Bend in the road.

[Peter Ward]

Driving across Australia for the 2023 Total Solar eclipse we stopped at
the Eucla roadhouse, which I have a family connection to.

There is a curious kink in the Eyre highway a few Km east of Eucla, but
not many know why it is there.

Show and tell here (https://www.atscope.com.au/BRO/AyreKink.html). Hope you enjoy it.

[leon]

That is very impressive Peter and it seems that at least one or maybe even both dirt tracks to the left of the main drag at nearly exactly the same location also have a similar curve.:shrug:

Thanks for sharing that.

Leon:thumbsup:

[Startrek]

Peter,
Fascinating piece of history , I guess the meteor crater has helped many tired drivers stay awake ( at least for a moment ) whilst travelling endless kilometres on the Nullarbor crossing.
As a matter of fact our second eldest son and his South African fiancée crossed the Nullarbor only a week or so ago on their 8 month trek around the whole continent.
Next time we contact by video , I’ll have to remember ask him whether he noticed a tiny deviation in the road along the Nullarbor

Thanks for posting

Martin

[astroron]

Very interesting story Peter, next time I am in WA(Perth)
I will make an effort to visit the Museum and view it.
I did notice the bend when om my last road trip across
to Perth in 2011.
Cheers for the post:thumbsup:

[Peter Ward]

Glad you enjoyed the tale gents!

I inherited the meteorite many years ago.

It sits pride of place in my space curio collection.

[Crater101]

I never even knew this existed. A drive across the Nullarbor has always been on the bucket list - here's one more incentive to make the trip.

Cheers!

[muletopia]

Martin, the "endless kilomrtres" are endlessly interesting.
As someone who has crossed many times the scenery is never the same. The interaction of the geology, humidity and flora distribution leads to this variation and deserves close attention.
Chris

[leon]

Have to agree Chris, we too have crossed it many times, and once it took us a week to cross, there are so much interesting stuff to see and do, we loved it, and then there are some that say it is so boring.:shrug:

I actually love the stretch of the 149 kilometers of the longest straight road in Australia.;)

Leon:thumbsup:

[Leo.G]

Interesting information!

Why wouldn't they reduce the radius of the bends either end and still run a straight section of road?
I bet that's just what they tell people to throw them off the truth about their fear of kangaroos?
Haha

[Dave882]

Wow how fascinating! Thanks for sharing

[Peter Ward]

My pleasure



It's the drop bears you have to watch out for:D




It was my parents, uncle and aunt that build the (then) Amber motel at Eucla to take advantage of the bitumen finally bridging the continent. Spent many a school holiday crossing the nullabor to get to Eucla. It's quite an amazing spot.





Ta. It is a loooong way form anywhere. Probably a good place to be
if Putin uses a Nuke.

[iborg]

Hi All



A couple photos (scanned from slides) of our first drive across, December '73 I think.


I am told there were 355 miles of dirt road in SA, a major relief to meet the tarmac as we drove out of the petrol station.


The car had a truck radiator fitted, no trouble at all with overheating.


Philip

[Zuts]

I hitchhiked across from Melbourne to Perth in the 70's (it took 7 days). On the way it was dirt for the middle bit across the Nullarbor. When I hitched back they had sealed it. I remember the sign, new work, no centerline for next 300 km.

[DavidTrap]

I heard an interesting story/theory about Cold War Nuclear Strategies. If the USSR wanted to demonstrate its capabilities with a single shot, to warn the West it meant business, Perth was a likely target. Its the world's most remote capital city and the prevailing winds would blow a fallout cloud over mostly desert, causing minimal collateral damage.

Sobering...

DT

[Peter Ward]

Humm... I think my wife would have been a favour of that demonstration after McGowan closed the border during COVID and would not let her attend her mother's funeral....(footy teams were however welcome! :shrug:)

[xelasnave]

Peter that is just so neat.
Thanks for posting such interesting content.
I hope you and yours are well.

alex