Great Central Road
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Great Central Road Western Australia–Northern Territory |
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| Great Central Road (blue and white) | |
| Type | Track |
| Length | 1,126 km (700 mi) |
| WSW end | Laverton |
| ENE end | Yulara |
| Permits | 2 required |
| Fuel supply |
Laverton (28°37′S 122°24′E / 28.617°S 122.400°E), Cosmo Newberry, Tjukayirla Roadhouse, Warburton (26°13′S 126°39′E / 26.217°S 126.650°E), Warakurna Roadhouse, Docker River and Yulara (25°14′S 130°59′E / 25.233°S 130.983°E) |
The Great Central Road is a mostly unsealed Australian outback highway that runs 1126 km from Laverton, Western Australia to Yulara, Northern Territory (near Uluru/Ayers Rock). It passes through a number of small communities on the way.
The Great Central Road has its origins in the early 1930s when Warburton was established as a missionary settlement, and supplies were delivered from Laverton via a rough bush track.
By the mid 1950s, the track from Laverton had become graded dirt. In 1958 during survey for the Gunbarrel Highway as part of the Woomera rocket range project, Len Beadell visited Warburton and built a new road from Giles via the Rawlinson Range to Warburton. At Jackie Junction 69 km north of Warburton, the Gunbarrel Highway branched from this road towards Carnegie Station further west. Beadell returned to Giles via a different bush track which passed east through the Blackstone Range towards Docker River.
In January 1978 funds were provided to Warburton council by the Western Australian Government to construct a more direct road from Warburton to Docker River which bypassed part of the twenty-year-old Gunbarrel Highway. The Great Central Road and original Gunbarrel Highway are coincident for 45 km near Giles.
Though still recommended only for four wheel drive vehicles, the road is now graded to a standard suitable for two wheel drive vehicles and caravans. It is on the most direct route from Perth to Uluru (Ayers Rock), and the number of vehicles travelling the route each year is around 10,000. When heading from the Northern Territory to Laverton there is an Amnesty Bin for Quarantine WA 20 km outside of Laverton. All passenger vehicles are to stop and dispose of all Quarantine Risk Material that is stated on the sign, including all fresh fruit, vegetables, honey, seed, potatoes, onions and other such plants, etc. This area has a mobile inspector from time to time and there is risk of fines if travellers are stopped and Quarantine Risk Material is found.
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