Editing Nullarbor Plain

{{Short description|Geographical feature in Western Australia and South Australia}}
{{Redirect|Nullarbor|other uses|Nullarbor (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2011}}

{{Infobox ecoregion
| name = Nullarbor Plain<br><small>Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands</small>
| image = Nullabor plain from the indian pacific.jpg
| image_size = 
| image_alt = 
| image_caption = Nullarbor Plain, [[Australia]]
| map = IBRA 6.1 Nullarbor.png
| map_size = 
| map_alt = 
| map_caption = The [[IBRA region]]s, with Nullarbor in red
| biogeographic_realm = [[Australasian realm|Australasian]]
| biome = [[deserts and xeric shrublands]]
| border1 = [[Coolgardie woodlands]]
| border2 = [[Eyre and Yorke mallee]]
| border3 = [[Great Victoria Desert]]
| area = 197,195
| country = [[Australia]]
| state1 = [[South Australia]]
| state2 = [[Western Australia]]
| state3 = 
| region_type = 
| coordinates = {{coord|30.3|S|129|E|display=title,inline}}
| bird_species = 
| mammal_species = 
| habitat_loss = 
| habitat_loss_ref = 
| conservation = Relatively stable/intact
|protected = 62,317&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (32
|protected_ref = )<ref name="doi.org">Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b. [https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix014]</ref>
|embedded = 
}}

The '''Nullarbor Plain''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ʌ|l|ər|b|ɔr}} {{respell|NUL|ər-bor}}; [[Latin]]: {{lang|la|nulla}} feminine of {{lang|la|nullus}} 'no' and {{lang|la|arbor}} 'tree'<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Macquarie Dictionary|edition=2nd|year=1991|publisher=Macquarie University|isbn=0-949757-63-2|page=1220|title-link=Macquarie Dictionary}}</ref>) 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]], and occupies an area of about {{convert|200000|km2|-3}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wilderness.esmartweb.com/Australia/nullabor.html |title=Across the Nullarbor Plain |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010135423/http://wilderness.esmartweb.com/Australia/nullabor.html |archive-date=10 October 2007 |date=7 June 2004 |work=Kevin's Wilderness Journeys}}</ref> At its widest point, it stretches about {{convert|1100|km|0}} from east to west across the border between [[South Australia]] and [[Western Australia]].

== History ==

Historically, the Nullarbor was seasonally occupied by [[Indigenous Australian people]], the Mirning clans and Yinyila people.<ref>Marun, L. H. (1972) The Mirning and their predecessors on the coastal Nullarbor Plain, PhD thesis, Sydney University</ref> Traditionally, the area was called ''Oondiri'', which is said to mean 'the waterless'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2008/05/15/2245751.htm | title=The Road to Rawlinna | date=19 May 2008 | author=Rebecca McLaren | website=abc.net.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.laco.org/lines-southern-cross-part-three/|title=Lines of the Southern Cross (part three)|website=Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra|date=11 September 2014 }}</ref>

The first Europeans known to have sighted and mapped the Nullarbor coast were Captain [[François Thijssen]] and Councillor of the Indies, [[Pieter Nuyts]], on the Dutch [[East Indiaman]] ''[['t Gulden Zeepaert (ship, 1626)|'t Gulden Zeepaert]]'' (the Golden Seahorse). In 1626–1627, they charted a stretch of the southern Australian coast east of [[Cape Leeuwin]] and extending to longitude 133 30'E.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=197|title=Taking it to the edge: Coast: The Dutch|date=6 April 2006|publisher=SLSA|access-date=15 September 2019|via=www.samemory.sa.gov.au}}</ref> While the interior remained little known to Europeans over the next two centuries, the stretch of coast adjoining the Great Australian Bight was named for Nuyts, and maps subsequent to 1627 bore the legend "Landt van P. Nuyts" or "Terre de Nuyts".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/exhibitions/voyages/timeline/1600s.html|title=Voyages of Grand Discovery|first=Stuart|last=Sevastos|website=museum.wa.gov.au|access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.australiaonthemap.org.au/the-freycinet-map-of-1811-the-first-complete-map-of-australia-freycinet-map-1811/|title=The Freycinet map of 1811 – The first complete map of Australia? – Australia on the Map|access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref> That survives as two geographical names in West Australia: [[Nuytsland Nature Reserve]] and [[Nuyts Land District]], and in South Australia as Nuyts Reef, Cape Nuyts and the [[Nuyts Archipelago]].<ref name=CAPAD22 >{{cite web |url=https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/capad2022-terrestrial-wa.xlsx |title=Terrestrial CAPAD 2022 WA summary |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=www.dcceew.gov.au/ |publisher=[[Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water]] |access-date=9 September 2023}}</ref><ref name=Dashboard >{{cite web |url=https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/science/capad/dashboard |title=Australian Protected Areas Dashboard |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=www.dcceew.gov.au/ |publisher=[[Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water]] |access-date=9 September 2023}}</ref> 

[[Edward John Eyre]] became the first European to successfully cross the Nullarbor (from East to West) in 1841. In writing about Eyre's voyages in 1865, [[Henry Kingsley]] wrote that the area across the Nullarbor and Great Australian Bight was a "hideous anomaly, a blot on the face of Nature, the sort of place one gets into in bad dreams".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Living Age, Volume 87|last=Littell|first=E|publisher=Littell, Son and Company|year=1865|location=Boston|pages=481}}</ref> Eyre departed westwards from [[Fowlers Bay]] on 17 November 1840 with [[John Baxter (explorer)|John Baxter]] and a party of three Aboriginal men. When three of his horses died of [[dehydration]], he returned to Fowler's Bay. He departed with a second expedition on 25 February 1841. By 29 April, the party had reached [[Caiguna]]. Lack of supplies and water led to a [[mutiny]]. Two of the Aboriginal men killed Baxter and took the party's supplies. Eyre and the third Aboriginal man, [[Wylie (Australian explorer)|Wylie]], continued on their journey, surviving through [[bushcraft]] and some fortuitous circumstances such as receiving some supplies from a French [[whaling]] vessel anchored at [[Rossiter Bay]], some {{convert|36|km|mi}} east of [[Esperance, Western Australia|Esperance]]. They completed their journey in Albany in June 1841.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37944867 |title=EYRE CENTENARY. |newspaper=[[Western Mail (Western Australia)|Western Mail]] |volume=56 |issue=2,872 |location=Western Australia |date=20 March 1941 |accessdate=29 April 2025 |page=43 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In August 1865, while travelling across the Nullarbor Plain, [[Edmund Delisser]] in his journal named both Nullarbor and [[Eucla]] for the first time.<ref>''Journal of the Great Australian Bight Expedition'', May–October 1865, recording the exploration and naming of the Nullarbor Plain. The journal covers the dates 1 May to 5 October. Both volumes include mounted and identified botanical specimens, with some since lost or deteriorated. Book II includes a sketch plan entitled "Bight Country - the two catacombs near Kuelna [Colona?] July 16 Sunday −1865". This volume appears to contain the first written use of the name Nullarbor Plain under the date Friday 18 August 1865. – see http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/34692051</ref>

A proposed new state of [[Auralia]] (meaning "land of gold") would have comprised the Goldfields, the western portion of the Nullarbor Plain and the port town of [[Esperance, Western Australia|Esperance]]. Its capital would have been [[Kalgoorlie]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88401466 |title=The Separation Movement. |newspaper=[[Kalgoorlie Miner]] |volume=5 |issue=1294 |location=Western Australia |date=3 February 1900 |accessdate=15 July 2016 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

During the [[British nuclear tests at Maralinga]] in the 1950s, the [[Australian Government]] removed the [[Wangai]] people from their homeland. Since then, they have been awarded compensation, and many have returned to the general area. Others never left.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023|reason=specifics on alleged compensation and return of Wainga peoples}}

Some agricultural interests are on the fringe of the plain including the {{Convert|2.5|e6acre|e6ha|0|abbr=off|adj=on}} [[Rawlinna Station]], the largest [[sheep station]] in the world, on the Western Australian side of the plain. The property has a short history compared to other properties of its type around Australia, having been established in 1962 by Hugh G. MacLachlan, of the South Australian pastoral family.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jumbuckpastoral.com/pages/stations/rawlinna.html|title=Rawlinna|publisher=Jumbuck Pastoral|year=2012|access-date=22 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409182204/http://www.jumbuckpastoral.com/pages/stations/rawlinna.html|archive-date=9 April 2013}}</ref> An older property is [[Madura Station]], situated closer to the coast; it has a size of {{Convert|1.7|e6acre|ha}} and is also stocked with sheep.<ref name="Jumbuck">{{cite web|url=http://www.jumbuckpastoral.com/pages/stations/Madura.html|title=Madura|publisher=Jumbuck Pastoral|year=2012|access-date=21 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409182057/http://www.jumbuckpastoral.com/pages/stations/madura.html|archive-date=9 April 2013}}</ref> Madura was established prior to 1927; the extent of the property at that time was reported as {{Convert|2|e6acre|ha|spell=in|abbr=off}}.<ref name="The Sydney Mail – 20Jul1927 – Madura Station – 2,000,000 Acres">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d45VAAAAIBAJ&pg=4995,932345&dq=madura-station&hl=en|title=Madura Station – 2,000,000 Acres|date=20 July 1927|work=[[The Sydney Mail]]|access-date=22 February 2013}}</ref>

In 2013, a huge area of the Nullarbor Plain, stretching almost {{Cvt|200|km}} from the Western Australian border to the Great Australian Bight, was proclaimed as the [[Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area]] under the ''Wilderness Protection Act 1992'' (SA), doubling the area of land in South Australia under environmental protection to {{Convert|1.8|e6ha|e6acre|abbr=off}}. The area contains 390 species of plants and a large number of habitats for rare species of animals and birds.<ref>ABC News, 25 March 2011</ref>

==Geology and geography==
[[Image:Nullarbor Plain Escarpment DSC04558.JPG|thumb|right|A road sign displaying the distance from Eucla and [[Ceduna, South Australia|Ceduna]]
(Regarding the information on the road sign, this stretch of the [[Eyre Highway]] lies not in the Nullarbor Plain, but south of the plain, in the [[Hampton bioregion]] of [[Western Australia]], on the [[Roe Plains]], somewhere around Mundrabilla. The Nullarbor Plain stretches behind the hills or, rather, the [[Hampton Tableland]], seen in the background) ]]
The Nullarbor Plain is a former shallow [[seabed]], as indicated by the presence of [[bryozoa]]ns, [[foraminifera]], [[echinoid]]s and [[red algae]] calcareous skeletons that make up the [[limestone]].<ref name="Webb">{{cite book |author=John A. Webb & Julia M. James |year=2006 |chapter-url=http://www.latrobe.edu.au/geosci/Downloads/pdfs/John%20Webb_Jan%2009/Geomorphology/Webb%20&%20James%202006.pdf |chapter=Karst evolution of the Nullarbor Plain, Australia |editor=Russell S. Harmon & Carol M. Wicks |title=Perspectives on Karst Geomorphology, Hydrology and Geochemistry – a Tribute Volume to Derek C. Ford and William B. White |publisher=[[Geological Society of America]] Special Paper 404 |pages=65–78 |isbn=978-0-8137-2404-1 |doi=10.1130/2006.2404(07)}}</ref> The region is also the location of "Nullarbor limestone" and it has a reputation as a significant [[karst]] region<ref name="Lipar">Lipar, M., Ferk, M., (2015). Karst pocket valleys and their implications on Pliocene-Quaternary hydrology and climate: examples from the Nullarbor Plain, southern Australia. Earth-Science Reviews 150, pp. 1–13.</ref> with [[Oligocene]] and [[Miocene]] cave formations.<ref name="Webb"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://asud.ga.gov.au/search-stratigraphic-units/results/25355|title=Australian Stratigraphic Units Database, Geoscience Australia|website=asud.ga.gov.au|access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref>

The sequence within the limestone includes five formations:
*the upper formation is the Nullarbor Limestone which is early middle [[Miocene]] in age;
*the Mullamullang member of this formation is a [[Unconformity|paraconforming]] member, being separated by 5 million years;<ref name="Webb"/>
*the third member is the Abrakurrie Limestone that was formed in a central depression of the earlier formation; this is late [[Oligocene]] to Early Miocene in age and does not reach the edge of the plain;<ref name="Webb"/>
*the last two formations are [[conforming]] formations; the late [[Eocene]] Toolinna Limestone lies on the Wilsons Bluff Limestone which is mid- to late Eocene in age; and
*the Toolinna Limestone does not cover the whole Nullarbor and is extant only in the extreme east beside the Abrakurrie formation which lies in a depression.
One theory is that the whole area was uplifted by crustal movements in the Miocene, and since then, [[erosion]] by wind and rain has reduced its thickness. The plain has most likely never had any major defining [[topography|topographic]] features, resulting in the extremely flat terrain across the plain today.<ref name="Webb"/>

According to Curtin University research published in 2023, "Nullarbor drastically shifted to dry conditions between 2.4 and 2.7 million years ago".<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230418101414.htm Nullarbor rocks reveal Australia's transformation from lush to dust]. sciencedaily.com April 18, 2023</ref>

In areas, the southern ocean blows through many caves, resulting in [[blowhole (geology)|blowhole]]s up to several hundred metres from the coast. The [[Murrawijinie Cave]] in South Australia is open to the public, but most of the Nullarbor Caves on the Western Australian side can only be visited and viewed with a permit from the [[Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia)|Department of Parks and Wildlife]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/know/adventure-activities|title=Adventure Activities &#124; Explore Parks WA &#124; Parks and Wildlife Service|access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/downloads/know/Lawful%20authority%20to%20access%20nullarbor%20caves.docx|title=Application for Lawful Authority to Access Nullarbor Caves|publisher=Department of Parks and Wildlife|access-date=13 May 2021}}</ref>

The Nullarbor is known for extensive [[meteorite]] deposits, which are extremely well preserved in the arid climate. In particular, many meteorites have been discovered around [[Mundrabilla, Western Australia|Mundrabilla]], some up to several [[tonne]]s in weight.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/docs/mb77.html|title=The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 77, 1994 November|website=www.lpi.usra.edu|access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref>

According to the [[USDA soil taxonomy]] system, the Nullarbor's soils are classified as mainly consisting of [[aridisol]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://soils.usda.gov/use/worldsoils/mapindex/order.html|title=Global Soil Regions|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|date=November 2005|access-date=14 September 2013}}</ref>

=== Limits ===
[[Image:Highway sign, Nullarbor, 2017 (02).jpg|thumb|Sign defining the edge of the plain at the western side. (This photograph depicts Nullarbor Roadhouse, seen from the west. Nullarbor Roadhouse lies on the South Australian side of the Eyre Highway, at the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain as well as [[Nullarbor National Park]], which both extend miles farther west into Western Australian territory.)]]
Frequently ''The Nullarbor'' is expanded in tourist literature and web-based material to loosely refer to all the land between [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]] and [[Perth]], [[Western Australia]]. Through observing satellite images, the limits of the limestone formation of the plain can be seen to stretch from approximately {{Cvt|20|km}} west of the original Balladonia settlement (now abandoned) to its easternmost limit a few kilometres west of the town of Ceduna.<ref>''A tourist map of the Nullarbor Plain Perth to Adelaide'' Scale 1:2,250,000 (E 116°00' --E 139°00'/S 30°00'--S 38°00') Unley, S. Aust. : Carto Graphics, {{ISBN|0-9579060-4-8}}</ref>

==Climate==
[[Image:Nullarbor Plain Rainbow DSC04547.JPG|thumb|right|Rainbow over the Nullarbor Plain]]
The Nullarbor has a [[desert climate]], with arid to semi-arid conditions. Inland, summers can be scorching hot, with daytime temperatures close to {{convert|50|C}}, while in winter nights can drop well below freezing. Closer to the coast, the temperature is milder with more rainfall in the winter months. The mean annual rainfall at [[Cook, South Australia|Cook]] is {{convert|184.1|mm}}, with most rain falling between May and August. Summers are very dry, with rain falling mainly from sporadic storms; however, occasionally decaying tropical systems can cause heavier rain in the summer months.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_018110.shtml|title=Climate statistics for Australian locations|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|date=7 March 2013|access-date=10 March 2013}}</ref> Temperatures on the plain have ranged from {{convert|49.9|C}} at the like-named [[Nullarbor, South Australia]] which is the fourth hottest recorded temperature (and the hottest recorded December temperature) in all of Australia,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/extremes/annual_extremes.cgi?climtab=tmax_high&area=aus&year=2019|title=Official records for Australia|date=23 December 2019|work=Daily Extremes|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=23 December 2019}}</ref> to {{convert|-7.2|C}} at [[Eyre Bird Observatory|Eyre]], which is the coldest recorded temperature in Western Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/extreme/records/national.pdf|title=Rainfall and Temperature Records: National|publisher=[[Bureau of Meteorology]]|access-date=14 November 2009}}</ref>

== Biogeography ==
The Nullarbor Plain constitutes a [[deserts and xeric shrublands]] [[ecoregion]], called the '''Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands''' by the [[World Wildlife Fund]].<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|id=aa1306|name=Nullarbor Plain xeric shrublands}}</ref> The ecoregion is coterminous with the Nullarbor [[biogeography|biogeographic]] region under the [[Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia]] (IBRA).<ref name="IBRA 5.1">{{Cite journal | author = Environment Australia | title = Revision of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) and Development of Version 5.1 – Summary Report | publisher = [[Department of the Environment and Water Resources]], [[Government of Australia|Australian Government]] | url = http://www.deh.gov.au/parks/nrs/ibra/version5-1/summary-report/index.html | access-date = 31 January 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060905215218/http://www.deh.gov.au/parks/nrs/ibra/version5-1/summary-report/index.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 5 September 2006| author-link = Environment Australia }}</ref><ref name="IBRA 6.1">[http://www.deh.gov.au/parks/nrs/ibra/version6-1/index.html IBRA Version 6.1] data</ref> The ecoregion is bounded on the west and southwest by the [[Coolgardie woodlands]] ecoregion, on the north and northeast by the [[Great Victoria Desert]], on the southeast by the [[Eyre and Yorke mallee]], and on the south by the [[Great Australian Bight]].

===Flora===
Vegetation in the area is primarily low [[Atriplex|saltbush]] (''Atriplex'' spp.) and [[Maireana|bluebush]] (''Maireana'' spp.) scrub.

===Fauna===
The fauna of the Nullarbor includes communities of [[crustacean]]s, [[spider]]s, and [[beetle]]s adapted to the darkness of the Nullarbor Caves and the underground rivers and lakes that run through them. Mammals of the desert include the [[southern hairy-nosed wombat]], which shelters from the hot sun by burrowing into the sands, as well as typical desert animals such as [[red kangaroo]]s and [[dingo]]es. An elusive subspecies of the [[Australian masked owl]] unique to the Nullarbor is known to roost in the many caves on the plain. The grasslands of the Nullarbor are suitable for some [[sheep]] grazing and are also damaged by [[European rabbit|rabbits]].{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} The caves provide roosts to large colonies of wattled microbats, species ''[[Chalinolobus morio]]''.<ref name="Richards2012">{{cite book |last1=Richards |first1=G.C. |last2=Hall |first2=L.S. |last3=Parish |first3=S. (photography) |title=A natural history of Australian bats : working the night shift |date=2012 |publisher=CSIRO Pub |isbn=9780643103740 |page=18}}</ref>

===Protected areas===
A 2017 assessment found that 62,317&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, or 32%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.<ref name="doi.org">Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b. [https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix014]</ref> Protected areas include:
* [[Great Victoria Desert Nature Reserve]]
* [[Nullarbor National Park]], a protected area in South Australia
* [[Nullarbor Regional Reserve]], a protected area in South Australia
* [[Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area]], a protected area in South Australia

== Communications and transport ==

===Telegraph===
The need for a communications link across the continent was the spur for the development of an east–west crossing. Once Eyre had proved that a link between South Australia and Western Australia was possible, efforts to connect them via [[telegraphy|telegraph]] began. In 1877, after two years of labour, the first messages were sent on the new telegraph line, boosted by eight [[repeater]] stations along the way. The line operated for about 50 years before being superseded, and remnants of it remain visible.

===Railway line===
The [[Trans-Australian Railway]] railway line crosses the Nullarbor Plain from [[Kalgoorlie railway station|Kalgoorlie]] to [[Port Augusta railway station|Port Augusta]]. Construction of the line began in 1917, when two teams set out from Kalgoorlie and Port Augusta, meeting in the centre of the plain at [[Ooldea]], an uninhabited area noted for a water supply. This original line suffered severe problems with track flexing and settling in the desert sands, and journeys across the Plain were slow and arduous. The line was entirely rebuilt in 1969, as part of a project to standardise the previously disparate [[rail gauge]]s in the various states, and the first crossing of the Nullarbor on the new line reached Perth on 27 February 1970. The ''[[Indian Pacific]]'' is a weekly passenger train crossing the Nullarbor from [[East Perth railway station|Perth]] to [[Central railway station, Sydney|Sydney]] via [[Adelaide Parklands Terminal|Adelaide]].

The railway line has the longest straight section of railway in the world ({{convert|478|km|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}),<ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Vincent | title=Railroaded into Fun | date=27 September 2006 | url =http://www.theage.com.au/news/peter-vincent/railroaded-into-fun/2006/09/25/1159036475813.html?page=2 | work =[[The Age]]| access-date = 25 January 2008 }}</ref> while the [[Eyre Highway]] (refer below) contains the longest straight section of tarred road in Australia ({{convert|146|km|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}).

Most of the inhabited areas of the Nullarbor Plain can be found in a series of small settlements located along the railway, and in small settlements along the Eyre Highway that provide services to travellers, mostly spaced between one and two hundred kilometres apart. The town of [[Cook, South Australia]], was formerly a moderately thriving settlement of about 40 people, with a school and a golf course. The reduction of railway operations at the town resulted in its virtual desertion, and it now has a permanent population of four. The ''[[Tea & Sugar]]'' operated until 1996, supplying provisions to the town along the railway line.

===Road===
[[File:90mile video gn.mov.webm|thumb|travelling east across Australia's longest stretch of straight road at dusk]]
The [[Eyre Highway]], which connects [[Norseman, Western Australia|Norseman]] in Western Australia to Port Augusta, was carved across the continent in 1941. At first it was little more than a rough track but was gradually sealed over the next thirty years. The last unsealed section of the Eyre Highway was finally sealed in 1976.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/federation/iss/078_road.htm|title=Road links to the East
|publisher=State Library of Western Australia|access-date=2008-09-27}}</ref> Unlike the railway, though, it crosses the plain at its southernmost edge rather than through the centre.

The unsealed Trans Access Road closely follows the [[Trans-Australian Railway]], running all the way from Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta and onward. It services the numerous cattle and sheep stations that populate the Western side of the Nullarbor and affords access to rail maintenance teams. It is a brutally rough road and—despite the amount of traffic it carries—is poorly maintained.

== Cultural significance ==
[[Image:Nullarbor Plain Road Sign DSC04541.jpg|thumb|right|Vandalised road sign designating the beginning of the 90-mile (or 146.6&nbsp;km) straight section of the highway]]
[[Image:Schuhbaum nullabor.jpg|Tree full of shoes, in "the middle of nowhere", the Nullarbor, Western Australia|thumb]]

The Nullarbor represents the boundary between eastern and western Australia, regardless of the travel method. The press might write that a prime minister who visits [[Perth]] has "headed across the Nullarbor".<ref name="kagi20190413">{{Cite web |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-13/federal-election-wa-guide-and-key-seats-to-watch/10977136 |title=In WA, the Liberals' next big hope for PM is fighting for his political life |last=Kagi |first=Jacob |date=2019-04-13 |website=ABC News |language=en-AU |access-date=2019-04-13}}</ref> "Crossing the Nullarbor", for many Australians, is a quintessential experience of the "Australian [[Outback]]". Stickers bought from roadhouses on the highway show "I have crossed the Nullarbor", and can be seen on vehicles of varying quality or capacity for long-distance travel. The process of "beating the crowds" on overbooked and overpriced air services at the time of special sporting events can also see significant numbers of vehicles on the road.

Crossing the Nullarbor in the 1950s and earlier was a significant achievement, as most of the route then was a dirt track of variable quality, and presenting real hazards to the motorist. It presented one of the major challenges in Round-Australia car trials (the [[Round Australia Trial|Redex and Ampol Trials]])<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69855338 |title=Nullarbor present Redex hazard. |newspaper=[[The Advocate (Tasmania)|The Advocate]] |location=Burnie, Tas. |date=17 July 1954 |access-date=28 December 2013 |page=2 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23421407 |title=Redex men on the Nullarbor. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |location=Melbourne |date=17 July 1954 |access-date=28 December 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and gave photographers many opportunities for shots of daring driving and motoring misfortune.

The Nullarbor features in the Australian 1981 thriller film ''[[Roadgames]]''. The film was directed by [[Richard Franklin (director)|Richard Franklin]] and starred [[Stacy Keach]] and [[Jamie Lee Curtis]]. The film has often been cited as one of the best [[Alfred Hitchcock|Hitchcock]] [[Hitchcockian|films Alfred Hitchcock never made]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Buckmaster|first=Luke|date=2014-05-23|title=Road Games: rewatching classic Australian films|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/23/road-games-rewatching-classic-australian-films|access-date=2020-05-14|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

=== Notable crossings and records ===

====On bicycles====
On 25 December 1896, after an arduous journey of thirty-one days, [[Arthur Charles Jeston Richardson]] became the first cyclist to cross the Nullarbor Plain, pedaling his bicycle from Coolgardie to Adelaide.<ref>Fitzpatrick, Jim, "Richardson, Arthur Charles Jeston (1872–1939)", ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 11, Melbourne University Press (1988), p. 379</ref> Carrying only a small kit and a waterbag, he followed the telegraph line as he crossed the Nullarbor. He later described the heat as "1,000 degrees in the shade".<ref>Fitzpatrick, p. 379</ref>

In 1937 [[Hubert Opperman]] set a record fastest time of 13 days, 10 hours and 11 minutes for the transcontinental crossing from Fremantle to Sydney. His time cut five days off the previous record.<ref>Obituary, Daily Telegraph, UK, 20 April 1996</ref>

During their three-year cycling trip around Australia between 1946 and 1949, [[Wendy Law Suart]] and Shirley Duncan became the first women to cycle across the Plain.<ref name="Age">{{cite news|first=Jason| last= Steger| title=Around the country with bags and swags and bicycles, too |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/around-the-country-with-bags-and-swags-and-bicycles-too-20081121-6e5q.html |newspaper=The Age |date=22 November 2008 |access-date=24 January 2013}}</ref>

Between 29 June and 3 July 2015, brothers Tyron and Aaron Bicknell recorded the fastest-known crossing of the Nullarbor Plain on single speed bicycles. Their ride took advantage of the low temperatures in the Australian winter months and was completed over 4 days, 5 hours and 21 minutes, making it one of the fastest bicycle crossings and the fastest done with a single-geared bike.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.strava.com/athletes/1153448|title=Strava Cyclist Profile &#124; Aaron Bicknell|website=Strava|access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.strava.com/athletes/155360|title=Strava Cyclist Profile &#124; Tyron Bicknell|website=Strava|access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref>

In January 2017, Austrian cyclist Christoph Strasser set the current record from Norseman to Ceduna of 1 day, 21 hours, 42 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interstate point to point records |url=https://roadrecordaus.weebly.com/interstate.html |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=ROAD RECORD ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA |language=en}}</ref>

====On foot====
[[File:Nullabor-Walkers.gif|thumb|The group that walked from Port Augusta to Norseman, including the Nullarbor Plain, in 1985]]

The first non-Indigenous person to walk across Australia from the west to the east coast, [[Henri Gilbert]], crossed the Nullarbor Plain on foot, with no support team or stock, in the middle of summer. His walk across Australia, from [[Fremantle]] to [[Brisbane]], was achieved between August 1897 and December 1898.<ref>[http://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2000/10/new-book-reveals-hardships-endured-french-adventurer New book reveals hardships endured by French adventurer], 10 October 2000 - UQ News - The University of Queensland, Australia</ref>

For two winter months in 1985, six young [[Jesus Christians]] walked {{convert|1600|km|mi|abbr=off|sigfig=1|comma=off}} from [[Port Augusta]] to [[Norseman, Western Australia|Norseman]] without taking any food, water, additional clothing or a support vehicle- although supplies were given to them by passing motorists.<ref>{{cite news|title=Walkers Call for Apologies after 1,700&nbsp;km trek|url=http://www.jesuschristians.com/media-section/early-days/walk-of-faith/696-walkers-call-for-apologies-after-1700km-trek|access-date=27 December 2017|agency=The Sydney Morning Herald|publisher=via Jesus Christians|date=1 July 1985}}</ref>

In 1998, runner [[Robert Garside]] ran across the Nullarbor without a formal support crew, as part of an authenticated [[List of pedestrian circumnavigators|run around the world]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite journal | title = Man's record run around the world | journal = BBC | date = 27 March 2007 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6500000/newsid_6500800/6500851.stm | access-date = 14 October 2010}}</ref><ref name="Reuters">{{cite news | last = Hughes | first = Paul | title = "Runningman" makes it into record books at last | agency = Reuters | date = 26 March 2007 | url = http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-runner-record-idUKL2666293420070326 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151224214145/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-runner-record-idUKL2666293420070326 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 24 December 2015 | access-date = 20 December 2014| newspaper = Reuters }}</ref> Unconventionally, Garside obtained water and other support from "passing traffic" who would leave water cached ahead for him at agreed drop-offs, to achieve the feat.<ref name="koeppel_Redemption2012">[http://www.bananabook.org/wordpress/archives/1523 It took over ten years to get this story published: ''Redemption of the Runningman''] - [[Dan Koeppel]]'s blog, ''Bananas, Los Angeles, and Transit Geekery'', 2012-07-13 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120717010906/http://www.bananabook.org/wordpress/archives/1523 archive.org copy]); full PDF of the writing is also linked from the blog post<!--NOT DIRECTLY LINKED HERE, OUT OF RESPECT FOR AUTHOR'S REQUEST NOT TO DISTRIBUTE, IN HIS BLOG POST-->; it is also republished in ''[[The Best American Sports Writing|The Best American Sports Writing 2013]]'', Ed. Stout & Moehringer, {{ISBN|0547884605}} | 978-0547884608.</ref> In 2010, columnist [[Dan Koeppel]] ran the {{Cvt|200|mi}} heart of the Nullarbor with a friend the same way, to vindicate Garside.<ref name="koeppel_Redemption2012"/> Garside commented in his diary, that "the key to running the Nullarbor turned out to be Australian hospitality",<ref name="koeppel_Redemption2012"/> and Koeppel concurred that "[F]rom an armchair it is completely impossible to run the Nullarbor. Once you're out there, however, there is a way. Robert Garside discovered it. So would I".<ref name="koeppel_Redemption2012"/>

== See also ==
* [[Bunda Cliffs]]
* [[Nullarbor Links]] golf course
* [[Nullarbor Nymph]], a hoax perpetrated in Australia between 1971 and 1972 that involved supposed sightings of a half-naked woman living amongst kangaroos on the Plain
* [[Nullarbor, South Australia]], a locality within the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Bolam, A. G. (Anthony Gladstone), 1893–1966. ''The trans-Australian wonderland'' Melbourne : Modern Printing, (many editions in the early 20th century)
* Edmonds, Jack (1976) ''Nullarbor crossing : with panorama'' photographs by Brian Gordon. Perth. West Australian Newspapers, Periodicals Division. {{ISBN|0-909699-09-7}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Nullarbor Plain}}
* [http://www.nullarbornet.com.au Nullarbor Net]
* [http://www.mynrma.com.au/travel/holidays/ideas/wa/across-the-nullarbor.htm Information about crossing the Nullarbor]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091128111836/http://www.eyrebirds.org/observatories/eyre.htm Eyre Bird Observatory]
* [http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_018106.shtml Climate charts]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050616230200/http://gsr.com.au/apps/media/story.php?primKeyPost=12 History of the rail crossing]
* [http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/releases/2002/release-20021011.html Mundrabilla meteorite information]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6296029.stm Caverns give up huge fossil haul] BBC News Online, 25 January 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2007
* [http://www.aerialvideo.com.au/nullabor.html aerial video footage of the Nullarbor Plain]

{{Towns Nullarbor}}
{{Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA)}}
{{South Australia}}
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[[Category:Nullarbor Plain| ]]
[[Category:Deserts and xeric shrublands]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of Australia]]
[[Category:Goldfields–Esperance]]
[[Category:IBRA regions]]