Talawana Track
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Talawana Track Western Australia |
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| Map of the Talawana Track in WA | |
| Type | Track |
| Length | 596 km (370 mi) |
| Opened | 1963 |
| Built by | Len Beadell, Gunbarrel Road Construction Party |
| WNW end | Jigalong turn |
| ESE end | Windy Corner |
| Permits | may be required |
| Fuel supply | none |
The Talawana Track is a remote unsealed track that runs between Windy Corner on the Gary Highway and the Marble Bar Road in Western Australia, a distance of 596 kilometres. The majority of it was built by Len Beadell and the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party in 1963 as part of a series of connecting roads for the Woomera rocket range in South Australia. It was the final road they built.
The Gunbarrel Road Construction Party (GRCP) arrived at Callawa Station 22 July 1963, having completed 1350 kilometres of the new Gary Junction Road from Liebig Bore in the Northern Territory. Beadell's Land Rover and most of the other vehicles made their way to Port Hedland for badly needed maintenance, prior to commencing work on the next road. Once the vehicles were serviced, they made their way to Marble Bar, where Beadell parted company with the crew, as they were returning along the Gary Junction Road to regrade it, while Beadell set off in a southerly direction to begin a 600 km reconnaissance for the new track.
Beadell travelled via Nullagine, Ethel Creek Station, Billanooka (sic) and Walgun to the ruins of the abandoned Talawana homestead, where he arrived 2 August 1963. He then drove east into the Gibson Desert spinifex, and crossed the remnants of the Rabbit-proof fence. He discovered a survey marker placed by Alfred Canning who had been there 70 years earlier while building the fence. A major obstacle that lay across the path was the McKay Range, which Beadell struggled to traverse. After he found a way through, he came to a crystal clear water hole, and noticed fresh human footprints near the edge. Further on he saw smoke rising above the spinifex, so he approached the smoke, switched the engine off, and waited for a meeting with an unknown tribe which he knew would come. Soon after, two Aborigines appeared while others kept their distance. Anthropologists were very interested in this discovery, and Beadell was able to take a small study group back to the spot at a later date.
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Wikipedia