Ride.
Port Augusta to Norseman.
Compliments the Stuart Highway.
- Miles: 1035
- Start: Port Augusta
- End: Norseman
- Time: 5 to 7 days, depending on stops
- Suitability: adventure, dual-sport, tourer
Eyre Highway is a 1,040 miles (1,664 km) highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highways 1 and A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first European to cross the Nullarbor by land, in 1840–1841. Eyre Highway runs from Norseman in Western Australia, past Eucla, to the state border. Continuing to the South Australian town of Ceduna, it crosses the top of the Eyre Peninsula before reaching Port Augusta.
The construction of the East–West Telegraph line in the 1870s, along Eyre’s route, resulted in a hazardous trail that could be followed for interstate travel. A national highway was called for, with the federal government seeing the route’s importance in 1941, when a war in the Pacific seemed imminent. The highway was constructed between July 1941 and June 1942, and was trafficable by January 1942. It was originally named Forrest Highway, after John Forrest, by the war cabinet. It was officially named Eyre Highway, a name agreed upon by the states’ nomenclature committees.
The finished road, while an improvement over the previous route, still was not much more than a track, and remained such throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Efforts to seal the highway began in Norseman in 1960, with the Western Australian section completed in 1969 and the South Australian section finished in 1976. Further improvement works have been undertaken since the 1980s, including widening and reconstructing portions of the road.
The vast majority of the highway is a two-lane single carriageway with a speed limit of 68 mph (110 kph), except in and around built-up areas. Road trains (A-double or B-triple) up to 42.5 metres (139 ft) are permitted on the Eyre Highway, with Quads up to 49.5 metres (163 feet) between Ceduna and Colona Station turnoff limited to 62 mph (100 kph).
Port Augusta is a coastal city in South Australia about 190 miles (310 km) by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the gulf’s head, comprising the city’s centre and surrounding suburbs, Stirling North, and seaside homes at Commissariat Point, Blanche Harbor and Miranda.
Ceduna is a town in South Australia located on the shores of Murat Bay on the coast, west of the Eyre Peninsula. It lies west of the junction of the Flinders and Eyre Highways around 290 miles (465 km) west of Port Augusta.
The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world’s largest single exposure of limestone bedrock.
Mundrabilla is in a very sparsely populated area in the far south east of Western Australia. The two significant features are a Roadhouse* and a Station, which are approximately 21 miles (35 km) apart. Mundrabilla is approximately 360 miles (580 km) west of Ceduna.
At the 2016 census, Mundrabilla had a population of 23, 32% male and 68% female.
90 Mile Straight. The section between Balladonia and Caiguna includes what is regarded as the longest straight stretch of road in Australia and one of the longest in the world. The road stretches for 91.1 miles (146.6 km) without turning.
Norseman is a town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, 450 miles (726 km) east of Perth and 278 metres above sea level.
*In Australia, a roadhouse is a filling station (service station) in many towns outside of major population areas. A roadhouse sells fuel and generally has an attached “restaurant” (like a café or diner) to sell and serve hot food to travellers. Historically, roadhouses served as bus stops for regional services along with mechanical repair and towing services for travellers, though this became less common.
In some areas such as the Nullarbor Plain, a roadhouse also offers motel-style accommodation and camping facilities. In many areas, the roadhouse may be the only remaining shop and outlet in a town
