HIGHWAY ONE
Australia's Greatest Highway!
Foreword: Highway 1 is Australia's greatest highway, following the coast for the most part along its circumferential route around the country. A spur in Tasmania also connects Hobart with Launceston, Devonport and Burnie. Once upon a time, the netire length of Highway 1 was National Route 1, but subsequent changes in the route numbering system; National Highways in 1974; Metroads for Sydney and Brisbane (early 1990's); and the introduction of alpha-numeric numbering in some states in the late 1990's means Highway 1 now has many different guises on its journey around the country. In the not too distant future the original NR1 shield will no longer exist and the romance of the highway will be somewhat lost under the new alpha-numeric numbering. Already, Adelaide now has a gap in Highway One, with a new route, A22, usurping the former Highway One alignment past the city centre.
This website attempts to preserve the history of Australia's greatest highway through pcitures and information. For ease of use, each state has its own separate Highway One page, where the highway is considered in more detail, complete with original alignment, current alignment and a profile of all the changes made to its routing since its inception in 1955. Over the years, Highway One has also parented a number of Alternative and Business Routes, most of whom have now been decomissioned. This website covers these routes as well as the mainline in great detail.
Length: 14,523km (measured from Explore Australia)
Route taken: From Darwin south along the Stuart Highway to Hi-Way Roadhouse; east along Carpentaria Hwy, Wollogorang Rd, Doomadgee Rd to Burketown; south along Nardoo-Burketown Rd; east along Augustus Downs-Donors Hill Rd; north along Burke Developmental Rd; east along Gulf Developmental Rd and Kennedy Hwy to Cairns; south along Bruce Highway to Brisbane; south along the Pacific Hwy to Sydney; along the Princes Hwy to Adelaide; along Port Wakefield Rd, Pt Wakefield-Pt Augusta Rd; Eyre Hwy; Coolgardie-Esperance Hwy; South Coast Hwy and Coast Rd to Perth; via Brand, North West Coastal and Gt Northern & Victoria Highways to Katherine, where it meets the Stuart Highway. The Tasmanian spur consists of the Bass, Midland and Brooker Highways between Burnie, Launceston and Hobart.
For a more detailed description of alignment please see the relevant state page, accessed via the links below.
Highway One - New South Wales Highway One - Northern Territory Highway One - Queensland |
Highway One - South Australia Highway One - Tasmania Highway One - Victoria Highway One - Western Australia |