Wapet Road

Last updated

Location of eastern part of Wapet road Percival Lakes 0217.svg
Location of eastern part of Wapet road

The Wapet Road, also known as the Kidson Track, is an outback track in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. [1] Since 2014, both the part of the road that is within the native title lands of the Nyangumarta people (Nyangumarta country) and the adjacent part between Nyangumarta country and Great Northern Highway are called Nyangumarta Highway.

The name of the road was derived from early tracks cut by the oil exploration company WAPET. [2]

Despite it predominantly passing through desert, birdwatchers and others access the track notwithstanding its difficult traverse. [3]

It approximately follows the Canning Basin boundary in the Great Sandy Desert from a starting point 45 kilometres (28 mi) south west of the Sandfire Roadhouse on the Great Northern Highway, and continues for 621 kilometres (386 mi) south east to the Kunawaritji community on the Canning Stock Route.

It passes through country known as the Western Desert cultural bloc and more specifically the Martu Determined Native Title Area. Parts of the Kidson track also pass through other native title areas including Nyungamarta, Kulyakartu and Ngurra.

There is a separation of the Kidson Track from the Wapet Road as separate parts of the same track on one source, [4] however another does not make the distinction. [5]

See also

Australia road sign W5-29.svg   Australian roadsportal

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birdsville Track</span> Track in South Australia and Queensland, Australia

The Birdsville Track is a notable outback road in Australia. The 517-kilometre (321 mi) track runs between Birdsville in south-western Queensland and Marree, a small town in the north-eastern part of South Australia. It traverses three deserts along the route, the Strzelecki Desert, Sturt Stony Desert and Tirari Desert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunbarrel Highway</span> Track in Australia

The Gunbarrel Highway is an isolated desert track in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. It consists of about 1,350 km (840 mi) of washaways, heavy corrugations, stone, sand and flood plains. The Gunbarrel Highway connects Victory Downs in the Northern Territory to Carnegie Station in Western Australia. Some sources incorrectly show the highway extending west to Wiluna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Western Highway</span> Highway in New South Wales

Great Western Highway is a 202-kilometre-long (126 mi) state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyre Highway</span> Highway in South Australia and Western Australia

Eyre Highway is a 1,664-kilometre (1,034 mi) highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highways 1 and A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first European to cross the Nullarbor by land, in 1840–1841. Eyre Highway runs from Norseman in Western Australia, past Eucla, to the state border. Continuing to the South Australian town of Ceduna, it crosses the top of the Eyre Peninsula before reaching Port Augusta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Highway</span> Highway in the Northern Territory and South Australia

Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of 2,720 km (1,690 mi). Its northern and southern extremities are segments of Australia's Highway 1. The principal north–south route through the central interior of mainland Australia, the highway is often referred to simply as "The Track".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brand Highway</span> Highway in Western Australia

Brand Highway is a 370-kilometre (230 mi) main highway linking the northern outskirts of Perth to Geraldton in Western Australia. Together with North West Coastal Highway, it forms part of the Western Australian coastal link to the Northern Territory. The highway is a part of Australia's Highway 1, and is for the most part a single carriageway with one lane in each direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Northern Highway</span> Highway in Western Australia

Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi), it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the Perth Darwin National Highway. The highway, which travels through remote areas of the state, is constructed as a sealed, predominantly two-lane single carriageway, but with some single-lane bridges in the Kimberley. Economically, it provides vital access through the Wheatbelt and Mid West to the resource-rich regions of the Pilbara and Kimberley. In these areas, the key industries of mining, agriculture and pastoral stations, and tourism are all dependent on the highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North West Coastal Highway</span> Highway in Western Australia

North West Coastal Highway is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the coastal city of Geraldton with the town of Port Hedland. The 1,300-kilometre-long (808 mi) road, constructed as a sealed two-lane single carriageway, travels through remote and largely arid landscapes. Carnarvon is the only large settlement on the highway, and is an oasis within the harsh surrounding environment. The entire highway is allocated National Route 1, part of Australia's Highway 1, and parts of the highway are included in tourist routes Batavia Coast Tourist Way and Cossack Tourist Way. Economically, North West Coastal Highway is an important link to the Mid West, Gascoyne and Pilbara regions, supporting the agricultural, pastoral, fishing, and tourism industries, as well as mining and offshore oil and gas production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Eastern Highway</span> Highway in Western Australia

Great Eastern Highway is a 590-kilometre-long (370 mi) road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields, it is the western portion of the main road link between Perth and the eastern states of Australia. The highway forms the majority of National Highway 94, although the alignment through the Perth suburbs of Guildford and Midland, and the eastern section between Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie are not included. Various segments form parts of other road routes, including National Route 1, Alternative National Route 94, and State Route 51.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibb River Road</span> Track in Western Australia

The Gibb River Road is a road in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moonbi Range</span>

The Moonbi Range, a mountain range that is part of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanami Road</span> Road in the Northern Territory and Western Australia

The Tanami Road, also known as the Tanami Track, Tanami Highway, and the McGuire Track, is a road in Australia that runs between the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory and the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia. It is also known as State Route 5 in the Northern Territory. Its southern junction is 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Alice Springs and the northern junction is 17 kilometres (11 mi) south-west of Halls Creek. It follows a cattle droving route northwest from the MacDonnell Ranges area of central Australia to Halls Creek in the Kimberley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far North (South Australia)</span> Very large region in the arid part of South Australia

The Far North is a region that covers about 70 per cent of the Australian state of South Australia. It extends across the entire width of the state – about 1200 kilometres – for approximately the northernmost 750 kilometres. The state government defines the Far North region similarly, although it separately delineates the Maralinga Tjarutja Lands, the Yalata Aboriginal community and other unincorporated crown lands in the state's far west, which are officially considered part of the Eyre and Western region. Colloquially, South Australians regard anywhere north of Port Augusta as the Far North.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandfire, Western Australia</span>

Sandfire is a location and roadhouse on the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia between Port Hedland and Broome. It is on the western edge of the Great Sandy Desert, and east of Wallal Downs and Mandora Station. It is inland, and located 20 km from the coast in the region of the Mandora Marsh and the Eighty Mile Beach, 45 km north of the Kidson Track turnoff. The area surrounding the roadhouse is of high cultural significance to the Nyangumarta people, who hold native title over the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Central Road</span> Track in Western Australia and the Northern Territory

The Great Central Road is a mostly unsealed Australian outback highway that runs 1,126 km (700 mi) from Laverton, Western Australia to Yulara, Northern Territory. It passes through a number of small communities on the way. It forms part of the Outback Way which goes all the way to Winton, Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandover Highway</span>

The Sandover Highway is an outback unsealed track in the Northern Territory between the Plenty Highway north of Alice Springs and the Northern Territory/Queensland border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan Road</span> Road in Western Australia and Northern Territory

Duncan Road is a generally northeast-southwest former highway in the northeast of Western Australia and northwest of Northern Territory that links the Victoria Highway with Halls Creek. The road, approximately 443 kilometres (275 mi) in length, was designated as National Route 80 from its terminus at Halls Creek through to Nicholson. National Route 80 continued east into the Northern Territory along Buntine Highway, while Duncan Road snakes its way north, crossing the state border numerous times between Buntine Highway and Victoria Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Highway</span> Track in Western Australia

The Gary Highway is a remote unsealed track in central Western Australia running through the Gibson Desert and the Great Sandy Desert. It was built by Len Beadell's Gunbarrel Road Construction Party in April and May 1963 and named after Beadell's son, who was born in February that year. It connects the Gunbarrel Highway from Everard Junction in the south, to the Gary Junction Road at Gary Junction in the north. It is one of only two north-south tracks in the central deserts of Western Australia, the other being the Sandy Blight Junction Road, also built by Len Beadell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Junction Road</span> Track in the Northern Territory and Western Australia

The Gary Junction Road is an outback unsealed road in Australia built by Len Beadell in the 1960s as part of a network of roads for the Weapons Research Establishment at Woomera, South Australia. In its original form, the Gary Junction Road ran from Liebig bore in the Northern Territory to Callawa Station in Western Australia. On present day maps, it is depicted as running from the Tanami Road to Gary Junction, just east of the Canning Stock Route, a distance of 852 kilometres. The road was named after Beadell's only son Gary.

Tourist Drives in Western Australia are routes through areas of scenic or historic significance, designated by route markers with white numbers on a brown shield. Tourist Drives were introduced into Western Australia while Eric Charlton was the state government Minister for Transport in the 1990s. The 28 numbered routes collectively traverse more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) across the state. In addition to the Tourist Drives, there are unnumbered routes such as the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail, and local governments may designate and maintain local scenic drives, generally unnamed and unnumbered.

References

  1. "Nyangumarta Highway (Kidson Track) Permit Brochure" (First ed.). March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  2. "AMENDMENT IS DEFEATED IN HARRIS POLL". The Canberra Times . Vol. 40, no. 11, 291. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 20 October 1965. p. 24. Retrieved 22 March 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  3. "View archived webpage". Archived from the original on 15 November 2010.
  4. Map of Wapet Road in Western Australia – Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia
  5. Hema Maps (2007) Great Desert Tracks of Australia Map Pack, North West Sheet. ISBN   978-1-86500-165-4 Edition: 4. Scale: 1:1 250,000

22°20′15″S124°44′22″E / 22.337621°S 124.739567°E / -22.337621; 124.739567