Nullarbor, South Australia

For other uses, see Nullarbor (disambiguation).

Nullarbor is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located 295 kilometres (183 mi) to the west of the town of Ceduna in the western part of the state immediately adjoining the border with Western Australia.^[9][1]

Nullarbor South Australia
The Nullarbor Roadhouse
Nullarbor
Coordinates	31°03′27″S 130°28′39″E[1]
Population	71 (SAL 2021)[2]
Established	2013[1]
Postcode(s)	5690
Elevation	64 m (210 ft)(weather station)[3]
Time zone	ACST (UTC+9:30)
Location	764 km (475 mi) W of Adelaide[citation needed] 1,617 km (1,005 mi) E of Perth[citation needed]
LGA(s)	Pastoral Unincorporated Area[4]
Region	Eyre Western[5]
State electorate(s)	Flinders[6] Giles[7]
Federal division(s)	Grey[8]
Mean max temp[3] Mean min temp[3] Annual rainfall[3] 23.8 °C 75 °F 10.8 °C 51 °F 252.6 mm 9.9 in
Localities around Nullarbor: Western Australia Maralinga Tjarutja Maralinga Tjarutja Western Australia Nullarbor Yellabinna Great Australian Bight Great Australian Bight Yalata
Footnotes	Adjoining localities[1]

Geography

The name and extent of the locality was officially established on 26 April 2013 in respect to "the long established local name." Its name is derived from the use of "Nullarbor" in geographic features such as the Nullarbor Plain and protected areas such as the Nullarbor Regional Reserve.^[1] Nullarbor is bounded in the west by the Western Australia - South Australian state border, in the south by the coastline adjoining the Great Australian Bight, to the east by the localities of Yalata and Yellabinna and to the north by the Trans-Australian Railway.^[9]

Nullarbor contains two heritage-listed sites - the Koonalda Cave and the Koonalda Homestead Complex which are both listed on the South Australian Heritage Register while the former is also listed on the Australian National Heritage List.^[10][11][12]

Land use

The land use within Nullarbor is concerned with the following protected areas which fully cover its extent - the Nullarbor Regional Reserve to the north of the locality, the Nullarbor National Park which occupies a strip running from the border and the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area which adjoins the coastline with the Great Australian Bight. Uses included tourism and research associated with the locality's natural features, mineral exploration in the Regional Reserve, and use by indigenous communities for purposes such as cultural activities.^[13][14]

Access

The Eyre Highway is the major road passing through the locality to Western Australia. Settlements located along the Highway include one known as "Nullarbor" at the eastern boundary of the locality and Border Village at the western boundary of the locality at the Western Australian border. These provide services for tourists and travellers such as accommodation and vehicle fuel.^[15][16]

Politics

Nullarbor is located within the federal Division of Grey, the state electoral districts of Flinders and Giles, and the Pastoral Unincorporated Area of South Australia where municipal services are provided to communities such as Border Village by a South Australian government agency, the Outback Communities Authority.^{[4][6][7][8][17]}

Climate

Nullarbor is located in an area with a mild semi-arid climate described as Köppen climate classification BSk.^{[citation needed]} The automatic weather station located in Nullarbor recorded a temperature of 49.9 °C (121.8 °F) on 19 December 2019, which was the highest daily maximum temperature recorded for Australia in 2019.^[18]

Climate data for Nullarbor, South Australia (1888–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	48.5 (119.3)	47.6 (117.7)	45.3 (113.5)	42.2 (108.0)	36.5 (97.7)	30.0 (86.0)	31.2 (88.2)	33.0 (91.4)	38.9 (102.0)	45.0 (113.0)	46.6 (115.9)	49.9 (121.8)	49.9 (121.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	28.0 (82.4)	27.8 (82.0)	26.7 (80.1)	24.9 (76.8)	21.5 (70.7)	18.7 (65.7)	18.3 (64.9)	19.8 (67.6)	22.5 (72.5)	24.7 (76.5)	26.0 (78.8)	27.0 (80.6)	23.8 (74.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	16.0 (60.8)	16.0 (60.8)	14.3 (57.7)	11.7 (53.1)	9.0 (48.2)	6.3 (43.3)	5.2 (41.4)	5.9 (42.6)	7.9 (46.2)	10.4 (50.7)	12.5 (54.5)	14.4 (57.9)	10.8 (51.4)
Record low °C (°F)	7.0 (44.6)	7.0 (44.6)	5.0 (41.0)	2.0 (35.6)	0.5 (32.9)	−2.9 (26.8)	−2.2 (28.0)	−4.0 (24.8)	−0.7 (30.7)	1.0 (33.8)	2.5 (36.5)	2.3 (36.1)	−4.0 (24.8)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	12.2 (0.48)	14.7 (0.58)	20.9 (0.82)	22.6 (0.89)	29.8 (1.17)	30.4 (1.20)	27.1 (1.07)	24.4 (0.96)	17.7 (0.70)	17.8 (0.70)	17.7 (0.70)	15.7 (0.62)	251 (9.89)
Average rainy days	1.0	1.1	1.5	2.1	3.2	3.2	3.3	2.8	2.1	1.7	1.8	1.5	25.3
Source: Bureau of Meteorology[3]

See also

• List of cities and towns in South Australia
• Bunda Cliffs
• Murrawijinie Cave
• Nullarbor Links
• Wilson Bluff, Western and South Australian border
• Cook, South Australia
• Bunburra Rockhole (meteorite)
• List of extreme temperatures in Australia

References

Notes

Citations

1. "Search results for 'Nullarbor, LOCB' with the following datasets being selected - 'Suburbs and Localities', 'Government Towns', 'Counties', 'Local Government Areas', 'SA Government Regions', 'Railways' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Nullarbor (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
3. "Monthly climate statistics: Summary statistics Nullarbor (nearest weather station and with all available data being visible)". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
4. "Development Plan, Land Not Within a Council Area Eyre, Far North, Riverland and Whyalla Consolidated – 18 October 2012". Department of Planning Transport and Infrastructure. 2012. pp. 11, 13, 14, 161 & 171. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
5. "Eyre and Western South Australian Government Region" (PDF). Government of South Australia. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
6. "District of Flinders Background Profile". Electoral Commission SA. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
7. "District of Giles Background Profile". ELECTORAL COMMISSION SA. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
8. "Federal electoral division of Grey, boundary gazetted 16 December 2011" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
9. Proposed Locality Boundaries for Pastoral Areas (PDF) (Map). Department for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia. 31 October 2012. Rack Plan 951. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
10. "Koonalda Cave". Australian National Heritage List. Department of the Environment (Cth). Retrieved 12 February 2016.
11. "Koonalda Cave, Nullarbor National Park [also on the National Heritage List ID 106022]". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
12. "Koonalda Homestead Complex (including homestead, petrol outlet and generator room, outbuilding, shearers' hut, shearing shed, yards and sheep dip), Nullarbor National Park". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
13. A Review of Nullarbor Regional Reserve 1999 - 2009 (PDF). Department for Environment and Heritage. July 2009. pp. 6–8. ISBN 978-1-921466-43-4. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
14. "Protected Areas of South Australia September (Map) 2014 Edition" (PDF). Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
15. "Nullarbor". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
16. "Border Village". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
17. "Border Village". Outback Communities Authority. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
18. "Official records for Australia". Daily Extremes. Bureau of Meteorology. 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.