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= Eyre Highway =
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Eyre Highway is a 1 @,@ 660 @-@ kilometre ( 1 @,@ 030 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 E... |
The construction of the East – West Telegraph line in the 1870s , along Eyre 's route , resulted in a hazardous trail that could be followed for interstate travel . A national highway was called for , but the federal government did not see the route as important enough until 1941 , when a war in the Pacific seemed imm... |
The finished road , while an improvement over the previous route , still was not much more than a track , and remained such throughout the 1940s and 1950s . Efforts to seal the highway began in Norseman in 1960 , with the Western Australian section completed in 1969 and the South Australian section finished in 1976 . ... |
= = Route description = =
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Eyre Highway is the only sealed road linking the states of Western Australia and South Australia , running east from Norseman in Western Australia for 1 @,@ 200 kilometres ( 750 mi ) across the Nullarbor Plain to Ceduna , South Australia . It then crosses the top of the Eyre Peninsula as it continues eastwards for 470... |
The Western Australian section of Eyre Highway is on the western side of the Nullarbor Plain ; the South Australian section crosses the eastern section of the Nullarbor Plain , and the top of the Eyre Peninsula . The Nullarbor gets its name from Latin for " no tree " , and the typical view is that of a straight highwa... |
Main Roads Western Australia and the Department of Planning , Transport and Infrastructure in South Australia monitor traffic volume across the states ' road networks , including various locations along Eyre Highway . In Western Australia , the recorded traffic volumes ranged between 430 and 760 vehicles per day in 20... |
Eyre Highway was assessed by the Australian Automobile Association in 2011 to be among the lowest risk highways in the country , based on total number of casualty crashes per length of road . However , individual risk based on casualty crash rates per vehicle kilometre travelled was assessed as high for the 95 @-@ kil... |
= = = Western Australia = = =
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Eyre Highway begins at the town of Norseman , on the Coolgardie – Esperance Highway . Apart from Eucla , 12 kilometres ( 7 @.@ 5 mi ) from the South Australia border , roadhouses serving the highway are the only settlements on the 720 @-@ kilometre @-@ long ( 450 mi ) stretch through Western Australia . These are loca... |
Because of its remoteness , some widened sections of the highway serve as emergency airstrips for the Royal Flying Doctor Service . These airstrips are signposted , have runway pavement markings painted on the road , and turnaround bays for small aircraft .
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= = = South Australia = = =
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After crossing the border at the settlement of Border Village , the highway passes through the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area and then through the localities of Yalata , Penong and Ceduna . Before arriving at Ceduna , it enters the Eyre Peninsula . After Ceduna , the highway passes the intersection with Flinders... |
An alternative route between Ceduna and Port Augusta , formerly signed Alternate Route 1 and now signed B100 , follows Flinders Highway and Lincoln Highway down the western and eastern sides of the peninsula respectively .
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= = History = =
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= = = Background = = =
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Edward John Eyre was the first European to traverse the coastline of the Great Australian Bight and the Nullarbor Plain by land , in 1840 – 1841 , on an almost 2 @,@ 000 @-@ mile ( 3 @,@ 200 km ) trip from Adelaide to Albany , Western Australia .
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Three decades later , the East – West Telegraph line was installed . Constructed between 1875 and 1877 , it followed the same route across the Nullarbor and along the Great Australian Bight , after John Forrest retraced Eyre 's route in 1870 and confirmed its suitability . Repeater stations were installed at Port Linc... |
An inland route across the Nullarbor was established with the 1912 to 1917 construction of the Trans @-@ Australian Railway , from Port Augusta via Tarcoola to Kalgoorlie . With few roads or tracks encountering the line , most of it is only accessible by rail .
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= = = Highway planning and construction = = =
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The construction of the telegraph had resulted in a trail that could be followed for interstate travel , but it was a haphazard route which only the more adventurous motorists would take . Many travellers were unprepared for the harsh conditions and lack of services ; they would cause a nuisance for station owners and... |
In May 1941 , following the construction of the central north – south Stuart Highway , the federal government announced its decision to build the east – west highway between Norseman and Port Augusta . A northerly route , close to the Trans @-@ Australian Railway , had been considered , but extensive limestone outcrop... |
While initial estimates placed the construction cost at £ 125 @,@ 000 over a period of four months , it actually cost twice as much , and was not completed until June 1942 , though the road was sufficiently trafficable and in use by January 1942 . The finished road , while an improvement over the previous route , stil... |
= = = Naming = = =
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In the 1930s and 1940s , the Western Australian Nomenclature Advisory Committee had been choosing directional names for the state 's main arterial roads ( such as Great Eastern Highway ) , while the South Australian Highways Department had been naming the major roads to other states after explorers ( such as Flinders ... |
On 21 January 1942 , Prime Minister John Curtin announced the war cabinet decision to name the newly constructed road Forrest Highway , for military purposes . Separately , the states ' nomenclature committees were considering names for the road . A proposal for a single name to be used in both states was put by the W... |
The South Australian section was named Eyre Highway on 20 May 1943 , with the portion from Murat Bay ( Ceduna ) to the state border declared a main road . Eyre Highway was gazetted in Western Australia on 11 June 1943 , and included the road from Coolgardie to Norseman until Coolgardie – Esperance Highway was gazetted... |
= = = Sealing = = =
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The state of Eyre Highway remained relatively unchanged throughout the 1940s and 1950s . The road received yearly maintenance , but further , more expensive works were not warranted due to the low traffic volume of approximately fourteen vehicles per day . However , the maintenance and grading was hindered by a lack o... |
Work to seal Eyre Highway was undertaken in the 1960s and 1970s . As the federal government refused requests from Western Australia and South Australia for a special allocation to fund the sealed road , the work was left for the states to finance , over a number of years . Construction began in 1960 , at the Norseman ... |
In South Australia , a decade @-@ long program to seal the highway began in the mid @-@ 1960s . The first section to be completed was the 462 @-@ kilometre ( 287 mi ) route between Port Augusta and Ceduna , in December 1967 . In October 1972 the Ceduna to Penong seal was completed , and the final link to be sealed , b... |
= = = Further improvements = = =
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The 1960s standard of a twenty @-@ foot ( 6 @.@ 2 m ) sealed width with four @-@ foot @-@ wide ( 1 @.@ 2 m ) gravel shoulders was proving to be inadequate by the 1980s . Increasing numbers of truck and tourist coaches caused fretting , and reduced the actual sealed width to 5 @.@ 6 metres ( 18 ft ) along much of Eyre ... |
The highway was rebuilt with a seven @-@ metre @-@ wide ( 23 ft ) pavement , with shoulders partially sealed to a width of one metre ( 3 ft 3 in ) . Work began in mid @-@ 1985 near Cocklebiddy , with a 58 @-@ kilometre @-@ long ( 36 mi ) section completed in 1986 . Work undertaken from 1987 to 1988 reached out 110 kil... |
Since the 1990s , regular maintenance and minor improvements have been an ongoing effort ; $ 3 @.@ 9 million was spent on these works in Western Australia in 1996 . There have been larger @-@ scale works including reconstruction of sections near Caiguna , Balladonia , and the Frazer Range in Western Australia , as wel... |
= = Major intersections = =
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= Minehead =
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Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset , England . It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel , 21 miles ( 34 km ) north @-@ west of the county town of Taunton , 12 miles ( 19 km ) from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park . The parish of Minehead has ... |
There is evidence of human occupation in the area since the Bronze and Iron Ages . Before the Norman Conquest it was held by Ælfgar , Earl of Mercia and after it by William de Moyon and his descendants , who administered the area from Dunster Castle , which was later sold to Sir George Luttrell and his family . There ... |
Minehead is governed by a town council , which was created in 1983 and has been part of the West Somerset local government district since 1974 . In addition to the parish church of St. Michael on the Hill in Minehead , the separate parish church of St Michael the Archangel is situated in Church Street , Alcombe . Alco... |
There are a variety of schools and religious , cultural and sporting facilities including sailing and wind surfing and golf . One popular ancient local tradition involves the Hobby Horse , or Obby Oss , which takes to the streets for four days on the eve of the first of May each year , with accompanying musicians and ... |
= = History = =
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The town sits at the foot of a steeply rising outcrop of Exmoor known as North Hill , and the original name of the town was mynydd , which means mountain in Welsh . It has also been written as Mynheafdon ( 1046 ) , Maneheve ( 1086 ) , Menehewed ( 1225 ) and Menedun ( also 1225 ) , which contain elements of Welsh and O... |
Bronze Age barrows at Selworthy Beacon and an Iron Age enclosure at Furzebury Brake , west of the town show evidence of prehistoric occupation of the area , although there is also possible evidence in the intertidal area , where the remains of a submerged forest still exist .
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Minehead was part of the hundred of Carhampton . It is mentioned as a manor belonging to William de Moyon in the Domesday Book in 1086 , although it had previously been held by Ælfgar , Earl of Mercia . William de Mohun of Dunster , 1st Earl of Somerset and his descendants administered the area from Dunster Castle , w... |
There was a small port at Minehead by 1380 , but it was not until 1420 that money given by Lady Margaret Luttrell enabled improvements to be made and a jetty built . During the reign of Elizabeth I , the town had its own Port Officer similar to the position at Bristol . Vessels in the 15th century included the Trinite... |
The Mermaid , one of the oldest business premises in the town , has been , at various times , a ship chandler 's , a nineteenth @-@ century " department store " and in more recent years a tearoom . The building was the home of Minehead ’ s famous Whistling Ghost – Old Mother Leakey , who died in 1634 . The ghost becam... |
By the beginning of the 18th century , trade between Minehead and Ireland , South Wales , Bristol and Bridgwater grew , with forty vessels based in the harbour for trade and herring fishing . It was also a departure point for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostella . Until the 19th century trade continued with Ireland but... |
Major rebuilding took place in the Lower or Middle town area following a fire in 1791 . In that year a Carrara marble statue of Queen Anne , sculpted by Francis Bird was presented to the town by Sir Jacob Bancks , who served as the local Member of Parliament from 1698 to 1715 . It originally stood in the parish church... |
Early areas of development of the town include Higher Town with its cottages , many of which are " listed " buildings of historic interest , some of which are still thatched , and the Quay area . In Victorian times wealthy industrialists built large houses on North Hill and hotels were developed so that tourism became... |
= = Governance = =
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The civil parish of Minehead is governed by a town council , which was created in 1983 . In 2002 , the parish was estimated to have a population of 10 @,@ 330 . Administratively , Minehead has been part of the West Somerset local government district since 1974 , having previously been Minehead Urban District . The dis... |
It falls within the Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament ( MP ) by the first past the post system of election . The current MP is Ian Liddell @-@ Grainger , a member of the Conservative Party .
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Minehead is within the South West England ( European Parliament constituency ) , which elects six MEPs using the d 'Hondt method of party @-@ list proportional representation .
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= = Geography = =
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Minehead is located on the Bristol Channel coast of South @-@ West England , and thus experiences one of the highest tidal ranges in the world . The tidal rise and fall in the Bristol Channel can be as great as 14 @.@ 5 m ( 48 ft ) , second only to the Bay of Fundy in Eastern Canada .
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The town is overlooked by North Hill , and is just outside the boundaries of Exmoor National Park . The cliff exposures around the shoreline are dramatic and fossils are exposed . Areas of the town included Higher Town , Quay Town and Lower or Middle Town , although they are no longer separate .
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In 1990 , much of Minehead 's beach was washed away in a severe storm which also caused serious flooding in the town . A £ 12 @.@ 6 million sea defence scheme by the Environment Agency was designed to reduce the risk of this erosion and flooding happening in the future . The Environment Agency built 1 @.@ 1 miles ( 1 ... |
Blenheim Gardens , which is Minehead ’ s largest park , was opened in 1925 . The bandstand within the park is used to host musical events .
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Along with the rest of South West England , Minehead has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of England . The annual mean temperature is about 10 ° C ( 50 ° F ) with seasonal and diurnal variations , but due to the modifying effect of the sea , the range is less than in most other pa... |
Cloud often forms inland , especially near hills , and reduces exposure to sunshine . The average annual sunshine totals around 1 @,@ 600 hours . Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic depressions or with convection . In summer , convection caused by solar surface heating sometimes forms shower clouds and a lar... |
= = Landmarks = =
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The town 's major tourist attraction is Butlins holiday camp . Others include : the terminus of the West Somerset Railway ; the town 's main ornamental park , Blenheim Gardens , off Blenheim Road ; and the Minehead & West Somerset Golf Club , Somerset 's oldest golf club , established in 1882 , which has an 18 @-@ hol... |
The South West Coast Path National Trail starts at a marker , erected in Minehead in 2001 , partly paid for by the South West Coast Path Association . The UK 's longest long @-@ distance countryside walking trail , it runs along the South West Coast to Poole in Dorset .
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