Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

has extensive long-distance highways with few localities along them. Privately owned general stores known as roadhouses have been established at strategic points as an important utility for petrol, food, accommodation, emergency facilities and general supplies. They are also useful reference points in any response to accidents, floods, crime and other emergencies.

North-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

ern roadhouses are found next to river crossings or close to station homesteads. In the event of flooding of the

North West Coastal Highway 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 road, constructed as a sealed two-lane single carriageway, travels through remote a ...

, they are locations where vehicles including

road train A road train, also known as a land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a semi-trailer used to move road freight more efficiently than single-trailer semi-trailers. It consists of one semi-trailer or more connected together with or wit ...

s can be safely encamped and accounted for when a sudden deluge may make the road impassable. On the

Nullarbor The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of 'no' and 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its no ...

Eyre Highway Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highways 1 and A1, it forms part of Highway 1 (Australia), Highway 1 and the National Highway (Australia), Australian Nat ...

, places designated as roadhouses are in some cases also vested as localities and, in some cases, known as roadhouse communities. The following list is of roadhouses that exist in isolation, having little or no adjacent community infrastructure. It does not include roadhouses which are in country towns.

Roadhouses

* Auski (Munjina) * Balladonia * Billabong * Caiguna * Capricorn * Cue * Cocklebiddy * Doon Doon * Eucla * Fortescue River () * Ilkurlka on the

Anne Beadell Highway Anne Beadell Highway is an outback unsealed track linking Coober Pedy, South Australia, and Laverton, Western Australia, a total distance of . The track was surveyed and built by Len Beadell, Australian surveyor, who named it after his wife. ...

* Kumarina Roadhouse *

Madura is an list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administratively ...

Minilya Minilya is a location in Western Australia north of Carnarvon on the North West Coastal Highway. It is at a junction in the North West Coastal Highway, where the turn off to Exmouth is from that location. The main highway then continues to t ...

* Mount Barnett * Mundrabilla * Murchison * Nanutarra * Overlander * Pardoo * Roebuck Plains Roadhouse * Sandfire * Tjukayirla on the

Great Central Road The Great Central Road is a mostly unsealed Australian highway that runs 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 ...

* Willare Bridge Roadhouse * Wooramel

Driver fatigue

Due to the high incidence of fatalities and accidents attributed to

driver fatigue Sleep-deprived driving (commonly known as tired driving, drowsy driving, or fatigued driving) is the operation of a motor vehicle while being cognitively impaired by a lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation is a major cause of motor vehicle accidents, ...

, some locations have opted into a program of providing free coffee to encourage drivers to take a break or rest on long journeys - in some cases some of the roadhouses above have become involved in that programme. Western Australia. Main Roads Dept. Graphic Services. (1995) ''Coffee stops artographic material: a project to reduce driver fatigue'' designed by Graphic Services, Main Roads, Western Australia, Traffic Board of Western Australia, WA Police. East Perth, W.A. : Main Roads, Scale a. 1: 10 000 000 Scale [ca. 1: 3 333 333 (E 114°--E 121°/S 027°--S 035°30') Maps of major highways showing locations of participating roadhouses."Free coffee for driver" - Traffic sign logo in title cartouche. "31/3/95"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roadhouses Roadhouses in Western Australia Lists of buildings and structures in Western Australia

Roadhouses

Driver fatigue

See also

References