Rabbit Flat was a

roadhouse Roadhouse may refer to: Premises * Roadhouse (premises), a mixed-use premise to service passing travellers * Receiving house or roadhouse, a theatre for touring theatre companies * A truck stop in rural Australia Arts and entertainment Film * '' ...

in the

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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, in the locality of Tanami, about from the

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 ...

border. It lies between the Tanami Mine (45 km NW) and The Granites Mine (53 km SE) on the

Tanami Road __NOTOC__ The Tanami Road, also known as the Tanami Track, Tanami Highway, and the McGuire Track, is a road in Australia that runs between the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory and the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia. It is a ...

Roadhouse

The former Rabbit Flat Roadhouse claimed to be the most isolated one in Australia, with no other roadhouse within . It was established on 14 June 1969, by Bruce Farrands and his wife Jackie, a French national. An arrangement had been agreed between the Farrands and Ansett-Pioneer Coaches to provide overnight tent accommodation for a tourist route between Alice Springs and Darwin via Wave Hill, now known as

Kalkarindji Kalkarindji (formerly Wave Hill Welfare Settlement, also spelt Kalkaringi) is a town and locality in the Northern Territory of Australia, located on the Buntine Highway about south of the territory capital of Darwin and located about south o ...

. The location was chosen because of the availability of water at the Rabbit Flat well, on the

stock route A stock route, also known as travelling stock route (TSR), is an authorised thoroughfare for the walking of domestic livestock such as sheep or cattle from one location to another in Australia. The stock routes across the country are colloquial ...

from Alice Springs to Halls Creek. By December 1969, Rabbit Flat had been selected by the

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

as a weather reporting station. Over time, the roadhouse became a stop for fuel, food and souvenirs. An orchard of fruit trees grew nearby, and jams and preservatives were produced on site. An airstrip was established 800m to the south. On the morning of 6 August 1975, media interest was aroused when twin boys were born to the Farrands. Neither the surprised parents nor medical staff in Alice Springs were aware that more than one baby was expected. Mother Jackie and the babies were flown to Alice Springs hospital by the

Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an Aeromedical retrieval, aeromedical retrieval service in Australia and the largest of its kind in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that provides urgen ...

for observation, because the boys were six weeks premature. On arrival in Alice Springs, the pilot of the RFDS aircraft was reported to have quipped that "the population of Rabbit Flat doubled last night". A documentary film about Rabbit Flat was produced by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

for its television series '' A Big Country''.

Closure of the Roadhouse

After more than 41 years of service, the Farrands decided to close the roadhouse to all services, except weather reporting and the sale of souvenirs and preserved goods. The change occurred on 31 December 2010.

Climate

Rabbit Flat has a hot-semi-arid climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''BSh'') with a very hot, highly erratic

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

between December and March and a warm to hot

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

from April to November, with cooler nights and lower humidity. The highest recorded temperature is on 25 December 2019, whilst the lowest is on 5 July 1984. The roadhouse manager maintained the weather station at Rabbit Flat, the closest other station being at Balgo, a small Aboriginal community to the west.

References

Map reference

* Westprint Heritage Maps.(2002) ''Tanami Track'': Alice Springs, The Granites, Rabbit Flat, Billiluna, Halls Creek / compiled by John Deckert; cartographic design and production by Flat Earth Mapping. 3rd ed. Scale 1:1,000,000 (E 127°20' -- E 134°00'/S 17°25' --S 24°00') Nhill, Vic. : Westprint Heritage Maps. also known as ''Westprint Heritage Maps for modern explorers''. {{Coord, 20.1833, S, 130.0167, E, format=dms, type:landmark_region:AU-NT, display=title Roadhouses in the Northern Territory Tanami Desert