Sandy Blight Junction Road

The Sandy Blight Junction Road is a remote outback track in Australia joining the Great Central Road, Western Australia and Gary Junction Road, Northern Territory. It was built under the direction of legendary surveyor Len Beadell as part of a network of roads for the Weapons Research Establishment at Woomera, South Australia. It is located approximately 500 km (310 mi) west of Alice Springs.

Following construction of the Gunbarrel Highway (completed in 1958), Beadell and the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party were tasked to survey and build a road connecting it with a proposed east-west road some 300 km (190 mi) further north. The requirement was related to future National Mapping Council surveys for the Woomera Rocket Range.

On 31 March 1960, Beadell selected a stand of desert oak trees 30 km (19 mi) south-east of Giles as the commencement point for the road. From there the road steered north-east past Schwerin Mural Crescent (named by Ernest Giles in 1874) then veered north towards Walter James Range. When examining this area Beadell discovered a small rock basin containing crystal-clear water, Bungabiddy (or Pangkupirri) Rock Hole. He ensured that his new road passed close by the water hole for the benefit of future travellers.

A problem confronting Beadell was to find a way around Lake Hopkins, a large salt lake consisting of many muddy patches linked by narrow connections. His preference was to head north-east towards Sir Frederick Range, but after much trial and error, he was forced to the west, and it took until mid May to bypass the obstacle. On reaching Sir Frederick Range, Beadell had his team bulldoze a side track to the highest point as access to the site for a future Trig station.

Just beyond this point, Beadell discovered a series of Aboriginal petroglyphs on a smooth rock surface located in a creek bed. Neatly carved spirals, concentric circles, shapes of animal and bird tracks were revealed to him, the only ones of this type he had seen. The track then veered to the east, passed south of further obstacles (Lake Macdonald and Bonython Range) and headed towards Davenport Hills. It was on this section that the border between Western Australia and the Northern Territory was crossed. Beadell determined the latitude and longitude using his theodolite for astronomical observations, and marked the border with four desert oak poles and associated aluminium plates on 10 June.

Construction of the track continued past Davenport Hills (22 June) and the Tropic of Capricorn (25 June), which was marked with a pole and aluminium plate. The team arrived at Mt Leisler on 29 June. Beadell had spent some time near Mt Leisler looking for a tree which had been blazed by the explorer William Tietkens in May 1889, and when he discovered its position, made the road pass nearby, marking the location with his trademark signpost.

By 4 July the road had passed the northern end of Kintore Range to the present position of a T-junction with the future east-west Gary Junction Road, and continued north for another 26 km (16 mi). Up until then, the road was simply known as the north road, and on 7 July work was halted while Beadell was recalled to Adelaide. During his trip to rejoin the crew he was smitten with a severe eye ailment known as Sandy blight (Trachoma). Despite concerted efforts by the doctor and padre at Woomera to persuade him to rest, he continued on. The condition caused him great difficulty with star observations, so he decided that the T-junction would be called Sandy Blight Junction. On 27 August 1960, the precise location of the junction was fixed, and the name Sandy Blight Junction Road came into general use. The section to the north was never used.

As soon as it was finished, Beadell and team began work on their next assignment, the Gary Junction Road.