Editing Outback

{{Short description|Sparsely populated interior of Australia}}
{{About|the interior of Australia|the American restaurant chain|Outback Steakhouse|other uses}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}

{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Outback
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| native_name_lang   = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| settlement_type    = Area
| image_skyline      = Mount Conner, August 2003.jpg
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| image_caption      = View across sand plains and salt pans to [[Mount Conner]], Central Australia
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| image_map          = Map of the Australian Outback.svg
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| map_caption        = Red and dark red areas form the Outback, dark red and striped areas forms the modern Outback.{{efn|The "modern Outback" is an area determined by cultural and natural factors, from a study by the [[Pew Charitable Trusts]].}}
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| population_total   = 607,000 (Rangelands){{efn|As the definition of the outback varies by population, no universal figure can be determined. This figure is for the legally defined area of the Rangelands, which is sometimes referred to as the Outback.}}
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[[File:Yalgoo Shire.jpg|thumb|[[Tourism]] sign post in [[Yalgoo, Western Australia]]]]

The '''Outback''' is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of [[Australia]]. The Outback is more remote than [[Australian bush|the bush]]. While often envisaged as being [[arid]], the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a number of climatic zones, including [[tropical climate|tropical]] and monsoonal climates in northern areas, arid areas in the "red centre" and [[semi-arid]] and [[temperate climate|temperate]] climates in southerly regions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2014/10/the-modern-outback|title=The Modern Outback|website=pewtrusts.org|date=14 October 2014 |access-date=2016-12-21|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218131310/http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2014/10/the-modern-outback|archive-date=18 December 2016}}</ref> The total population is estimated at 607,000 people.{{efn|As the definition of the outback varies by population, no universal figure can be determined. This figure is for the legally defined area of the Rangelands, which is sometimes referred to as the Outback.}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=FROM THE PRESIDENT {{!}} Australian Rangeland Society |url=https://austrangesoc.com.au/from-the-president-14/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |language=en-US |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308010032/https://austrangesoc.com.au/from-the-president-14/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Geographically, the Outback is unified by a combination of factors, most notably a low human population density, a largely intact [[natural environment]] and, in many places, low-intensity land uses, such as [[pastoralism]] (livestock grazing) in which production is reliant on the natural environment.<ref name=":0" /> The Outback is deeply ingrained in Australian heritage, history and [[folklore]]. In [[Australian art]] the subject of the Outback has been vogue, particularly in the 1940s.<ref name="atoa">{{cite book |last1=Splatt |first1=William |last2=Burton |first2=Barbara |date=1977 |title=A Treasury of Australian Landscape Painting |url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1417435/Details |publisher=Rigby |page=56 |isbn=9780859020138 |access-date=31 October 2021 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031095558/https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1417435/Details |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2009, as part of the [[Q150]] celebrations, the [[Queensland]] Outback was announced as one of the [[Q150 Icons]] of Queensland for its role as a "natural attraction".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://statements.qld.gov.au/statement/id/64301|title=PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS|last=Bligh|first=Anna|author-link=Anna Bligh|date=10 June 2009|publisher=[[Queensland Government]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524033717/http://statements.qld.gov.au/statement/id/64301|archive-date=24 May 2017|access-date=24 May 2017}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Indigenous Australians|European exploration of Australia}}

[[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal peoples]] have lived in the Outback for at least 50,000 years<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hamm|first1=Giles|last2=Mitchell|first2=Peter|last3=Arnold|first3=Lee J.|last4=Prideaux|first4=Gavin J.|last5=Questiaux|first5=Daniele|last6=Spooner|first6=Nigel A.|last7=Levchenko|first7=Vladimir A.|last8=Foley|first8=Elizabeth C.|last9=Worthy|first9=Trevor H.|date=2016-11-10|title=Cultural innovation and megafauna interaction in the early settlement of arid Australia|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=539|issue=7628|pages=280–283|doi=10.1038/nature20125|pmid=27806378|bibcode=2016Natur.539..280H|s2cid=4470503|issn=0028-0836}}</ref> and occupied all Outback regions, including the driest deserts, when Europeans first entered central Australia in the 1800s. Many Aboriginal Australians retain strong physical and cultural links to their traditional country and are legally recognised as the Traditional Owners of large parts of the Outback under Commonwealth [[Native title in Australia|Native Title]] legislation.

Early European exploration of inland Australia was sporadic. More focus was on the more accessible and fertile coastal areas. The first party to successfully cross the [[Blue Mountains (Australia)|Blue Mountains]] just outside [[Sydney]] was led by [[Gregory Blaxland]] in 1813, 25 years after the colony was established. People, starting with [[John Oxley]] in 1817, 1818 and 1821, followed by [[Charles Sturt]] from 1829 to 1830, attempted to follow the westward-flowing rivers to find an "inland sea", but these were found to all flow into the [[Murray River]] and [[Darling River]], which turn south.

From 1858 onwards, the so-called [[Afghan cameleers in Australia|"Afghan" cameleers]] and their beasts played an instrumental role in opening up the Outback and helping to build infrastructure.<ref name=australia.gov>{{cite web|url=http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/afghan-cameleers|website=australia.gov.au|title=Afghan cameleers in Australia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815171331/http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/afghan-cameleers |archive-date=15 August 2014|url-status=dead|date=15 August 2014|access-date=2 June 2019}}</ref>

Over the period 1858 to 1861, [[John McDouall Stuart]] led six expeditions north from [[Adelaide, South Australia]] into the Outback, culminating in successfully reaching the north coast of Australia and returning without the loss of any of the party's members' lives. This contrasts with the ill-fated [[Burke and Wills expedition]] in 1860–61 which was much better funded, but resulted in the deaths of three of the members of the transcontinental party.

The [[Overland Telegraph]] line was constructed in the 1870s<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/overland-telegraph |title=Overland-telegraph &#124; australia.gov.au |access-date=2015-06-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629144111/http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/overland-telegraph |archive-date=29 June 2015 }}</ref> along the route identified by Stuart.

In 1865, the surveyor [[George Goyder]], using changes in vegetation patterns, mapped a [[Goyder's Line|line in South Australia]], north of which he considered rainfall to be too unreliable to support agriculture.

Exploration of the Outback continued in the 1950s when [[Len Beadell]] explored, surveyed and built many roads in support of the [[Nuclear weapons tests in Australia|nuclear weapons tests]] at [[Emu Field]] and [[Maralinga, South Australia|Maralinga]] and rocket testing on the [[Woomera Prohibited Area]]. Mineral exploration continues as new mineral deposits are identified and developed.

2002 was declared the Year of the Outback.<ref name="lad">{{cite journal |last1=Gill |first1=Nicholas |date=January 2005 |title=Life and death in Australian 'heartlands': pastoralism, ecology and rethinking the outback |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0743016704000385 |journal=Journal of Rural Studies |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=39–53 |doi=10.1016/j.jrurstud.2004.08.005 |access-date=28 October 2022 |archive-date=28 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028074254/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0743016704000385 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> While the early explorers used horses to cross the Outback, the first woman to make the journey riding a horse was [[Anna Hingley]], who rode from [[Broome, Western Australia|Broome]] to [[Cairns]] in 2006.

== Environment ==
{{Main|Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia|}}

=== Global significance ===
[[File:West MacDonnell National Park.JPG|thumb|right|MacDonnell Ranges in the [[Northern Territory]] are found in the centre of the mainland]]
[[File:Fitzgerald River National Park DSC04436.JPG|thumb|right|[[Fitzgerald River National Park]] in Western Australia]]
The paucity of industrial land use has led to the Outback being recognised globally as one of the largest remaining intact natural areas on Earth.<ref name=":0" /> Global "[[Human Footprint]]"<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Venter|first1=Oscar|last2=Sanderson|first2=Eric W.|last3=Magrach|first3=Ainhoa|last4=Allan|first4=James R.|last5=Beher|first5=Jutta|last6=Jones|first6=Kendall R.|last7=Possingham|first7=Hugh P.|last8=Laurance|first8=William F.|last9=Wood|first9=Peter|date=2016-08-23|title=Sixteen years of change in the global terrestrial human footprint and implications for biodiversity conservation|journal=Nature Communications|language=en|volume=7|pages=12558|doi=10.1038/ncomms12558|issn=2041-1723|pmc=4996975|pmid=27552116|bibcode=2016NatCo...712558V}}</ref> and wilderness<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://theconversation.com/explainer-wilderness-and-why-it-matters-36591|title=Explainer: wilderness, and why it matters|last=Mackey|first=Brendan|newspaper=The Conversation|access-date=2016-12-21|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221163348/https://theconversation.com/explainer-wilderness-and-why-it-matters-36591|archive-date=21 December 2016}}</ref> reviews highlight the importance of Outback Australia as one of the world's large natural areas, along with the [[Boreal forests]] and [[Tundra]] regions in North America, the Sahara and Gobi deserts and the tropical forests of the Amazon and Congo Basins.
The savanna (or grassy woodlands) of northern Australia are the largest, intact [[savanna]] regions in the world.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://theconversation.com/ecocheck-australias-vast-majestic-northern-savannas-need-more-care-59897|title=EcoCheck: Australia's vast, majestic northern savannas need more care|last=Murphy|first=Brett|newspaper=The Conversation|access-date=2016-12-21|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221163138/https://theconversation.com/ecocheck-australias-vast-majestic-northern-savannas-need-more-care-59897|archive-date=21 December 2016}}</ref> In the south, the [[Great Western Woodlands]], which occupy {{convert|16000000|ha}}, an area larger than all of England and Wales, are the largest remaining temperate woodland left on Earth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wilderness Society {{!}} Great Western Woodlands |url=https://www.wilderness.org.au/iconic-places/great-western-woodlands |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Wilderness Society |language=en |archive-date=16 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316015730/https://www.wilderness.org.au/iconic-places/great-western-woodlands |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Major ecosystems ===
Reflecting the wide climatic and geological variation, the Outback contains a wealth of distinctive and ecologically rich ecosystems. Major land types include:
* the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]] and [[Pilbara]] regions in northern Western Australia,
* sub-tropical savanna landscape of the [[Top End]], 
* ephemeral water courses of the [[Channel Country]] in western Queensland, 
* the [[Deserts of Australia|ten deserts]] in central and western Australia,
* the Inland Ranges, such as the [[MacDonnell Ranges]], which provide topographic variation across the flat plains,
* the flat [[Nullarbor Plain]] north of the Great Australian Bight, and
* the [[Great Western Woodlands]] in southern Western Australia.

=== Wildlife ===

The Outback is full of very important well-adapted wildlife, although much of it may not be immediately visible to the casual observer. Many animals, such as [[red kangaroo]]s and [[dingo]]es, hide in bushes to rest and keep cool during the heat of the day.

Birdlife is prolific, most often seen at waterholes at dawn and dusk. Huge flocks of [[budgerigar]]s, [[cockatoo]]s, [[Corella (bird)|corellas]] and [[galah]]s are often sighted. On bare ground or roads during the winter, various species of snakes and lizards bask in the sun, but they are rarely seen during the summer months.

[[Invasive species in Australia|Feral animals]] such as [[Australian feral camel|camels]] thrive in central Australia, brought to Australia by pastoralists and explorers, along with the early [[Afghan (Australia)|Afghan drivers]]. Feral horses known as '[[brumby|brumbies]]' are station horses that have run wild.  [[Feral pig#Australia|Feral pigs]], [[Red foxes in Australia|foxes]], [[Feral cats in Australia|cats]], [[Feral goats in Australia|goats]] and [[Rabbits in Australia|rabbits]] and other imported animals are also degrading the environment, so time and money is spent eradicating them in an attempt to help protect fragile rangelands.

The Outback is home to a diverse set of animal species, such as the kangaroo, [[emu]] and dingo. The [[Dingo Fence]] was built to restrict movements of dingoes and [[Dingo–dog hybrid|wild dogs]]<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-06-29/last-dog-trapper-south-australia/7552974?section=sa Wild dog populations will be out of control within five years without dedicated dogger, former trapper says] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428020527/http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-06-29/last-dog-trapper-south-australia/7552974?section=sa |date=28 April 2018 }} ''SA Country Hour'', ABC News, 29 June 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-07/explainer-sa-wild-dog-problem-and-sheep-industry-plea-for-dogger/8396652 Explainer: South Australia's wild dog problem and sheep industry's plea for dedicated doggers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415064728/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-07/explainer-sa-wild-dog-problem-and-sheep-industry-plea-for-dogger/8396652 |date=15 April 2017 }} ''ABC Rural'', 7 April 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.</ref> into agricultural areas towards the south east of the continent. The marginally fertile parts are primarily utilised as rangelands and have been traditionally used for sheep or cattle grazing, on cattle stations which are leased from the Federal Government. While small areas of the outback consist of clay soils the majority has exceedingly infertile [[paleosols|palaeosols]].

[[Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh)|Riversleigh]], in Queensland, is one of Australia's most renowned fossil sites and was recorded as a World Heritage site in 1994.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Australian Fossil Mammal Sites &#x28;Riversleigh &#x2f; Naracoorte&#x29; |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/698/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en |archive-date=31 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031031345/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/698/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The {{convert|100|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} area contains fossil remains of ancient mammals, birds and reptiles of [[Oligocene]] and [[Miocene]] age.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2015-10-09 |title=Australian Fossil Mammal Site – Riversleigh section, World Heritage Area |url=https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/management/managed-areas/world-heritage-areas/current/riversleigh |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Parks and forests {{!}} Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Queensland |language=en-AU |archive-date=17 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117133825/https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/management/managed-areas/world-heritage-areas/current/riversleigh |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Industry ==

=== Pastoralism ===
[[File:ISS007 Gosses Bluff.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gosses Bluff crater]], one of a number of [[meteor]] [[impact crater]]s that can be found across outback Australia]]
The largest industry across the Outback, in terms of the area occupied, is [[pastoralism]], in which cattle, sheep, and sometimes goats are grazed in mostly intact, natural ecosystems. Widespread use of bore water, obtained from underground aquifers, including the [[Great Artesian Basin]], has enabled livestock to be grazed across vast areas in which no permanent surface water exists naturally.

Capitalising on the lack of pasture improvement and absence of fertiliser and pesticide use, many Outback pastoral properties are certified as [[Organic farming|organic]] livestock producers. In 2014, {{convert|17000000|ha}}, most of which is in Outback Australia, was fully certified as organic farm production, making Australia the largest certified organic production area in the world.

=== Tourism ===
Tourism is a major industry across the Outback, and commonwealth and state tourism agencies explicitly target Outback Australia as a desirable destination for domestic and international travellers. There is no breakdown of tourism revenues for the "Outback" ''per se''. However, regional tourism is a major component of national tourism incomes. [[Tourism Australia]] explicitly markets nature-based and Indigenous-led experiences to tourists.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tourism.australia.com/aboriginal.aspx|title=Aboriginal Tourism – Markets – Tourism Australia|last=Australia|first=Tourism|website=tourism.australia.com|access-date=2016-12-21|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122012139/http://www.tourism.australia.com/aboriginal.aspx|archive-date=22 November 2016}}</ref> In the 2015–2016 financial year, 815,000 visitors spent $988 million while on holidays in the Northern Territory alone.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tourismnt.com.au/en/research/latest-visitor-data|title=Latest visitor data – Tourism NT Corporate Site|website=tourismnt.com.au|access-date=2016-12-21|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221162856/http://www.tourismnt.com.au/en/research/latest-visitor-data|archive-date=21 December 2016}}</ref>

There are many popular tourist attractions in the Outback. Some of the well known destinations include [[Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve|Devils Marbles]], [[Kakadu National Park]], [[Kata Tjuta]] (The Olgas), [[MacDonnell Ranges]] and [[Uluru|Uluru (Ayers Rock)]].

===Mining===
Other than agriculture and tourism, the main economic activity in this vast and sparsely settled area is mining. Owing to the almost complete absence of mountain building and glaciation since the [[Permian]] (in many areas since the [[Cambrian]]) ages, the outback is extremely rich in iron, aluminium, [[manganese]] and uranium ores, and also contains major deposits of gold, nickel, copper, lead and zinc ores. Because of its size, the value of grazing and mining is considerable. Major mines and mining areas in the Outback include opals at [[Coober Pedy]], [[Lightning Ridge]] and [[White Cliffs, New South Wales|White Cliffs]], metals at [[Broken Hill]], [[Tennant Creek]], [[Olympic Dam mine|Olympic Dam]] and the remote [[Challenger Mine]]. Oil and gas are extracted in the [[Cooper Basin]] around [[Moomba, South Australia|Moomba]].

In Western Australia the [[Argyle diamond mine]] in the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]] was once the world's biggest producer of natural diamonds and contributed approximately one-third of the world's natural supply, but was closed down in 2020 due to financial reasons.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gomelsky |first=Victoria |date=2020-11-17 |title=Shopping for a Diamond Is About to Change |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/fashion/jewelry-diamonds-argyle-mined-lab-grown.html |access-date=2024-04-30 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |archive-date=10 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510190428/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/fashion/jewelry-diamonds-argyle-mined-lab-grown.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Pilbara]] region's economy is dominated by mining and petroleum industries. The Pilbara's oil and gas industry is the region's largest export industry, earning $5.0 billion in 2004/05 and accounting for over 96% of the State's production.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080719184734/http://www.pdc.wa.gov.au/industry/types-of-industries/oil-and-gas.aspx Oil & Gas] [[Pilbara Development Commission]]</ref> Most of Australia's [[iron ore]] is also mined in the Pilbara and it also has one of the world's major [[manganese]] mines.

== Population ==
[[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] communities in outback regions, such as the [[Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara]] lands in northern South Australia, have not been displaced as they have been in areas of intensive agriculture and large cities, in coastal areas.

The total population of the Outback in Australia declined from 700,000 in 1996 to 690,000 in 2006. The largest decline was in the [[Central Australia|Outback Northern Territory]], while the Kimberley and Pilbara showed population increases during the same period. The sex ratio is 1040 males for 1000 females and 17% of the total population is indigenous.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cdu.edu.au/thenortherninstitute/documents/publications/Brief2009037outback_australia_and_the_NT.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-02-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325103731/http://www.cdu.edu.au/thenortherninstitute/documents/publications/Brief2009037outback_australia_and_the_NT.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2012 }}</ref>

==Facilities==
[[File:RFDS emergency landing strip sign.jpg|thumb|Sign on the [[Eyre Highway]] indicating that an RFDS emergency airstrip is ahead]]
{{Main|Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia|School of the Air}}
The [[Royal Flying Doctor Service]] (RFDS) started service in 1928 and helps people who live in the outback of Australia. Previously, serious injuries or illnesses often meant death owing to the lack of proper medical facilities and trained personnel.

In many outback communities, the number of children is too small for a conventional school to operate. Children are educated at home by the [[School of the Air]]. Originally the teachers communicated with the children via radio, but now satellite telecommunication is used instead. 
Some children attend boarding school, mostly only those in secondary school.

==Terminology==
The term "outback" derives from the adverbial phrase referring to the back yard of a house{{FACT|date=October 2024}}, and came to be used [[meiosis (figure of speech)|meiotically]] in the late 1800s to describe the vast sparsely settled regions of Australia behind the cities and towns. The earliest known use of the term in this context in print was in 1869, when the writer clearly meant the area west of [[Wagga Wagga, New South Wales|Wagga Wagga]], [[New South Wales]].<ref name="Coupe">Coupe, Sheena (ed.), Frontier Country, Vol. 1, Weldon Russell Publishing, Willoughby, 1989, {{ISBN|1-875202-01-3}}</ref> Over time, the adverbial use of the phrase was replaced with the present day noun form.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/7-bonzer-australian-words|accessdate=20 November 2021|publisher=Merriam-Webster|title=7 Bonzer Aussie Words|archive-date=20 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120073633/https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/7-bonzer-australian-words|url-status=live}}</ref>

It is colloquially said that "the outback" is located "beyond the [[Black Stump]]". The location of the black stump may be some hypothetical location or may vary depending on local custom and folklore. It has been suggested that the term comes from the Black Stump Wine Saloon that once stood about {{convert|10|km}} out of [[Coolah, New South Wales]] on the Gunnedah Road. It is claimed that the saloon, named after the nearby Black Stump Run and Black Stump Creek, was an important staging post for traffic to north-west New South Wales and it became a marker by which people gauged their journeys.<ref name="SMHOutback2005">{{cite news | last = Lewis | first = Daniel | url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/outback/outer-limits/2005/05/16/1116095894531.html | title = Outer limits | work = The Age | date = 2005-05-17 | access-date = 2007-01-30 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080426230617/http://www.theage.com.au/news/outback/outer-limits/2005/05/16/1116095894531.html | archive-date = 26 April 2008 }}</ref>

"The [[Never Never (Australian outback)|Never-Never]]" is a term referring to remoter parts of the Outback. The Outback can also be referred to as "back of beyond" or "back o' [[Bourke, New South Wales|Bourke]]", although these terms are more frequently used when referring to something a long way from anywhere, or a long way away. The well-watered north of the continent is often called the "[[Top End]]" and the arid interior "The Red Centre", owing to its vast amounts of red soil and sparse greenery amongst its landscape.

==Transport==
[[File:Gibb River Rd-1.jpg|thumb|right|Road sign warning of potentially dangerous conditions ahead]]
The outback is criss-crossed by historic tracks. Most of the major highways have an excellent [[bitumen]] surface and other major roads are usually well-maintained dirt roads.

The [[Stuart Highway]] runs from north to south through the centre of the continent, roughly paralleled by the [[Adelaide–Darwin railway]]. There is a proposal to develop some of the roads running from the south-west to the north-east to create an all-weather road named the [[Outback Highway]], crossing the continent diagonally from [[Laverton, Western Australia]] (north of [[Kalgoorlie, Western Australia|Kalgoorlie]], through the Northern Territory to [[Winton, Queensland|Winton]], in Queensland.

Air transport is relied on for mail delivery in some areas, owing to sparse settlement and wet-season road closures. Most outback mines have an airstrip and many have a [[fly-in fly-out]] workforce. Most outback [[sheep station]]s and [[cattle station]]s have an airstrip and quite a few have their own light plane. Medical and ambulance services are provided by the [[Royal Flying Doctor Service]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Australia}}
*[[Australian landmarks]]
*[[Bushland]]
*[[Central Australia]]
*[[Channel Country]]
*[[Australian outback literature of the 20th century]]
*[[Australian desert]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Dwyer, Andrew (2007). ''Outback – Recipes and Stories from the Campfire'' Miegunyah Press {{ISBN|978-0-522-85380-3}}
* Read, Ian G. (1995). ''Australia's central and western outback : the driving guide'' Crows Nest, N.S.W. Little Hills Press. Little Hills Press explorer guides {{ISBN|1-86315-061-7}}
* ''Year of the Outback 2002'', Western Australia Perth, W.A.

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage}}
*[http://brokenhill.tripod.com/BrokenHill.htm From this Broken Hill]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101228050544/http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/50601/beautiful-australian-outback Beautiful Australian Outback] – slideshow by ''[[Life magazine]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140714172521/http://www.hiddenjourneys.co.uk/Audio%20Slideshows.aspx#level_5 Audio slideshow: Outback Australia – The royal flying doctor service]. Carl Bridge, head of the Menzies Centre for Australian studies at [[King's College London School of Medicine|KCL]], outlines the history of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. ''The [[Royal Geographical Society#Hidden Journeys|Royal Geography Society's Hidden Journeys]] project''

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[[Category:Rural geography]]
[[Category:Regions of Australia]]
[[Category:Deserts of Australia]]
[[Category:Q150 Icons]]
[[Category:Australian outback]]
[[Category:Australian slang]]
[[Category:Culture of Australia]]
[[Category:Rural culture in Oceania]]
[[Category:Northern Australia]]