52-565: The Birdsville Track is an outback road in Australia . The 517-kilometre (321 mi) track runs between Birdsville in south-western Queensland and Marree , a small town in the north-eastern part of South Australia . It traverses three deserts along the route, the Strzelecki Desert , Sturt Stony Desert and Tirari Desert . Originally the track was of poor quality and suitable for high-clearance four-wheel drive vehicles only, but it
104-612: A line in South Australia , north of which he considered rainfall to be too unreliable to support agriculture. Exploration of the Outback continued in the 1950s when Len Beadell explored, surveyed and built many roads in support of the nuclear weapons tests at Emu Field and Maralinga and rocket testing on the Woomera Prohibited Area . Mineral exploration continues as new mineral deposits are identified and developed. 2002
156-613: A New Zealand professional wrestling tag team that was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2015. In New Zealand, "The Bush" is a nickname for the Wairarapa Bush provincial rugby team . The team was formed by an amalgamation of two earlier teams, Wairarapa and Bush. The latter team had represented an area on the boundaries of the Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay which was in former times known as Bush due to its dense vegetation cover. In
208-470: A long way from anywhere, or a long way away. The well-watered north of the continent is often called the " Top End " and the arid interior "The Red Centre", owing to its vast amounts of red soil and sparse greenery amongst its landscape. The outback is criss-crossed by historic tracks. Most of the major highways have an excellent bitumen surface and other major roads are usually well-maintained dirt roads. The Stuart Highway runs from north to south through
260-502: A number of climatic zones, including tropical and monsoonal climates in northern areas, arid areas in the "red centre" and semi-arid and temperate climates in southerly regions. The total population is estimated at 607,000 people. Geographically, the Outback is unified by a combination of factors, most notably a low human population density, a largely intact natural environment and, in many places, low-intensity land uses, such as pastoralism (livestock grazing) in which production
312-607: A rough-and-ready builder; "to go bush", to escape from your usual haunts; "bush cricket ", " bush music " (Australian folk music); "bush doof "; and bushrangers , 19th-century criminals mainly in the eastern colonies who hid in the bush to escape from authorities. In New Zealand, bush primarily refers to areas of native trees rather than exotic forests. However, the word is also used in the Australian sense of anywhere outside urban areas, encompassing grasslands as well as forests. Areas with bush (i.e. native forest) are found in both
364-611: Is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia , New Zealand and South Africa , where it is largely synonymous with hinterlands or backwoods . The fauna and flora contained within the bush is typically native to the region, although exotic species may also be present. The expression has been in use in Australia from the earliest years of British settlement, and it has inspired many derivative Australian English terms, such as bush tucker , bush ballad and bushranger . The term
416-424: Is also used, but usually in association with the more arid inland areas of Australia. "The bush" also refers to any populated region outside of the major metropolitan areas, including mining and agricultural areas . Consequently, it is not unusual to have a mining town in the desert such as Port Hedland (population 14,000) referred to as "the bush". Indigenous Australians lived a nomadic life in remote areas of
468-568: Is also widely used in Canada and the American state of Alaska to refer to the large, forested portions of their landscapes. The concept of "the bush" has become iconic in Australia. In reference to the landscape, "bush" refers to any sparsely-inhabited region, regardless of vegetation. "The bush" in this sense was something that was uniquely Australian and very different from the green European landscapes familiar to many new immigrants. The term " Outback "
520-452: Is claimed that the saloon, named after the nearby Black Stump Run and Black Stump Creek, was an important staging post for traffic to north-west New South Wales and it became a marker by which people gauged their journeys. "The Never-Never " is a term referring to remoter parts of the Outback. The Outback can also be referred to as "back of beyond" or "back o' Bourke ", although these terms are more frequently used when referring to something
572-529: Is linked with the Strzelecki Track via the Walkers Crossing Track, which is closed in summer and only traversable in dry weather. Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia . The Outback is more remote than the bush . While often envisaged as being arid , the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass
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#1732852645504624-505: Is mining. Owing to the almost complete absence of mountain building and glaciation since the Permian (in many areas since the Cambrian ) ages, the outback is extremely rich in iron, aluminium, manganese and uranium ores, and also contains major deposits of gold, nickel, copper, lead and zinc ores. Because of its size, the value of grazing and mining is considerable. Major mines and mining areas in
676-426: Is now a graded dirt road and a popular tourist route. It is also used by cattle trucks carrying livestock. The track passes through one of the driest parts of Australia, with an average rainfall of less than 100 mm annually. The area is extremely barren, dry and isolated. Travellers should carry water and supplies in case of emergencies. The track was opened in the 1860s to walk cattle from northern Queensland and
728-502: Is one of Australia's most renowned fossil sites and was recorded as a World Heritage site in 1994. The 100 km (39 sq mi) area contains fossil remains of ancient mammals, birds and reptiles of Oligocene and Miocene age. The largest industry across the Outback, in terms of the area occupied, is pastoralism , in which cattle, sheep, and sometimes goats are grazed in mostly intact, natural ecosystems. Widespread use of bore water, obtained from underground aquifers, including
780-571: Is reliant on the natural environment. The Outback is deeply ingrained in Australian heritage, history and folklore . In Australian art the subject of the Outback has been vogue, particularly in the 1940s. In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Queensland Outback was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "natural attraction". Aboriginal peoples have lived in
832-574: Is relied on for mail delivery in some areas, owing to sparse settlement and wet-season road closures. Most outback mines have an airstrip and many have a fly-in fly-out workforce. Most outback sheep stations and cattle stations have an airstrip and quite a few have their own light plane. Medical and ambulance services are provided by the Royal Flying Doctor Service . In 2024 two Regional, Rural and Remote air lines collapsed, namely Bonza and REX . Australian bush " The bush "
884-562: The COVID-19 pandemic , the track experienced a boost in popularity among drivers taking the route to avoid New South Wales and possible quarantine. Up until the 1930s only stock and camel trains would take the Birdsville track. Today, it has become a very popular track. As a result, the track is reasonably well maintained and generally fairly smooth. However like any outback track, its condition can change, especially after rain. Large stretches of
936-585: The Great Artesian Basin , has enabled livestock to be grazed across vast areas in which no permanent surface water exists naturally. Capitalising on the lack of pasture improvement and absence of fertiliser and pesticide use, many Outback pastoral properties are certified as organic livestock producers. In 2014, 17,000,000 hectares (42,000,000 acres), most of which is in Outback Australia, was fully certified as organic farm production, making Australia
988-741: The Mpumalanga and Limpopo Lowveld , The Limpopo River Valley, northern KwaZulu-Natal or any other similar area of wilderness. The Bush in Alaska is generally described as any community not "on the road system", making it accessible only by more elaborate transportation. Usage is similar in Canada; it is called la brousse or colloquially le bois in Canadian French . In Canada, "the bush" refers to large expanses of forest and swampland which sprawl undeveloped, as well as any forested area. The term "to go bush" has several similar meanings all connected with
1040-496: The Murray River and Darling River , which turn south. From 1858 onwards, the so-called "Afghan" cameleers and their beasts played an instrumental role in opening up the Outback and helping to build infrastructure. Over the period 1858 to 1861, John McDouall Stuart led six expeditions north from Adelaide, South Australia into the Outback, culminating in successfully reaching the north coast of Australia and returning without
1092-574: The North Island and the South Island , some of it bordering towns and cities, but the majority of bush is found in large national parks. Examples of predominantly bush clad areas are Whanganui National Park , on Taranaki volcano, on which the bush extends in a uniformly circular shape to the surrounding farmland, and Fiordland in the South Island. Much of Stewart Island/Rakiura is bush-covered. In
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#17328526455041144-731: The North Island , the largest areas of bush cover the main ranges stretching north-northeast from Wellington towards East Cape , notably including the Urewera Ranges , and the catchment of the Whanganui River . Significant stands remain in Northland and the ranges running south from the Coromandel Peninsula towards Ruapehu, and isolated remnants cap various volcanoes in Taranaki, the Waikato,
1196-597: The Northern Territory to the nearest railhead in Port Augusta , which was later moved to Marree . The pioneering drover credited with establishing the track was Percy Burt. Burt set up a store at Diamantina Crossing, today known as Birdsville, and used the path to bring cattle out of the Channel Country to the railhead at Marree that was completed in 1883. This stock route was at least 1,000 km shorter than
1248-501: The 2015–2016 financial year, 815,000 visitors spent $ 988 million while on holidays in the Northern Territory alone. There are many popular tourist attractions in the Outback. Some of the well known destinations include Devils Marbles , Kakadu National Park , Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), MacDonnell Ranges and Uluru (Ayers Rock) . Other than agriculture and tourism, the main economic activity in this vast and sparsely settled area
1300-540: The Bay of Plenty and the Hauraki Gulf. From the word comes many phrases including: In South Africa, the term ( Afrikaans : die bos ) has specific connotations of rural areas which are not open veldt . Generally, it refers to areas in the north of the country that would be called savanna . "Going to The Bush" ( Bos toe Gaan ) often refers to going to a game park or game reserve. Areas most commonly referred to as The Bush are
1352-502: The Outback for at least 50,000 years and occupied all Outback regions, including the driest deserts, when Europeans first entered central Australia in the 1800s. Many Aboriginal Australians retain strong physical and cultural links to their traditional country and are legally recognised as the Traditional Owners of large parts of the Outback under Commonwealth Native Title legislation. Early European exploration of inland Australia
1404-558: The Outback include opals at Coober Pedy , Lightning Ridge and White Cliffs , metals at Broken Hill , Tennant Creek , Olympic Dam and the remote Challenger Mine . Oil and gas are extracted in the Cooper Basin around Moomba . In Western Australia the Argyle diamond mine in the Kimberley was once the world's biggest producer of natural diamonds and contributed approximately one-third of
1456-578: The Year of the Outback, the Australian Governor-General , Michael Jeffery , travelled along the track in a 5-day event. The route was earmarked to be signed as part National Route 83 in the original plan of National Routes. It was to start in southern SA before travelling north through to far-north QLD. The route was never fully signed, the Birdsville Track being still largely unsealed. During
1508-416: The adverbial phrase referring to the back yard of a house , and came to be used meiotically in the late 1800s to describe the vast sparsely settled regions of Australia behind the cities and towns. The earliest known use of the term in this context in print was in 1869, when the writer clearly meant the area west of Wagga Wagga , New South Wales . Over time, the adverbial use of the phrase was replaced with
1560-549: The alternative path to Brisbane . By 1916 enough bores had been sunk into the Great Artesian Basin along the route that the movement of stock was much easier and safer than in earlier years. Bores were drilled at 40 km intervals. An isolated store along the track operated for several decades from the Mulka Station . The Mulka Store Ruins are listed in the South Australian Heritage Register . Over
1612-465: The bush for thousands of years, and during that time developed ways of utilising natural resources for survival , mainly with bush tucker and the spiritual healing of bush medicine . For more than a century after the first British settlement in 1788 onwards, land was granted or sold to settlers, resulting in many generally small but permanent human settlements in vast tracts of bush. Closer settlement in Australia has often resulted in fragmentation of
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1664-401: The bush in this way through folklore was a big step forward for 19th-century Australians in developing a distinct self-identity . Australians and New Zealanders attach the term "bush" to any number of other entities or activities to describe their rural, country or folk nature through terms such as "bush telegraph", an informal human network through which news is passed on; "bush carpenter",
1716-534: The bush, and bushfires , an ever-present hazard in many areas in summer months, have also increased with increasing suburbanisation of the Australian population. Bush poets such as Henry Lawson (1867–1922) and Banjo Paterson (1864–1942) revered the bush as a source of national ideals, as did contemporaneous painters in the Heidelberg School such as Tom Roberts (1856–1931), Arthur Streeton (1867–1943) and Frederick McCubbin (1855–1917). Romanticising
1768-448: The bush. The verb to bushwhack has two meanings. One is to cut through heavy brush and other vegetation to pass through tangled country: "We had to do quite a bit of bushwhacking today to clear the new trail." The other meaning is to hide in such areas and then attack unsuspecting passers-by: "We were bushwhacked by the bandits as we passed through their territory and they took all of our money and supplies." The Bushwhackers were also
1820-570: The centre of the continent, roughly paralleled by the Adelaide–Darwin railway . There is a proposal to develop some of the roads running from the south-west to the north-east to create an all-weather road named the Outback Highway , crossing the continent diagonally from Laverton, Western Australia (north of Kalgoorlie , through the Northern Territory to Winton , in Queensland. Air transport
1872-426: The early Afghan drivers . Feral horses known as ' brumbies ' are station horses that have run wild. Feral pigs , foxes , cats , goats and rabbits and other imported animals are also degrading the environment, so time and money is spent eradicating them in an attempt to help protect fragile rangelands. The Outback is home to a diverse set of animal species, such as the kangaroo, emu and dingo. The Dingo Fence
1924-454: The heat of the day. Birdlife is prolific, most often seen at waterholes at dawn and dusk. Huge flocks of budgerigars , cockatoos , corellas and galahs are often sighted. On bare ground or roads during the winter, various species of snakes and lizards bask in the sun, but they are rarely seen during the summer months. Feral animals such as camels thrive in central Australia, brought to Australia by pastoralists and explorers, along with
1976-762: The importance of Outback Australia as one of the world's large natural areas, along with the Boreal forests and Tundra regions in North America, the Sahara and Gobi deserts and the tropical forests of the Amazon and Congo Basins. The savanna (or grassy woodlands) of northern Australia are the largest, intact savanna regions in the world. In the south, the Great Western Woodlands , which occupy 16,000,000 hectares (40,000,000 acres), an area larger than all of England and Wales, are
2028-548: The lack of proper medical facilities and trained personnel. In many outback communities, the number of children is too small for a conventional school to operate. Children are educated at home by the School of the Air . Originally the teachers communicated with the children via radio, but now satellite telecommunication is used instead. Some children attend boarding school, mostly only those in secondary school. The term "outback" derives from
2080-505: The largest certified organic production area in the world. Tourism is a major industry across the Outback, and commonwealth and state tourism agencies explicitly target Outback Australia as a desirable destination for domestic and international travellers. There is no breakdown of tourism revenues for the "Outback" per se . However, regional tourism is a major component of national tourism incomes. Tourism Australia explicitly markets nature-based and Indigenous-led experiences to tourists. In
2132-453: The largest remaining temperate woodland left on Earth. Reflecting the wide climatic and geological variation, the Outback contains a wealth of distinctive and ecologically rich ecosystems. Major land types include: The Outback is full of very important well-adapted wildlife, although much of it may not be immediately visible to the casual observer. Many animals, such as red kangaroos and dingoes , hide in bushes to rest and keep cool during
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2184-418: The loss of any of the party's members' lives. This contrasts with the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition in 1860–61 which was much better funded, but resulted in the deaths of three of the members of the transcontinental party. The Overland Telegraph line was constructed in the 1870s along the route identified by Stuart. In 1865, the surveyor George Goyder , using changes in vegetation patterns, mapped
2236-587: The present day noun form. It is colloquially said that "the outback" is located "beyond the Black Stump ". The location of the black stump may be some hypothetical location or may vary depending on local custom and folklore. It has been suggested that the term comes from the Black Stump Wine Saloon that once stood about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) out of Coolah, New South Wales on the Gunnedah Road. It
2288-418: The supposed wildness of the bush. It can mean to revert to a feral nature (or to "go native"), and it can also mean to deliberately leave normal surroundings and live rough, with connotations of cutting off communication with the outside world – often as a means of evading capture or questioning by the police. The term bushwhacker is used in Australia and New Zealand to mean someone who spends his or her time in
2340-472: The track can still be destroyed by flash flooding and drifting sand. In dry conditions, a shorter route at the northern end depicted on maps as the "Inside track" saves 35 kilometres in distance. Other than this, the road has no major intersections. Fuel, supplies and facilities, including a hotel, can be found on the track at the Mungeranie station, 204 km from Marree and 313 km from Birdsville. It
2392-482: The world's major manganese mines. Aboriginal communities in outback regions, such as the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands in northern South Australia, have not been displaced as they have been in areas of intensive agriculture and large cities, in coastal areas. The total population of the Outback in Australia declined from 700,000 in 1996 to 690,000 in 2006. The largest decline
2444-507: The world's natural supply, but was closed down in 2020 due to financial reasons. The Pilbara region's economy is dominated by mining and petroleum industries. The Pilbara's oil and gas industry is the region's largest export industry, earning $ 5.0 billion in 2004/05 and accounting for over 96% of the State's production. Most of Australia's iron ore is also mined in the Pilbara and it also has one of
2496-452: The years the Birdsville track became one of the country's most isolated and best-known stock routes, as well as a mail route made famous by outback legend Tom Kruse . Tom Kruse and the track were immortalised in The Back of Beyond , the 1954 documentary film made by John Heyer . Kruse's services ceased in 1963, replaced by an air service from Adelaide that started in 1970. In 2006, as part of
2548-519: Was built to restrict movements of dingoes and wild dogs into agricultural areas towards the south east of the continent. The marginally fertile parts are primarily utilised as rangelands and have been traditionally used for sheep or cattle grazing, on cattle stations which are leased from the Federal Government. While small areas of the outback consist of clay soils the majority has exceedingly infertile palaeosols . Riversleigh , in Queensland,
2600-425: Was declared the Year of the Outback. While the early explorers used horses to cross the Outback, the first woman to make the journey riding a horse was Anna Hingley , who rode from Broome to Cairns in 2006. The paucity of industrial land use has led to the Outback being recognised globally as one of the largest remaining intact natural areas on Earth. Global " Human Footprint " and wilderness reviews highlight
2652-528: Was in the Outback Northern Territory , while the Kimberley and Pilbara showed population increases during the same period. The sex ratio is 1040 males for 1000 females and 17% of the total population is indigenous. The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) started service in 1928 and helps people who live in the outback of Australia. Previously, serious injuries or illnesses often meant death owing to
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#17328526455042704-514: Was sporadic. More focus was on the more accessible and fertile coastal areas. The first party to successfully cross the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney was led by Gregory Blaxland in 1813, 25 years after the colony was established. People, starting with John Oxley in 1817, 1818 and 1821, followed by Charles Sturt from 1829 to 1830, attempted to follow the westward-flowing rivers to find an "inland sea", but these were found to all flow into
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