Portal:Australian roads

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The Australian Roads Portal

Australia's National Highway

Australia's earliest needs for trade and travel were met by narrow bush tracks, used by tribes of Indigenous Australians prior to European settlement. The formal construction of roads began in 1788 in the newly formed colony of New South Wales. Road construction programs in the early 19th century were generally underfunded, as they were dependent on government budgets, loans, and tolls, while there was a huge increase in road usage, due to the Australian gold rushes. Local government authorities, often known as Road Boards, were therefore established to be primarily responsible for funding and undertaking road construction and maintenance. The early 1900s saw both the increasingly widespread use of motorised transportation, and the creation of state road authorities in each state, between 1913 and 1926, to manage each state's arterial road network. The federal government became involved in road funding in the 1920s, distributing funding to the states. The depression of the 1930s slowed the funding and development of the major road network until the onset of World War II. Supply roads leading to the north of the country were considered vital, resulting in the construction of Barkly, Stuart, and Eyre highways.

The decades following the war saw substantial improvements to the network, with freeways established in cities, many major highways sealed, development of rural roads in northern Queensland and Western Australia, and interstate routes upgraded. In 1974, the federal government assumed responsibility for funding the nations most important road links, between state and territory capitals cities, which were declared National Highways. Those roads were gradually improved, and by 1989, all gravel road sections had been sealed. In the following decades, the National Highway system was amended through legislation, and was eventually superseded in 2005 by the broader National Land Transport Network, which includes connections to major commercial centres, and intermodal freight transport facilities.

The first route marking system was introduced to Australia in the 1950s. National Routes were assigned to significant interstate routes – the most important road links in the country. National Route 1 was designated to a circular route around the Australian coastline. A state route marking system was designed to supplement the national system, for inter-regional and urban routes within states. When the National Highway system was introduced, National Routes along it became National Highway routes with the same numbers, but with distinctive green and gold route markers. During the late 1970s, planning began for a new alphanumeric route system in the state of Tasmania. Alphanumeric routes have since been introduced in most states and territories in Australia, partially or completely replacing the previous systems.

More about roads and highways in Australia...

The Canning Stock Route is a track that runs from Halls Creek in the Kimberley region of Western Australia to Wiluna in the mid-west region. With a total distance of around 1,850 km (1,150 mi) it is the longest historic stock route in the world, and is now a popular but challenging four-wheel drive adventure. The stock route was proposed as a way of breaking a monopoly that west Kimberley cattlemen had on the beef trade at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1906, the Government of Western Australia appointed Alfred Canning to survey the route. Canning later lead the construction party, and between March 1908 and April 1910, 48 wells were completed along the route. Commercial droving began in 1910, but the stock route did not prove popular and was rarely used for the next twenty years. A 1928 Royal Commission into the price of beef in Western Australia led to the repair of the wells and the re-opening of the stock route. Around 20 droves took place between 1931 and 1959, when the final droving run was completed. The building of the stock route impacted on the cultural and social life of the more than 15 Aboriginal language groups and today the Aboriginal history of the track, recorded through oral and artistic traditions, is increasingly being recognised.

High Street in Fremantle, approaching the Round House

Wikinews Roads portal

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Cunningham Highway at Cunningham's Gap, Queensland

• ... that the Canberra road Yarra Glen does not have one of the usual roadway suffixes because the name sounds better without them?
• ... that part of High Street in Fremantle, Western Australia, was closed in the 1960s in order to reinstate Kings Square as a town square?
• ... the decision to only use electronic toll collection for Melbourne's CityLink was made in 1992, at a time when there was little practical experience of such systems?

▼ Roads in Australia

► Australian freeways

► Toll roads in Australia

► Highways and freeways in Perth, Western Australia

► Roads in Perth, Western Australia

► Roads in Western Australia

► Streets in Perth central business district, Western Australia

National topics:

• Highways in Australia
• Freeways in Australia
• The National Highway
• Highway 1 (Australia)

Lists of highways by state/territory:

• ACT
• NSW
• NT
• QLD
• SA
• TAS
• VIC
• WA

Road infrastructure: Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Northern Territory

Queensland

Tasmania

South Australia

Victoria

Western Australia

Main project:
WikiProject Australian Roads

Related projects:

• Australia
  • and -1 sub-projects
• Highways
  • Canada Roads
  • UK Roads
  • U.S. Roads
  • Hong Kong Roads
  • Indian roads

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