23/12/2024
If you’ve ever travelled to remote parts of Australia you are likely to be aware of Len Beadell who put through roads such as The Gunbarrel Highway, Connie Sue Highway etc.
'FINISH ROAD RIGHT ACROSS.'
Len Beadell, a surveyor, road builder, and proud bushman, played a pivotal role in opening up remote desert regions of central Australia. Between 1947 and 1963, Beadell constructed over 6,000 km of roads, making previously inaccessible areas—covering approximately 2.5 million square kilometres—navigable.
His most famous achievement is the Gunbarrel Highway, aptly named for his efforts to make the road as straight as a gun barrel wherever possible. This remarkable route begins at Victory Downs homestead, 316 kilometres by road south of Alice Springs, and stretches westward to the Rawlinson Ranges. It skirts the southern edge of the Gibson Desert, passes through the mission at Warburton, and ultimately connects to an existing road at Carnegie Station.
Len Beadell, the man of the hour, faced a myriad of challenges on his journey to complete the Gunbarrel Highway. The weather was unforgiving, with scorching temperatures well into the mid-40s and relentless winds.
Despite these obstacles, Len pushed on, averaging between 4 and 5 miles daily. The final stretch was particularly gruelling, as he battled through thick scrub, sand hills, spinifex, and even encountered a snake in his bed!
Len Beadell and the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party made it to Carnegie Homestead, owned by the Doman family and managed by the Linke family, to complete the Gunbarrel Highway.
Len’s diary entry for 15 November 1958, a momentous day in the history of the Gunbarrel Highway, reads: 'FINISH ROAD RIGHT ACROSS.'
Image: By Len Beadell shows Doug Stoneham, Roy & William Linke at the end of Gunbarrel Highway at Carnegie on 15 Nov 1958.
