21-642: The rabbit-proof fence or pest-exclusion fence is one that crosses the state of Western Australia from north to south. Rabbit-proof fence may also refer to: Rabbit-proof fence The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia , formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence , the State Vermin Fence , and the Emu Fence , is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits , and other agricultural pests from
42-552: A barbed wire added later at 3 ft 4 in (1.02 m) and a plain wire at 3 ft 7 in (1.1 m), to make the fence a barrier against dingoes and foxes as well. Wire netting, extending 6 in (150 mm) below ground, was attached to the wire. The fence was constructed with a variety of materials, according to the local climate and availability of wood . At first, fence posts were made from salmon gum and gimlet , but they attracted termites (locally known as white ants) and had to be replaced. Split white gum
63-776: A book about this called Murder on the Rabbit Proof Fence: The Strange Case of Arthur Upfield and Snowy Rowles (1993). The events are now referred to as the Murchison Murders . Doris Pilkington Garimara 's book, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence (1996), describes how three Indigenous Australian girls used the fence to guide their route back home from Moore River Native Settlement to Jigalong . The girls, taken from their families in Western Australia as part of
84-417: A few rabbits could do little harm and might provide a touch of home, in addition to a spot of hunting." With virtually no local predators, the rabbits became extremely prolific and spread rapidly across the southern parts of the country. Australia had ideal conditions for an explosion in the rabbit population, which constituted an invasive species . By 1887, agricultural losses from rabbit damage compelled
105-428: A fictional story that explored a way of disposing of a body in the desert. Before the book was published, stockman Snowy Rowles, an acquaintance of the writer, carried out at least two murders and disposed of the bodies using the method described in the book. The 1932 trial that followed the arrest of Rowles for murder was one of the most sensational in the history of Western Australia. Decades later, Terry Walker wrote
126-525: A seat for a driver. Such a seat may be supported by elliptical springs . The buckboard was invented by Reverend Cyrus Comstock, a travelling preacher living in Lewis, Essex County, New York who established many churches in the area during the early 1800s. Originally designed for personal transportation in the Adirondack Mountains, these vehicles were widely used in newly settled regions of
147-525: The Stolen Generations , escaped from the mission settlement. Two sisters were successful in walking hundreds of kilometers back to their family at Jigalong by following the rabbit-proof fence. Garmimara is the daughter of Molly, one of the girls. The dramatic film Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) is based on the book. In 2016, Englishwoman Lindsey Cole walked the fence from Moore River Settlement, 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) through to Jigalong. She
168-745: The New South Wales Government to offer a £25,000 reward (equivalent to $ 3,900,000 in 2022) for "any method of success not previously known in the Colony for the effectual extermination of rabbits". A Royal Commission was held in 1901 to investigate the situation. It determined to build a pest-exclusion fence. The fence posts are placed 12 ft (3.7 m) apart and have a minimum diameter of 4 in (100 mm). There were initially three wires of 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 gauge , strung 4 in (102 mm), 1 ft 8 in (0.5 m), and 3 ft (0.9 m) above ground, with
189-537: The United States. In the early 20th century, as horse-drawn vehicles were supplanted by the motor car, the term 'buckboard' was also used in reference to a passenger car (usually a ' tourer ') from which the rear body had been removed and replaced with a load-carrying bed. These home-built dual-purpose passenger- and load-carrying vehicles were the precursors of the factory-built 'utility' or ' pickup truck '. A further "buckboard" example are Cyclecars , such as
210-608: The best way to inspect the fence was using buckboard buggies, pulled by two camels. The camels were also used as pack animals , especially in the north. In the east, camels were used to pull drays with supplies for the riders. Camels were ideal for this as they could go for a long time without water. They were considered critical to the building and maintenance of the fence. Crawford supervised four sub-inspectors, each responsible for about 500 miles (800 km) of fence, and 25 boundary riders, who regularly patrolled 100-mile (160 km) sections of fence. Due to frontier violence in
231-515: The east, out of Western Australian pastoral areas. There are three fences in Western Australia: the original No. 1 Fence crosses the state from north to south, No. 2 Fence is smaller and further west, and No. 3 Fence is smaller still and runs east–west. The fences took six years to build. When completed, the rabbit-proof fence (including all three fences) stretched 2,023 miles (3,256 km). The cost to build each kilometre of fence at
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#1732787663877252-557: The fences were intended to protect. No. 1 Fence intersected railway lines at: No. 2 Fence intersected with most of the Wheatbelt railway lines of Western Australia . The Darling Downs–Moreton Rabbit Board fence is a rabbit fence that extends along part of the Queensland–New South Wales border. In 1907, Arthur Upfield , an Australian writer who had previously worked on the construction of No. 1 Fence, began writing
273-531: The introduction of myxomatosis to control rabbits in the 1950s, the importance of the rabbit-proof fence diminished. By 1902, rabbits had already been found west of the fence line that had been initially constructed. The Number 2 Rabbit Proof Fence was built in 1905 in order to stem their advance. It held back the rabbits for many years, to such an extent that the Government Scheme for supplying rabbit netting, by extending long-term loans to farmers,
294-424: The north of the state, a 300-mile (480 km) section of No. 1 Fence was patrolled by riders who traveled in pairs. Crawford also was responsible for eliminating rabbits that had breached the fence. In the first year following the fence's completion, rabbit colonies were found and all members killed at several locations inside the fence. These included sites near Coorow , Mullewa , and Northampton . Following
315-507: The project became the responsibility of the Public Works Department of Western Australia, under the supervision of Richard John Anketell. With a workforce of 120 men, 350 camels, 210 horses and 41 donkeys, Anketell was responsible for the construction of the greater part of No. 1 Fence and the survey of its last 70 miles (110 km). Alexander Crawford took over the maintenance of the fence from Anketell as each section
336-439: The seat(s). The buckboard has no sideboards on the body, leaving the floor quite mobile. In rough terrain, the floor can flex and "buck", lending the vehicle its name. The buckboard is steered by its front wheels , which are connected by a single axle . The front and rear axle are connected by a platform of one or more boards to which the front axle is connected on a pivoting joint at its midpoint. A buckboard wagon often carries
357-466: The time was about $ 250 (equivalent to $ 42,000 in 2022). When it was completed in 1907, the 1,139-mile (1,833 km) No. 1 Fence was the longest unbroken fence in the world. Rabbits were introduced to Australia by the First Fleet in 1788. They became a problem after October 1859, when Thomas Austin released 24 wild rabbits from England for hunting purposes, believing "The introduction of
378-407: Was finished; he was in charge until he retired in 1922. The area inside the fence to the west became known as "Crawford's Paddock". The fence was maintained at first by boundary riders riding bicycles and later by riders astride camels . However, fence inspection was difficult from atop the tall animal. In 1910, a car was bought for fence inspection, but it was subject to punctured tyres. It was found
399-466: Was met by Doris Garimara's daughter at the end of the walk in September 2016. Buckboard A buckboard is a four- wheeled wagon of simple construction meant to be drawn by a horse or other large animal. A distinctly American utility vehicle, the buckboard has no springs between the body and the axles. The suspension is provided by the flexible floorboards of the body and a leaf spring under
420-451: Was never applied to farmers west of that fence. The farmers between the two fences suffered from the ravages of the rabbits for many years, before they bred into plague form to spread out over the agricultural districts to the west of the No. 2 fence. Overall, as a long-term barrier to rabbits, the fences were a failure; even while construction was underway, rabbits were hopping into regions that
441-435: Was one of the best types of wood used in the fence. Other timbers used were mulga , wodjil , native pine , and tea-tree , depending on what could be found close to where the fence was to be built. Iron posts were used where there was no wood. Most materials had to be hauled hundreds of kilometres from rail heads and ports by bullock, mule and camel teams. From 1901, the fence was constructed by private contractors. In 1904,
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