Roadhouse halfway between Perth and Adelaide on the road across the Nullarbor.
Mundrabilla is a rest stop on the Eyre Highway. Today, on the Eyre Highway, it is nothing more than a roadhouse with fuel, supplies, a restaurant with takeaway facilities, limited mechanical services, and motel and caravan accommodation. It is also a railway siding on the Indian Pacific railway line across the continent.
Location
Mundrabilla is located on the Nullarbor Plain 1363 km from Perth and 644 km east of Norseman via the Eyre Highway and 1331 km from Adelaide.
^ TOPOrigin of Name
No one is sure what Mundrabilla means. It was chosen by the Kennedy brothers, Tom and John, and Bill McGill when they named the first sheep station on the Nullarbor Plain.
^ TOPThings to See and Do
The Longest Golf Course in the World
Nullarbor Links Golf Course
A very typical Aussie outback joke the Nullarbor Links Golf Course is the world’s longest golf course with the first hole in Ceduna, South Australia and the 18th hole 1365 km away at Kalgoorlie. Check out the details at http://www.nullarborlinks.com. It is real and can be a lot of fun for committed golfers.
Hole 8: Mundrabilla Watering Hole Par 4 and is 330 metres.
Located at the Mundrabilla Motel, this is probably the roughest (in the sense that it is very basic) hole on the entire links. It stretches across scrubby land behind the roadhouse and is notable for a deserted van (redesigned with corrugated iron) and a particularly unforgiving fairway. Be grateful that you have to tee up every time you take a shot.
Robbie’s Guide to the Nullarbor Links
Mundrabilla – Watering Hole
A sharp dog-leg Par 4 shaping to the left. A good drive will cut the corner over the deserted van, leaving a wedge to the green.
The notes on the website explain: "Mundrabilla Roadhouse and Station are situated on the Roe Plains framed between the scenic Hampton Tablelands (named after a former Governor of Western Australia, Doctor John Steven Hampton) and the coast. The plains are about 40 km wide and extend for about 250 km from near Eucla in the east to twilight cove near Eyre in the west. The plain was named after John Septimus Roe (1779 - 1878) the first Surveyor General of WA and are familiar to motorists as they pass through them after entering or leaving via the Madura or Eucla Pass. Roe Plains were a source of sandalwood in the past which was harvested and exported to the Far East. Mundrabilla was named after one of the first sheep stations to be settled on the Nullarbor Plain. On the 20th November 1872 two Brothers Thomas & William Kennedy with William McGill and his 21 year old wife Annie trekked 800 arduous miles from Albany with 800 ewes and four bullocks and eight horses to select grazing land. The Government were giving out grants for leases for up to 100,000 acres of crown land. The Kennedy's and McGill settled at Mundrabilla Homestead where they found good grazing lands and sufficient water for their stock. Examples of the reality of settling into unknown territory Annie McGill was to die during childbirth in 1879. Tragically Thomas Kennedy was later speared and never fully recovered dying some years later. Both graves of Annie McGill and Thomas Kennedy are on the station property. Today the roadhouse established in 1968 is located 30km from the original station settlement. Both are still thriving businesses today." The tee is called McGill & Kennedy.
Other Attractions in the Area
Driving to the Coast - the Great Southern Ocean and the Great Australian Bight
It is possible to drive to the coast, particularly if you have a 4WD, on Wanteen Beach Road. Ask at the roadhouse for directions.
History
* Prior to European settlement the area was sparsely settled by members of the Mirning Aboriginal language group.
* In 1627 the Dutch explorer Peter Nuyts, sailing from Batavia in the Gulden Zeepaerdt, was the first European to sail along the coast although he did not land. He chartered the coast from Albany to Ceduna
* In 1841 Edward John Eyre, accompanied by an Aboriginal named Wylie, passed through the area on his journey across the Nullarbor Plain.
* The first European settlement occurred in 1872 when two Irishmen - Tom and John Kennedy - and a Scotsman - Bill McGill - and his wife Annie brought 1500 sheep across the Nullarbor from Esperance. They found water and established the first sheep station on the Nullarbor and they called their holding Mundrabilla. They had planned to establish themselves near the telegraph station at Eucla but the lack of water in the area forced them to retreat to Mundrabilla.
* In the 1920s, as the Eyre Highway was being upgraded, engineers kept searching for bore water. They were unsuccessful even when they drilled to a depth of 472 metres.
^ TOPVisitor Information
Mundrabilla Roadhouse, Eyre Highway, tel: (08) 9039 3465
^ TOPAccommodation
Mundrabilla Roadhouse, Eyre Highway, tel: (08) 9039 3465
^ TOPEating
Mundrabilla Roadhouse, Eyre Highway, tel: (08) 9039 3465
^ TOPUseful Websites
Detailed information on accommodation and fuel is available at http://www.nullarbornet.com.au/towns/mundrabilla.html
^ TOP
Top spot! Stayed once will stay again . Food in Restaurant excellent!! Basic room but all you need is there. Good servo; good fuel. It had BP ultimate.
I worked there in 1977 the telephone number back in those days was Mundra Bella 1D