The Canning Stock Route: Desert Stock Route to Outback Tourism
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AUSTRALASIAN HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY,I 6, I 998 The CanningStock Route: Desert stock route to outbacktourism GORDON GRIMWADE The l700-kilometre long Canning Stock Route (CSR) crossesa remote part of WesternAustralia. It wqs : surveyed and constructed in the period 1906-1910 to provide accessto southern marketsfor the Kimberley region and used sporadically until 1959. Since the I 970s the CSRha.s become popular for recreotionalfour wheeldrives.Severalwellsandgraveshavebeen'restored',therouteadaptedforvehicularuse,andinevitably, there are limited instancesofvandalism. Therehqs beenno systematicarchaeological work on the stock route I despite its nomination to the Register of the National Estate. This paper provides a preliminary record of the wells, graves, and more recent material culture of the route. While it questions the well-intentioned private restoration work on the CSRit recognisesthe need to upgradefacilities in a remote but increasinglypopular part ofrural Australia. The lack ofmonagement ofthis important archaeological site is consideredas a cqse study ofwhat k evident in many otherparts of Australia. The question is askedwhether heritageprofessionals ore dotng enough to promote historicol orchaeologt, site documentation,management and presentation. Many north Australian stock routes cross vast tracts of inhospitablecounbry. Since the 1960s,when road frainsbegan to shift stock, the majority have been bituminised to allow for swift, efficient tansportation of cattle. Only a few stock routes remain undevelopedand remotefrom towns and wayside stores. '/ourr^o,o The Canning Stock Route (the 'CSR' to contemporaryusers) in Cenfral Westem Austalia was probably the most challenging of all Austalian stockroutes @ig. l). During the CSR's operationalperiod, therewas the township ofHall's Creek at its northern extremity; Billiluna cattle station, 177 kilometres south; and then virtually nothing until Wiluna 1594 kilometresaway. That isolation 6* sfuangedvery little, eventoday. Halls Creekand Wiluna havemodest facilities typical of many rural towns. Billiluna is an Aboriginal-owned cattle property and a township in its own right. A remote fuel drop LocationMap existsat Well 23, a mere 891 kilometressouth of Billiluna. CANNINGSTOCK ROUTE J[e QenningStock Route crosses about 1200kilometres of sand dunes. It skirts salt lakes and clay pans, passesthrough (l clumpsof statelydesert oaks ll oc as uarina dec aisne ana), titnds Fig. 1: Location Map. Not to scale. past weatheredsandstone ranges and through extensivespinifex (Triodia spp.) desert. In the process, it crossesimportant Aboriginal cultural landscapeswhich were aggressivelydefended popular recreationarea. Among all that its raison d'€he - a stock on more than one occasion. Whereasonce it was a poorly route - has been submergedin the web of listing processes. identified track linking a seriesof wateringplaces, it is now a Heritage listing looks set to remain in the 'too hard' basket for well-worn, but rough, single-vehicle-widthrack. a while yet. Listing, at least at the national level, has remained After winding its way from the semi-desertaround Billiluna unresolvedsince it was first nominatedin 1990. The Western Australian Heritage Council has yet to list the CSR at the State the CSR skirts the rugged Kuningarra Ranges@readen Hills) heading south to tackle several hundred kilometes of parallel level. dunesthe highestof which, betweenwells 4l ard 42, is 16.9 During a two-week overland trip in 1996, I had the metreshigh (Gard 1995:389).Occasionally the dunesgive way opportunity to undertakelimited documentationof someof the to areasofstately desertoaks (Allocasuarina decaisneana) alr.d historical archaeological resources and to consider the salt lakes. Durba Hills is now a popular campsite. Its shady implications of high levels of tourism activity on this fragile, setting alongside perrnanentwater is a dramatic change from linear heritagesite of obviousNational importance.This paper the nearby desert. Generally, however, the southem section of discussessome ofthose findings, considersfuture researchneeds, the CSR is less of a torture for humansand vehiclesthan the and discussesthe implications of tourism on this and similar northem section. It retains its spinifex and sparsetree cover, unmanagedculturally significant places. As such, only limited but the sand dunesare lower and more stable. historicalresources have been consulted. The paperis intended The historical archaeologicalrecord ofthe CSR is diverse as a commentaryoutlining key issueswhich are of concem both and now shows considslslle impact from contemporaryuse. to Australian historical archaeologyand to cultural heritage To date there has been neither systematic assessmentnor management.It does not purport to be a definitive work. That documentationof the CSR, Listing on the Register of the requiresfurther in-depthresearch which is beyondthe scopeof National Estate has presentedformidable challengesfor the this paper. AustralianHeritage Commission. Not only doesthe CSR cross Sincethe late 1970s,the CSR has becomea popular four- various Aboriginal traditional lands but it cuts through at least wheel drive recreationalroute. knpact on cultural heritagevalues one Aboriginal stone quarry and through several delicate, and hasbeen significant. Some route modifications have been made, poorly researched,desert ecosystems. It hasrecently become a some accesstracks 'improved', selectedwells have been 70 m Fig. 2: Canningi 1906 expedition prepdres to leave Day Dawn (photograph courtesy Battye Library, Perth). 'restored', and at least one extra watering point developed WesternAusfalia in 1873. Their efforts took eight months. (GeorgiaBore). One might arguethat the CSR has become During that time they discovered Joanna Springs and crossed Ausfialia's longestplayground for outbacktourism. With around nearwhat was, later,Well 47 on the CSR. JohnForrest's 1874 1000 vehicles driving the route each year betweenMay and expedition, led him from Geraldton northeastfrom a point near August it certainly comes close to that claim. But even that what is now Wiluna to Weld Springs (later desigrated as Well act ivity h atlnleresthg-egnt empo rary arch aeo I o g i c al 9) and thence to the WesternAustralian border with South implications.Not least is the m-Annerin which the tenain is Austalia. Fonest later becamePremier of WesternAustalia tackledby heavily ladenvehicles and the abandonedequipment and a memberofthe first FederalParliament. Emest Giles passed and vehicleswhich dot the landscape. just north of Well 15 during his I 876 retum trip from Perth to (Giles Although most traffic now fiavels south to north, the CSR Adelaide 1889). LawrenceWells led the Calvert Expedition in Central stock was actually constructedto bring cattle in the oppositedirection. of 1896.Despite his extensiveexperience Ausfrali4 the expeditionended in the deathsoftwo expeditioners sSeS. The original survey and construction was also undertakenfrom due to an inconect placementof the JoannaWell on Warburton's d for southto north: Well I is just north of Wiluna. One can,justifi ably, maps. In the sameyear, David Camegieset out to attempta dned argueabout which endis the 'start' ofthe CanningStock Route. crossing of WestemAustralia from south to north. His journey stern In this paperthe north to south direction has beenused. The led him throughthe BreadenHills andMt Ernestnear Wells 48 State reasonsare twofold. First, it was the routefollowed by drovers. and49. Secondly,it was the path we travelledafter joining the CSR at , the Billiluna. In 1906, Alfred Canning, an accomplishedGovemment Surveyor,was commissionedto find a suitablestock route. The f the groupincluded cameleers, well builders,and support personnel. the HISTORICAL OUTLINE Headingnorth during May 1906(Fig. 2)they initially followed gile, industry dates from John Fonest's 1874 frack to Weld Springs. It was not until aper The development of the Kimberley cattle WestemAustralian gold October 1906that Canningand his team finally reachedHalls Dds, the 1880s.Concurrently, the southem and Kalgoorlie were booming. Meat Creek. After remainingthere until February1907 they setout rilar fields aroundCoolgardie was in short supply. Cattlemen argued for an overland route for the return trip. Two months later, at Well 40, several of the dted through country where cattle ticks could not survive. It was party were involved in a skirmish with local Aboriginal people. ded heraldedby severalchallenging overland treks by settlersand Both Michael Tobin, a well-borer, and his Aboriginal attacker nth stock. Notable amongthem was the MacDonaldfamily's trek died. Tobin is buried about300 metresfrom the well. |a9e from Goulburn NSW to Fossil Downs near Fitzroy Crossing. In selecting suitable well sites, Canning's party was l'hat Their travels took three years to complete.This substantially motivatedby a need to find: potablewater at shallow depth; eof dwarfed,for example,the Jardinebrothers who took just over distancesbetween wells of about 25 to 30 kilometresand areas frve monthsto take cattle 2600 kilometresfrom Rockhampton, free of poisonbush (Gasrrolobium grandifl orum). )ur- Queenslandto Somerset,Cape York @yerley 1867:74). His successwas partially attributableto the efforts of his ues Inland Westem Australia attracted the attention of several Aboriginal guides. They, however, were subjectedto harsh rde, explorers in the nineteenth century. Peter Warburton'steam teatrnent from Canning.At a subsequentRoyal Commissionit :€n exploredan