Vokes Hill Corner to Cook Road is a remote unsealed outback track that links Vokes Hill Corner 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. Th ...

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

on the

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the east ...

in the far west of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. It was built by

Len Beadell Leonard Beadell OAM BEM FIEMS (21 April 1923 – 12 May 1995) was a surveyor, road builder, bushman, artist and author, responsible for constructing over of roads and opening up isolated desert areas – some – of central Australia fr ...

for the Australian Government's

Weapons Research Establishment The Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) is part of the Australian Department of Defence dedicated to providing science and technology support to safeguard Australia and its national interests. The agency's name was changed from Defenc ...

in late 1961.

Background

The Vokes Hill Corner to Cook road was built as part of a series of roads that were constructed to support the

Woomera Rocket Range The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian military and civil aerospace facility and operation located in South Australia, approximately north-west of Adelaide. The WRC is operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a di ...

project during the 1950s and 1960s. The road provided access to the Trans-Australian Railway line for ease of re-supply, while construction of the Anne Beadell Highway was still taking place. It also completed a loop together with the Maralinga to Emu Road so that Native Patrol Officers could monitor the movements of Aboriginal people through the desert. Reconnaissance for the road was made difficult as the direction of sand ridges was across the path of Beadell's vehicle, and the northern half of the track was through thick mulga scrub. It was not until Beadell reached the

Nullarbor Plain 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 ...

that the ground became firmer and more open. Construction from Vokes Hill Corner began on 23 September 1961 and reached Cook on 20 November 1961. En route the road passed three native wells that Beadell had re-located, namely Waldana, Churina and Bringyna. Vokes Hill was named during an expedition by explorer

Richard Maurice Richard D. Maurice (June 14, 1893 – February 5, 1955) was a pioneering filmmaker during the silent film, silent era. Later, he became involved in labor organizing and helped found the Dining Car and Railroad Food Workers Trade union, union. He ...

in July 1901. His general hand and cook on the journey was William Paul Voake.

References

{{Road infrastructure in South Australia 1961 establishments in Australia Australian outback tracks Roads built by Len Beadell

Background

See also

References