Misplaced Pages

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93-748: Eyre Highway is a 1,664-kilometre (1,034 mi) 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

186-473: A Mediterranean climate on the south-west and southern coastal areas. As of 2021, the state has 2.91 million inhabitants—11 percent of the national total. Over 90 percent of the state's population live in the south-west corner and around 80 percent live in the state capital Perth , leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated. The Trans-Australian Railway and the Eyre Highway traverse

279-470: 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

372-468: A 16-foot (4.9 m) width. By the middle of the century, several water tanks with up to 44,000 imperial gallons (200,000 L; 53,000 US gal) capacity were located alongside the highway, including at Madura Pass, Moonera, Cocklebiddy, and 28 miles (45 km) east of Mundrabilla. In some cases the tanks were accompanied by amenity such as a shed, or a hut and stove, or even petrol and cafes at Ivy Tanks. The establishment of Ivy Tanks in any form

465-683: A capacity of 23,200 cubic metres per day (146,000 barrels per day) until its closure in 2021, producing most of the state's petrol and diesel. Kwinana also hosts alumina and nickel processing plants, port facilities for grain and other bulk exports, and support industries for mining and petroleum such as heavy and light engineering, and metal fabrication. Shipbuilding (e.g. Austal ) and associated support industries are found at nearby Henderson , just north of Kwinana. Significant secondary industries include cement and building product manufacturing, flour milling, food processing, animal feed production, automotive body building and printing. Western Australia has

558-527: A comparative advantage in resource extraction and processing. As a consequence: In 2019 Western Australia's overseas exports accounted for 46% of the nation's total. The state's major export commodities included iron-ore, petroleum, gold, alumina , nickel, wheat, copper, lithium, chemicals and mineral sands. Western Australia is the world's largest iron-ore producer (34% of the world's total), and extracts 66% (6.9% of world production) of Australia's 306 tonnes (9.8 million troy ounces) of gold in 2022. It

651-459: A further 1,196 species currently recognised but unpublished. They occur within 1,543 genera from 211 families ; there are also 1,276 naturalised alien or invasive plant species, more commonly known as weeds. In the southwest region are some of the largest numbers of plant species for its area in the world. Western Australia's ecoregions include the sandstone gorges of the Kimberley on

744-403: A lack of storage and refrigeration facilities favour live animals over imports of processed meat. About half of Australia's live cattle exports come from Western Australia. Resource sector growth in recent years has resulted in significant labour and skills shortages, leading to recent efforts by the state government to encourage interstate and overseas immigration. According to the 2006 census,

837-517: A result, the South West region of the state has a higher concentration of rare, threatened or endangered flora and fauna than many areas of Australia, making it one of the world's biodiversity "hot spots". Large areas of the state's wheatbelt region have problems with dryland salinity and the loss of fresh water. The southwest coastal area has a Mediterranean climate . It was originally heavily forested, including large stands of karri , one of

930-514: A route east from Norseman, with some detours around limestone ridges, would allow a road to be formed quickly and easily. With a war in the Pacific seemingly imminent, construction began in July 1941. The Army was responsible for fuel, food, and communications, while the state government departments of Main Roads (Western Australia) and Highways (South Australia) managed the construction. The road

1023-553: A scientific paper, General view of the botany of the vicinity of Swan River . It discusses the vegetation of the Swan River Colony . Europeans began to settle permanently in 1826 when Albany was claimed by Britain to forestall French claims to the western third of the continent. Perth was founded as the Swan River Colony in 1829 by British and Irish settlers, though the outpost languished. Its officials eventually requested convict labour to augment its population. By

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1116-628: A significant fishing industry. Products for local consumption and export include western rock lobsters , prawns, crabs, shark and tuna, as well as pearl fishing in the Kimberley region of the state. Processing is conducted along the west coast. Whaling was a key marine industry but ceased at Albany in 1978. Western Australia has the world's biggest plantations of both Indian sandalwood (northern WA) and Australian sandalwood (semi-arid regions), which are used to produce sandalwood oil and incense . The WA sandalwood industry provides about 40% of

1209-407: A table and/or use a tally to keep a record of vehicles which pass manually as an alternative to ATR's. A traffic counter is a device, often electronic in nature, used to count, classify, and/or measure the speed of vehicular traffic passing along a given roadway. The device is usually deployed in near proximity to the roadway and uses an on-road medium, such as pneumatic road tubes laid across

1302-645: 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. Eyre Highway is the only sealed road linking the states of Western Australia and South Australia . It

1395-490: Is 1,862 km (1,157 mi). There are 20,781 km (12,913 mi) of coastline, including 7,892 km (4,904 mi) of island coastline. The total land area occupied by the state is 2.5 million km (970 thousand sq mi). The bulk of Western Australia consists of the extremely old Yilgarn craton and Pilbara craton which merged with the Deccan Plateau of India, Madagascar and

1488-450: Is a major world producer of bauxite, which is processed into alumina at four refineries providing 11% of total world production. Until 2020 diamonds were extracted from the world's largest diamond mine in the far north Kimberley region. Coal mined at Collie is the main fuel for baseload electricity generation in the state's south-west. Agricultural production in WA is a major contributor to

1581-401: Is attributed by historians as an important factor driving the state's population and economic growth. Following a campaign led by Forrest, electors of the colony of Western Australia voted in favour of federation with the five other Australian colonies, resulting in Western Australia officially becoming a state on 1 January 1901. Western Australia is bounded to the east by longitude 129°E,

1674-573: Is currently tilted 10 degrees away from the South Pole towards Western Australia, allowing for aurora australis displays as far north as Geraldton . Western Australia is home to around 630 species of birds (depending on the taxonomy used). Of these around 15 are endemic to the state. The best areas for birds are the southwestern corner of the state and the area around Broome and the Kimberley. The Flora of Western Australia comprises 10,162 published native vascular plant species, along with

1767-504: Is now known as Cape Inscription, Dirk Hartog Island . For the rest of the 17th century, other Dutch and British navigators encountered the coast of what Abel Tasman named New Holland in 1644, usually unintentionally as demonstrated by the many shipwrecks along the coast of ships that deviated from the Brouwer Route (because of poor navigation and storms). By the late 18th century, British and French sailors had begun to explore

1860-582: Is one of Western Australia's two sealed interstate roads, the other being the Victoria Highway linking Western Australia and Northern Territory . Eyre Highway runs east from Norseman in Western Australia for 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) across the Nullarbor Plain to Ceduna , South Australia. It crosses the top of the Eyre Peninsula as it continues eastwards for 470 kilometres (290 mi), before reaching Port Augusta . Eyre Highway

1953-613: Is part of the National Highway route between Perth and Adelaide, and forms part of Australia's Highway 1 . It is signed as National Highway 1 in Western Australia, and National Highway A1 in South Australia. The vast majority of the highway is a two-lane single carriageway with a speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph), except in and around built-up areas . Road trains (A-double or B-triple) up to 42.5 metres (139 ft) are permitted on

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2046-400: Is the northern tropical regions. The Kimberley has an extremely hot monsoonal climate with average annual rainfall ranging from 500 to 1,500 millimetres (20–60 in), but there is a very long almost rainless season from April to November. Eighty-five percent of the state's runoff occurs in the Kimberley, but because it occurs in violent floods and because of the insurmountable poverty of

2139-621: Is the westernmost state of Australia . It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia’s largest state, with a land area of 2,527,013 square kilometres (975,685 sq mi), and is also the second-largest subdivision of any country on Earth, surpassed only by

2232-468: The Eyre Peninsula . After Ceduna, the highway passes the intersection with Flinders Highway and heads south-east towards Kyancutta . After passing through Wirrulla , Poochera , Yanninee and Wudinna , the highway arrives at Kyancutta where it meets the north end of the Tod Highway . After Kyancutta, the highway turns to the east towards the town of Kimba . Before arriving at Kimba, it turns to

2325-641: The Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920s, which encouraged farmers to settle the southwest—increased awareness of Australia's western third as a destination for colonists. Led by immigrants from the British Isles, Western Australia's population developed at a faster rate during the twentieth century than it had previously. After World War II , both the eastern states and Western Australia received large numbers of Italians , Croatians and Macedonians . Despite this, Britain has contributed

2418-588: The Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons of Southern Africa, in the Archean Eon to form Ur , one of the oldest supercontinents on Earth (3 – 3.2  billion years ago). In May 2017, evidence of the earliest known life on land may have been found in 3.48-billion-year-old geyserite and other related mineral deposits (often found around hot springs and geysers ) uncovered in the Pilbara craton. Because

2511-456: The Nullarbor Plain in the state's south-east, providing the principal connection between Western Australia and the population centres in the eastern states . Western Australia's Indigenous peoples have been present for tens of thousands of years. Dutch explorers visited Western Australia from the 17th century, with Dirk Hartog 's 1616 expedition the first Europeans to make landfall. The British claimed Western Australia in 1827 and established

2604-571: The Royal Geographical Society in South Australia was disappointed that no road had been named after Eyre, despite its suggestion that the road from Port Augusta towards Perth should be Eyre Highway. In the same year, the RAC suggested that the proposed new highway be named Forrest Highway, after John Forrest. The Assistant Minister for Commerce, Senator Macdonald , concurred. On 21 January 1942, Prime Minister John Curtin announced

2697-651: The Sakha Republic in eastern Russia, and formerly Northwest Territories in Canada, before the creation of Nunavut. It is also the largest proper subnational entity, being a state rather than a territory or an autonomous region. Western Australia has a diverse range of climates, including tropical conditions in the Kimberley , deserts in the interior (including the Great Sandy Desert , Little Sandy Desert , Gibson Desert , and Great Victoria Desert ) and

2790-496: The Swan River Colony with Perth as its capital in 1829. The Western Australian gold rushes of the late 19th century resulted in a significant population influx. The colony was granted responsible government in 1890, the last of the Australian colonies to become self-governing, and federated with the other colonies in 1901. Western Australia's mining sector is a key driver of the state economy . The late 20th century saw

2883-555: The Wheatbelt and temperate southern coastal regions, pastoralism in marginal grassland areas, forestry in the south-west and fishing (including pearling and, historically, whaling ). Western Australia has a geological history dating back to 4.4 billion years ago when Hadean zircons were formed. The earliest direct known life on land, known as stromatolites , started to be created by microbes at around 3.48 billion years ago. The first human inhabitants of Australia arrived from

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2976-489: The tallest trees in the world. This agricultural region is one of the nine most bio-diverse terrestrial habitats, with a higher proportion of endemic species than most other equivalent regions. Thanks to the offshore Leeuwin Current , the area is one of the top six regions for marine biodiversity and contains the most southerly coral reefs in the world. Average annual rainfall varies from 300 millimetres (12 in) at

3069-485: The war cabinet decision to name the newly constructed road Forrest Highway, for military purposes. Separately, the states' nomenclature committees were considering names for the road. A proposal for a single name to be used in both states was put by the Western Australian committee to the South Australian committee when the highway was completed. Two names were suggested: Great Western Highway, in line with similar directional names in Western Australia, and Eyre Highway, after

3162-576: The 1890s around Kalgoorlie . In 1887, a new constitution was drafted, providing for the right of self-governance of European Australians, and in 1890, the act granting self-government to the colony was passed by the British Parliament . John Forrest became the first Premier of Western Australia . In 1896, after discoveries of gold at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie , the Western Australian Parliament authorised

3255-433: The 2016 census, 75.2% of inhabitants spoke only English at home, with the next most common languages being Mandarin (1.9%), Italian (1.2%), Vietnamese (0.8%), Cantonese (0.8%) and Tagalog (0.6%). According to the 2021 census, Christianity is the major religious affiliation in WA, followed by 41.1% of its population. In 1971, Christianity was followed by 85.5% of the population and it has been declining since, while

3348-591: The American private-sector firm Alta Planning and Design, in partnership with the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) initiated the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Program (NBPD) as an effort to promote greater data collection for non-motorized transportation modes, establish a consistent model for data collection, and address the lack of data access and shared research. In 2013,

3441-527: The Ceduna to Penong seal was completed. The final link to be sealed, between Penong and the state border, was completed with a ceremony held in September 1976 near Wigunda Tank, South Australia. Between Yalata and the state border, the highway was realigned and deviated considerably from the original unsealed route. In deciding the new alignment for the South Australian section of the highway between Yalata and

3534-625: The Eyre Highway, with Quads up to 49.5 metres (163 feet) between Ceduna and Colona Station turnoff limited to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). The Western Australian section of Eyre Highway is on the western side of the Nullarbor Plain. The South Australian section crosses the eastern section of the Nullarbor Plain, and the top of the Eyre Peninsula. The Nullarbor gets its name from Latin for "no tree". The typical view on

3627-528: The Nullarbor was established with the construction of the Trans-Australian Railway , from Port Augusta via Tarcoola to Kalgoorlie . With few roads or tracks encountering the line, most of it is only accessible by rail. The construction of the telegraph had resulted in a trail that could be followed for interstate travel, but it was a haphazard route which only the more adventurous motorists would take. Many travellers were unprepared for

3720-488: The South Australia border, roadhouses serving the highway are the only settlements on the 720-kilometre-long (450 mi) stretch through Western Australia. These are located 65 to 180 kilometres (40 to 110 mi) apart, at Balladonia , Caiguna , Cocklebiddy , Madura , and Mundrabilla . The section between Balladonia and Caiguna includes what is regarded as the longest straight stretch of road in Australia and one of

3813-518: The Western Australian coast. The Baudin expedition of 1800–03 included the coast of Western Australia and resulted in the Freycinet Map of 1811 , the first published map featuring the full outline of Australia. The name New Holland remained in popular and semi-official use until at least the mid-1850s; that is, it was in use for about 206 years in comparison to the name Australia which to date has been in use for about 195 years. The origins of

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3906-428: The actual sealed width to 5.6 metres (18 ft) along much of Eyre Highway. Main Roads in Western Australia spent around a million dollars a year on rehabilitating 50-to-100-kilometre (30 to 60 mi) sections. A major project to improve Eyre Highway, rather than just repair the damage, began in 1984 with federal government providing funding to reconstruct 300 kilometres (190 mi) in Western Australia. The highway

3999-805: The coast around the Margaret River wine-growing area. Going east along the Southern Ocean coast is the Goldfields-Esperance region, including the Esperance mallee and the Coolgardie woodlands inland around town of Coolgardie . Deserts occupy the interior, including the Great Sandy-Tanami desert , Gibson Desert , Great Victoria Desert , and Nullarbor Plain . In 1831 Scottish botanist Robert Brown produced

4092-685: The coast of Western Australia. On 7 March 1831 it was transferred to the control of the Swan River Colony, and named Albany in 1832. In 1829 the Swan River Colony was established on the Swan River by Captain James Stirling . By 1832, the British settler population of the colony had reached around 1,500, and the official name of the colony was changed to Western Australia on 6 February that year. The two separate townsites of

4185-473: The coast. Another section from the Nullarbor Homestead to Nundroo Motel also travelled further inland than the new alignment, past Ivy Tank Motel and Yalata Roadhouse. The 1960s standard of a twenty-foot (6.2 m) sealed width with four-foot-wide (1.2 m) gravel shoulders was proving to be inadequate by the 1980s. Increasing numbers of truck and tourist coaches caused fretting, and reduced

4278-730: The coastal plains, in some cases forming a sharp escarpment (as with the Darling Range/ Darling Scarp near Perth). The extreme age of the landscape has meant that the soils are remarkably infertile and frequently laterised . Even soils derived from granitic bedrock contain an order of magnitude less available phosphorus and only half as much nitrogen as soils in comparable climates in other continents. Soils derived from extensive sandplains or ironstone are even less fertile, nearly devoid of soluble phosphate and deficient in zinc , copper, molybdenum and sometimes potassium and calcium . The infertility of most of

4371-425: The colony developed slowly into the port city of Fremantle and the state's capital, Perth . York was the first inland settlement in Western Australia, situated 97 kilometres (60 mi) east of Perth and settled on 16 September 1831. York was the staging point for early explorers who discovered the rich gold reserves of Kalgoorlie. Population growth was very slow until significant discoveries of gold were made in

4464-432: The development of the state's significant iron ore mining industry – the world's largest – as well as primarily offshore petroleum and natural gas resources . Gold mining retains a significant presence and many other mineral commodities are mined, with Perth being a major centre for associated services. Outside of mining, primary industry is the other significant contributor to the state's economy, including agriculture in

4557-569: The edge of the Wheatbelt region to 1,400 millimetres (55 in) in the wettest areas near Northcliffe , but from November to March, evaporation exceeds rainfall, and it is generally very dry. Plants are adapted to this as well as the extreme poverty of all soils. The central two-thirds of the state is arid and sparsely inhabited. The only significant economic activity is mining. Annual rainfall averages less than 300 millimetres (8–10 in), most of which occurs in sporadic torrential falls related to cyclone events in summer. An exception to this

4650-525: The explorer. After several communications between the committees, both decided to use the name Eyre Highway. After receiving a letter from the South Australian Premier in May 1943, supporting the nomenclature committee's recommendation, Curtin agreed to the name, subject to approval from the Western Australian government. The South Australian section was named Eyre Highway on 20 May 1943, with

4743-657: The first traffic counting units, called traffic recorders , was introduced in 1937 , operated off a strip laid across the street, and used a six volt battery. Each hour it printed off a paper strip with the total for that hour. A newer type of temporary sensor consists of a metal detector and data recorder in a single package, adhered to the pavement in the center of a driving lane, unlike the pneumatic tube detector which cannot differentiate between lanes. Recently, off-road technologies have been developed. These devices generally use some sort of transmitted energy such as radar waves or infrared beams to detect vehicles passing over

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4836-611: The generally shallow soils, the only development has taken place along the Ord River . Snow is rare in the state and typically occurs only in the Stirling Range near Albany , as it is the only mountain range far enough south and sufficiently elevated. More rarely, snow can fall on the nearby Porongurup Range . Snow outside these areas is a major event; it usually occurs in hilly areas of southwestern Australia. The most widespread low-level snow occurred on 26 June 1956 when snow

4929-466: The greatest number of immigrants to this day. Western Australia—particularly Perth—has the highest proportion of British-born of any state: 10.3% in 2011, compared to a national average of 5.1%. This group is heavily concentrated in certain parts, where they account for a quarter of the population. Perth's metropolitan area (including Mandurah ) had an estimated population of 2,043,138 in June 2017 (79% of

5022-548: The harsh conditions and lack of services. They would cause a nuisance for station owners and other travellers by scrounging petrol, contaminating water supplies, leaving gates open, and committing acts of vandalism. In 1938 the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC) called for a national highway to be constructed by the federal government, as it would be a strategic defence road, provide another link between Western Australia and other states, and improve

5115-546: The highway in 1962, for the Commonwealth Games in Perth , damaged the road in numerous locations, and the lack of moisture required salt water to be pumped from 350 feet (110 m) below the surface for use in repairs and maintenance. Work to seal Eyre Highway was undertaken in the 1960s and 1970s. As the federal government refused requests from Western Australia and South Australia for a special allocation to fund

5208-609: The highway serve as emergency airstrips for the Royal Flying Doctor Service . These airstrips are signposted, have runway pavement markings painted on the road, and turnaround bays for small aircraft. After crossing the border at the settlement of Border Village , the highway passes through the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area and through the localities of Yalata , Penong and Ceduna. Before arriving at Ceduna, it enters

5301-407: The increased emphasis on the economic, environmental and social benefits of multi-modal traffic networks. Non-motorized modes of traffic are often surveyed using the same types of sensors used for motorized vehicles; in some cases tuned to be more sensitive to actuation (e.g. Pneumatic tubes, Piezoelectric, inductive loop detectors, Passive and Active Infrared, Video, Magnetometers, et al.). In 2004,

5394-514: The international sandalwood oil market. In recent years, tourism has grown in importance, with significant numbers of visitors to the state coming from the UK and Ireland (28%), other European countries (14%) Singapore (16%), Japan (10%) and Malaysia (8%). Revenue from tourism is a strong economic driver in many of the smaller population centres outside of Perth, especially in coastal locations. Traffic count To permanently or temporarily monitor

5487-637: The longest in the world. The road stretches for 146.6 kilometres (91.1 mi) without turning, and is signposted and commonly known as the "90 Mile Straight". Travelling east, the highway descends through the Madura Pass just before the Madura roadhouse from the Nullarbor Plain to the coastal Roe Plains . It skirts the bottom of the escarpment, climbing back through the Eucla Pass just before Eucla. Because of its remoteness, some widened sections of

5580-493: The low traffic volume of approximately fourteen vehicles per day. The maintenance and grading was hindered by a lack of rainfall – the road was smoothed out each year, and small sections were gravelled, but the soil the road was made from was too weak to be an effective road surface. When it did rain, even in small amounts, the road would become boggy, from patches that had broken down into a powdery substance, known as "bulldust", during dry periods. Large numbers of vehicles travelling

5673-431: The median individual income was A$ 500 per week in Western Australia (compared to A$ 466 in Australia as a whole). The median family income was A$ 1246 per week (compared to A$ 1171 for Australia). Recent growth has also contributed to significant rises in average property values in 2006, although values plateaued in 2007. Located south of Perth, the heavy industrial area of Kwinana had the nation's largest oil refinery with

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5766-426: The meridian 129 degrees east of Greenwich, which defines the border with South Australia and the Northern Territory , and bounded by the Indian Ocean to the west and north. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) designates the body of water south of the continent as part of the Indian Ocean; in Australia it is officially gazetted as the Southern Ocean . The total length of the state's eastern border

5859-580: The mid-1960s, approximately 60 miles (100 km) were being sealed each year. With increased priority given to the project from 1966, Western Australia's portion of the highway was completed in 1969, with a ceremony held in Eucla on 17 October. In South Australia, a decade-long program to seal the highway began in the mid-1960s. The first section completed was the 462-kilometre (287 mi) route between Port Augusta and Ceduna, in December 1967. In October 1972

5952-513: The north "over 50,000 years ago and possibly as much as 70,000 years ago". Over thousands of years they eventually spread across the whole landmass. These Indigenous Australians were long established throughout Western Australia by the time European explorers began to arrive in the early 17th century. The first Europeans to visit Western Australia were those of the Dutch Dirk Hartog expedition, who on 25 October 1616 landed at what

6045-950: The north-east. After Kimba, the highway passes through the southern end of the Lake Gilles Conservation Park and to the immediate north of both the town of Iron Knob and the Cultana Training Area before meeting the Lincoln Highway . It continues north-east until it intersects with the Augusta Highway and Stuart Highway , north-west of the Joy Baluch AM Bridge which crosses Spencer Gulf at Port Augusta. An alternative route between Ceduna and Port Augusta, formerly signed Alternate National Route 1 and now signed B100, follows Flinders Highway and Lincoln Highway down

6138-538: The northern coast, and below that the drier Victoria Plains tropical savanna inland, and the semi-desert Pilbara shrublands , Carnarvon xeric shrublands , and Western Australian mulga shrublands to the southwest. Southwards along the coast are the Southwest Australia savanna and the Swan Coastal Plain around Perth, with the jarrah-karri forest and shrublands on the southwest corner of

6231-582: The only mountain-building since then has been of the Stirling Range with the rifting from Antarctica , the land is extremely eroded and ancient, with no part of the state above 1,249 metres (4,098 ft) AHD (at Mount Meharry in the Hamersley Range of the Pilbara region). Most of the state is a low plateau with an average elevation of about 400 metres (1,200 ft), very low relief, and no surface runoff . This descends relatively sharply to

6324-443: The percentage of people who identified as having no religious affiliation has increased from 8.7% in 1971 to 42.9% in 2021. A small minority of the population are Muslims (2.5%), Buddhists (2.2%) and Hindus (2.0%). Western Australia's economy is largely driven by extraction and processing of a diverse range of mineral and petroleum commodities. The structure of the economy is closely linked to these natural resources, providing

6417-450: The portion from Murat Bay (Ceduna) to the state border declared a main road. Eyre Highway was gazetted in Western Australia on 11 June 1943, and included the road from Coolgardie to Norseman until Coolgardie–Esperance Highway was gazetted on 16 August 1957. The state of Eyre Highway remained relatively unchanged throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The road received yearly maintenance, but further, more expensive works were not warranted due to

6510-474: The present state began with the establishment by Lockyer of a convict-supported settlement from New South Wales at King George III Sound . The settlement was formally annexed on 21 January 1827 by Lockyer when he commanded the Union Jack be raised and a feu de joie fired by the troops. The settlement was founded in response to British concerns about the possibility of a French colony being established on

6603-550: The raising of a loan to construct a pipeline to transport 23 megalitres (5 million imperial gallons) of water per day to the burgeoning population on the goldfields. The pipeline, known as the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme , was completed in 1903.  C. Y.  O'Connor , Western Australia's first engineer-in-chief, designed and oversaw the construction of the pipeline. It carries water 530 km (330 mi) from Perth to Kalgoorlie , and

6696-626: The recorded traffic volumes ranged between 430 and 760 vehicles per day in 2013/14. In South Australia, the estimated annual average daily traffic as of September 2015 varied between 500 and 1,500 vehicles west of Lincoln Highway , and was 2,700 to the east. In 2011, the Australian Automobile Association considered the Eyre Highway to be among the lowest risk highways in the country, based on total number of casualty crashes per length of road. The individual risk based on casualty crash rates per vehicle kilometre travelled

6789-449: The roadway, piezo-electric sensors embedded in the roadway, inductive loops cut into the roadway, or a combination of these to detect the passing vehicles. Pneumatic road tubes are generally used for temporary studies to study a sample of traffic, while piezo-electric sensors and inductive loops are used for permanent studies which can ascertain seasonal traffic trends and are often used in congestion monitoring on major roads. One of

6882-688: The roadway. These methods are generally employed where vehicle speeds and volume are required without classification which require on-road sensors. Other off-road technologies are video image detection systems. A portable digital camera unit can be mounted to a pole and computer vision software is used to analyze traffic pattern including traffic counts. Traffic count software can now also classify vehicles - recording numbers of cars, trucks, bikes etc as well as total numbers - as well as registering how many travelled that way before. Technologies for counting bicycles on roads, or bicycles and pedestrians along sidewalks or shared-use paths have progressed with

6975-617: The route is a straight highway and practically unchanging flat saltbush -covered terrain. The Eyre Peninsula has been extensively cleared for agriculture, although there are remnant corridors of native eucalyptus woodland alongside its roads. Main Roads Western Australia and the Department for Infrastructure & Transport in South Australia monitor traffic volume across the states' road networks, including various locations along Eyre Highway. In Western Australia,

7068-588: The same route across the Nullarbor and along the Great Australian Bight, after John Forrest retraced Eyre's route in 1870 and confirmed its suitability. Repeater stations were installed at Port Lincoln , Streaky Bay , Smoky Bay , Fowlers Bay , Eucla , Israelite Bay , Esperance and Bremer Bay . Stations were later added at Franklin Harbour ( Cowell ) in 1885, Yardea in 1896 and Balladonia in 1897. From 1912 to 1917 an inland route across

7161-444: The sealed road, the work was left for the states to finance, over a number of years. Construction began in 1960, at the Norseman end. By the end of that year five miles (8 km) had been reconstructed, and was ready to be sealed over a 20-foot (6 m) width. Fourteen miles (23 km) were sealed in 1961, another 67 miles (108 km) were completed by 1963, and in 1964 the seal reached 111 miles (179 km) out from Norseman. By

7254-401: The soils has required heavy application by farmers of fertilisers. These have resulted in damage to invertebrate and bacterial populations. The grazing and use of hoofed mammals and, later, heavy machinery through the years have resulted in compaction of soils and great damage to the fragile soils. Large-scale land clearing for agriculture has damaged habitats for native flora and fauna. As

7347-555: The state and national economy. In the period 2010–2019 wheat production in WA has averaged nearly 10 million tonnes (22 billion pounds), valued at $ 2.816   billion in 2019, accounting for half the nation's total and providing $ 2–3   billion in export income. Other significant farm output includes wool, beef, lamb, barley, canola, lupins, oats and pulses. There is a high level of overseas demand for live animals from WA, driven mainly by southeast Asia's feedlots and Middle Eastern countries, where Islamic dietary laws and

7440-520: The state border was completed in October 1994. Since the 1990s, regular maintenance and minor improvements have been an ongoing effort. There have been larger-scale works including reconstruction of sections near Caiguna, Balladonia, and the Frazer Range in Western Australia, as well as Cungena and Kyancutta in South Australia. Route map Western Australia Western Australia (WA)

7533-470: The state border, long, straight, flat sections were purposely avoided to prevent driver boredom and consequent fatigue, as well as sun-glare and glare from oncoming headlights. The new alignment also took into consideration the potential tourism opportunities provided along the coast of the Great Australian Bight. The older route, Old Eyre Highway , runs from Border Village to the Nullarbor Homestead, approximately 15 to 20 kilometres (9 to 12 mi) away from

7626-480: 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

7719-451: The state). Other significant population centres include Bunbury (73,989), Geraldton (37,961), Kalgoorlie-Boulder (30,420), Albany (33,998), Karratha (16,446), Broome (14,501) and Port Hedland (14,285). At the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were: 3.1% of the population, or 75,978 people, identified as Indigenous Australians ( Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders ) in 2016. At

7812-550: The time transportation ceased in 1868, convicts outnumbered free settlers 9,700 to 7,300. In the 1890s, interstate immigration, resulting from a mining boom in the Goldfields region , resulted in a sharp population increase. Western Australia did not receive significant flows of immigrants from Britain, Ireland or elsewhere in the British Empire until the early 20th century. At that time, its local projects—such as

7905-526: The tourist experience. The federal government did not see the road as important enough for its involvement. In May 1941, following the construction of the central north–south Stuart Highway , the federal government announced its decision to build the east–west highway between Norseman and Port Augusta. A northerly route, close to the Trans-Australian Railway, had been considered, but extensive limestone outcrops made it impractical. Taking

7998-431: The usage of a road, an electronic traffic counter can be installed or placed to measure road usage continuously or for a short period of time. Most modern equipment called ATR's (Automatic Traffic Recorders) store count and/or classification data recorded in memory in a timestamp or interval fashion that can be downloaded and viewed in software or via a count display on some equipment. In some instances people either draw up

8091-490: The western and eastern sides of the peninsula respectively. In 1840–1841, Edward John Eyre was the first European to traverse the coastline of the Great Australian Bight and the Nullarbor Plain by land, on an almost 2,000-mile (3,200 km) trip from Adelaide to Albany, Western Australia . Three decades later, the East–West Telegraph line was installed. Constructed between 1875 and 1877, it followed

8184-414: Was assessed as high for the 95 km section east of Yalata to Fowlers Bay . It was medium for a 106-kilometre (66 mi) section from Fowlers Bay to Ceduna, low-medium between Ceduna and Port Augusta, and low west of Yalata. In 2013, Eyre Highway similarly received a lower safety rating for the South Australian sections, compared to the Western Australian section. Out of five stars, approximately 10%

8277-538: Was being lost by the 1980s. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Western Australian Nomenclature Advisory Committee had been choosing directional names for the state's main arterial roads, such as Great Eastern Highway . The South Australian Highways Department had been naming the major roads to other states after explorers, such as Flinders Highway, named after Matthew Flinders . In 1938, the historical memorials committee of

8370-442: Was completed in June 1942. Construction cost twice the initial £125,000 estimate over a period of four months. The road was sufficiently trafficable and in use by January 1942. The finished road, while an improvement over the previous route, still was not much more than a track. The only sections with a bitumen surface were the Madura and Eucla Passes. The formed width was 30 feet (9 m), with some sections lightly gravelled over

8463-504: Was rated as one- or two-star in Western Australia, generally towards the Norseman end, and 91% was rated three- or four-star. In South Australia, 49% was rated as one- or two-star, mostly from Yalata to Ceduna, and across the Eyre Peninsula, with the remaining 51% rated as three- or four-star. Eyre Highway begins at the town of Norseman, on the Coolgardie–Esperance Highway . Apart from Eucla , 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from

8556-436: Was rebuilt with a seven-metre-wide (23 ft) pavement, with shoulders partially sealed to a width of one metre (3 ft 3 in). Work began in mid-1985 near Cocklebiddy, with a 58-kilometre-long (36 mi) section completed in 1986. Work undertaken from 1987 to 1988 reached out 110 kilometres (68 mi) east of Cocklebiddy, and 225 kilometres (140 mi) had been completed by June 1990. The upgrade from Cocklebiddy to

8649-653: Was reported in the Perth Hills , as far north as Wongan Hills and as far east as Salmon Gums . However, even in the Stirling Range, snowfalls rarely exceed 5 cm (2 in) and rarely settle for more than one day. The highest observed temperature of 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) was recorded in Onslow on 13 January 2022. The lowest temperature recorded was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) at Eyre Bird Observatory on 17 August 2008. The south geomagnetic pole

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