercy of the wind. (See Eucla below)
The photograph on the left shows the Eyre Highway in Western Australia in about 1975, just East of Norseman. At this
point there is still a good growth of trees and it could be a scene from anywhere in country Australia. Note how
straight the road is, it just goes on and on into the distance, Sometimes you travel for quite a while before you
actually find a bend in the road. The photograph on the right has been shown around the internet for some time.
What is not told is that the sign actually is not far after you leave one of the roadside stops. Therefore it is
reminding you that if you need anything, return to that stop, because the next one is 174 kilometres (about 108 miles) away.
Once you leave Norseman, you begin a trip that takes you about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles), before you reach the next
township which is Penong in South Australia. Your first place you will come to is called Balladonia, and that is about 191
kilometres (118 miles) from Norseman. All of these places (except Eucla) are simply road side stops, where you can
obtain fuel and food. Most do have overnight accommodation, but very few people choose to stay at any overnight.
The photograph above was taken in 1983, just as we were leaving Balladonia, travelling East. You can already
see the barren landscape surrounding the area.
From Balladonia, you continue to travel East to Caiguna, a distance of about 182 kilometres (113 miles). For 179 of
those kilometres (111 miles) there is not a bend in the road, making it one of the longest straight stretches of road in the
world, and a very boring drive. From Caiguna, the next stop is Cocklebiddy only about 64 kilometres (40 miles) away.
Cocklebiddy is known world wide to those who indulge in cave exploration as some of the worlds oldest and deepest
caves are found in this area. Most are filled with icy water, and diving them should only be undertaken by very
experienced people. Then it is on to the stop at Madura another 83 kilometres (52 miles) away.
Just prior to reaching Madura you travel down from the escarpment onto the sea plain below. It is a fairly steep
drive (up or down) and the Madura road stop is at the bottom of the downhill drive. Again the photograph above was
taken in 1983, and shows the newer, more modern stop than the one that was there a few years earlier. Until about
1969, the next stop was Eucla, but a new roadside stop was built at Mundrabilla about 116 kilometres (72 miles) East of
Madura. During this part of your trip, you continue to get closer and closer to the coastline. As you approach
Eucla, you can see the sand hills and the remains of the old telegraph station (Photograph above) that was once used to
relay messages from East to West and return. Messages would be sent to Eucla in Morse Code, transcribed and hand
written, then passed through a hole in the partition separating Western Australia from South Australia, where it would
again be relayed in Morse Code.
At Eucla, you again climb up the escarpment, but before you do you get a great view of the sea and the sand hills
surrounding the area. The sand is almost pure white in colour. The original climb up the escarpment was so
steep that many older vehicles simply did not have the power needed to climb the rise. For that reason a hand operated
winch (which I saw and was still in use on my first trip), was placed at the top of the climb. You would have to walk
up the hill, bring the winch rope down and hook it to your vehicle, then climb back up again to manually winch the vehicle
up the rise. On my first ever trip, all that there was at Eucla was a simple small tin shed about 4.5 metres (15 feet)
square. They had no power and very little in the way of facilities. Fuel was obtained from a very old hand
operated pump at the front and was nearly twice the price that it was elsewhere, but you had no choice, because the next
stop was just too far away. The next two stops from those days (Koonalda and Ivy Tanks) no longer exist, as the new
road bypassed them entirely.
When you reach the top of the escarpment, the first thing you see is a Remembrance Cross, which was erected in 1969 in
honour of all Christians and those that helped make a sealed highway (Western Australian side) possible. Also the old
Eucla stop was totally rebuilt into a more modern facility.
A few years later another more modern Eucla or more correctly Border Village (above) was built on the border of Western
Australia and South Australia. (It actually is just inside Western Australia). The place known as Border
Village has basically become a small town in its own right. There is an airstrip, a Police Station, Court House,
Jail, Hotel/Motel, Western Australian State fruit and vegetable inspection station and a golf course. Many people now
travel to Border Village for fishing trips, and the bird sanctuary is also a popular stop for tourists. Others also
travel to Border Village for the annual golf day, which is a charity event held every year. I believe there are plans
to create the world's longest golf course across the Nullarbor beginning on the Eastern edge and finishing on the Western
end, with Border Village being one of the holes for that course.
As you leave Border village, you cross the Western Australian ~ South Australian border.
The next stop is Nullarbor (which was rebuilt when the new road was opened, the old Nullarbor was very primitive and not a
place you would spend any time at), which is about 186 kilometres (about 116 miles) further East. Once you leave
Nullarbor, you are getting towards the end of your trip across with a couple of stops left. From Nullarbor you could
possibly travel without stopping until you reach Penong and the unofficial end of the journey across the Nullarbor.
However there are two further roadside stops if you desire to take a break. From Nullarbor to Yalata is about 94
kilometres (58 miles), then a further 52 kilometres (32 miles) to Nundroo. Nundroo to Penong is only a further
80 kilometres (50 miles). If you have had a basically uneventful trip, you can do it in one day, although that
certainly was not the case in the 1960's and early 1970's. Back then it was at least a two day journey, and hopefully
no breakdowns, because roadside services simply did not exist. There were large numbers of wrecked vehicles on the
roadside, simply due to the terrain they were crossing.
Below are a few other photographs taken by me on my last drive across in 1983. They show the flat landscape, the low
saltbush scrub and some of the cliffs where the Nullarbor meets the Great Australian Bight. Where else in the world
do you have to watch for stray kangaroos, wombats and camels, all at the same time?
Incidentally, the rainfall for the area is very low and the average is only about 250 millimetres (or ten inches) per year.
However when the rain does fall, it totally transforms the landscape, and especially the Sturt's Desert Pea grows
abundantly. It changes what you see from a dull grey to a brilliant red and black across the vast expanse, but those
times are rare. I have only seen it once in my lifetime. (The Sturt's Desert Pea ~ below~ is a low
flowering plant, that grows almost carpet like across the countryside.)
I hope you enjoyed your "trip" across the Nullarbor, which until the mid 1970's was one of the adventure trips of
Australia. The next page will take you to the more lush areas of far North Queensland.
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