Great Central Road

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Great Central Road Western Australia – Northern Territory

WSW end ENE end
Coordinates	28°37′S 122°24′E / 28.617°S 122.400°E / -28.617; 122.400
General information
Type	Track
Length	1,126 km (700 mi)
Major junctions
WSW end	Laverton
ENE end	Yulara
Restrictions
Permits	2 required
Fuel supply	Laverton (28°37′S 122°24′E / 28.617°S 122.400°E / -28.617; 122.400), Cosmo Newberry, Tjukayirla Roadhouse, Warburton (26°13′S 126°39′E / 26.217°S 126.650°E / -26.217; 126.650), Warakurna Roadhouse, Docker River and Yulara (25°14′S 130°59′E / 25.233°S 130.983°E / -25.233; 130.983)

The Great Central Road is a mostly unsealed Australian outback highway that runs 1126 km from Laverton, Western Australia to Yulara, Northern Territory (near Uluru/Ayers Rock).^[1]^[2] It passes through five small communities on the way.

History

The Great Central Road has its origins in the early 1930s when Warburton was established as a missionary settlement, and supplies were delivered from Laverton via a rough bush track. By the mid 1950s, the track from Laverton had become graded dirt. In 1958 during survey for the Gunbarrel Highway as part of the Woomera rocket range project, Len Beadell visited Warburton and built a new road from Giles via the Rawlinson Range to Warburton. Around 60 km north of Warburton, the Gunbarrel Highway branched off from this road towards Carnegie Station further west. Beadell returned to Giles via a different bush track which passed east through the Blackstone Range towards Docker River.^[3] In January 1978 funds were provided to Warburton council by the Western Australian Government to construct a more direct road from Warburton to Docker River which bypassed part of the twenty year old Gunbarrel Highway.^[4]The Great Central Road and original Gunbarrel Highway are coincident for 45 km near Giles.

Present conditions

Though still recommended only for four wheel drive vehicles, the road is now graded to a standard suitable for two wheel drive vehicles and caravans. It is on the most direct route from Perth to Uluru (Ayers Rock), and the number of vehicles travelling the route each year is around 10,000.

The Great Central Road is of suitable standard for 2WD vehicles

When heading from the Northern Territory to Laverton there is an Amnesty Bin for Quarantine WA 20 km outside of Laverton. All passenger vehicles are to stop and dispose of all Quarantine Risk Material that is stated on the sign, including all fresh fruit, vegetables, honey, seed, potatoes, onions and other such plants, etc. This area has a mobile inspector from time to time and there is risk of fines if travellers are stopped and Quarantine Risk Material is found.

There are fuel supplies at the following locations along the route (distances east from Laverton) : Cosmo Newbery (85 km), Tjukayirla Roadhouse (300 km), Warburton (560 km), Warakurna Roadhouse (786 km), Docker River (890 km) and Yulara (1126 km).

It is recommended that communications equipment be carried while driving on this road. The route also passes directly into Aboriginal reserves and it is a legal requirement for travellers to hold a valid transit permit at the time of travel, even when staying on the Great Central Road. Two permits are required and they are available from the West Australian Department of Indigenous Affairs. The permits are free.

Attractions

The most notable attractions on this road are in the Northern Territory and these include Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) and Uluru (Ayers Rock), both within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

Other attractions include Lasseter's Cave, the Petermann Ranges, Giles Weather Station, the ochre bluff of Giles Breakaway, Lake Throssell, Lake Yeo Nature Reserve for wildflowers in spring, Beegull Waterhole and Caves, and Empress Spring.

References

↑ Hema Maps (2005). Australia’s Great Desert Tracks SW Sheet (Map). Eight Mile Plains Queensland. ISBN 978-1-86500-161-6.
↑ Hema Maps (2005). Australia’s Great Desert Tracks SC Sheet (Map). Eight Mile Plains Queensland. ISBN 978-1-86500-164-7.
↑ Beadell, Len (1965). Too Long in the Bush. New Holland Publishers (Australia). ISBN 1864367199.
↑ State Records Office Western Australia

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Central Road.

v t e Road infrastructure in Northern Territory

National Highways	Barkly Highway Stuart Highway Victoria Highway

Highways	Arnhem Highway Carpentaria Highway Kakadu Highway Lasseter Highway Roper Highway Tablelands Highway

Major urban roads	Bagot Road Berrimah Road Tiger Brennan Drive

Outback tracks and numbered state routes	Buchanan Highway Buntine Highway Cox Peninsula Road Daly River Road Dorat Road Duncan Road Gary Junction Road Great Central Road Gunbarrel Highway Larapinta Drive Plenty Highway Sandover Highway Sandy Blight Junction Road Savannah Way Tanami Road

v t e Road infrastructure in Western Australia

Freeways	Graham Farmer Freeway Kwinana Freeway Mitchell Freeway

Metropolitan highways	Albany Highway Canning Highway Great Eastern Highway (Bypass) Leach Highway Reid Highway Roe Highway Stirling Highway Tonkin Highway Wanneroo Road West Coast Highway

Highways and major roads	Albany Highway Brand Highway Brockman Highway Brookton Highway Bussell Highway Coalfields Road Coolgardie–Esperance Highway Dampier Highway Derby Highway Eyre Highway Forrest Highway Geraldton – Mount Magnet Road Goldfields Highway Great Eastern Highway Great Northern Highway Great Southern Highway Indian Ocean Drive Mandjoogoordap Drive Muirs Highway North West Coastal Highway Old Coast Road South Coast Highway South Western Highway Vasse Highway Victoria Highway

Outback Tracks	Anne Beadell Highway Buntine Highway Canning Stock Route Cape Leveque Road Connie Sue Highway Duncan Road Gary Highway Gary Junction Road Gibb River Road Great Central Road Gunbarrel Highway Kalumburu Road Sandy Blight Junction Road Talawana Track Tanami Road

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