Burracoppin, WA: What is the State Barrier Fence?
The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia is better known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence. It stretches for 1,170km, keeping pests like wild dogs and emus away from agricultural land. Burracoppin, WA, is one place where visitors can see it.
Stretching across sections of Western Australia that no sane human being would wish to visit is the State Barrier Fence. One spot where visitors might conceivably encounter this mammoth piece of barrier-building is Burracoppin, on the Great Eastern Highway between Perth and gold-mining hub Kalgoorlie.
A roadside pull-over spot, plagued by flies, has a memorial sign telling the story of the State Barrier Fence.
The history of the State Barrier Fence
The State Barrier Fence is far better known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence. And the story starts with rabbits being introduced to Australia in 1859 by a Victorian grazier. He imported 24 bunnies for sport and they did what rabbits are well known for doing.
They soon multiplied, spreading across the continent, and advancing across the Nullarbor Plain. In 1901, a Royal Commission decided that the way to protect WA’s crops and pastures was to build a big old fence. By the time the fence was completed in 1907, it stretched 3,256km over three sections. The 1,833km main section from Esperance to the Pilbara was the longest unbroken fence in the world.
✅ Find the best tours and experiences in Western Australia right here. ✅
New uses for the Rabbit-Proof Fence
By the 1950s, though, rabbit numbers had declined due to poisoning and disease. The bigger threat was emus migrating during droughts – in 1976, more than 100,000 emus lined up along the northern section of the fence, trying to break through.
Over time, sections of the old Rabbit Proof-Fence have been left to the elements. Today, the key section is known as the State Barrier Fence, and its primary purpose is to keep wild dogs and other pests away from agricultural land. It works like a physical manifestation of Goyder’s Line in South Australia.
Today’s State Barrier Fence is 1,170km long. It stretches from the Zuytdorp cliffs north of Kalbarri to Jerdacuttup in the south of the state.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Find something AMAZING to do tomorrow
Get queue-skipping, mobile-friendly tickets for the top experiences in Australia (and the rest of the world).
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Why visit Burracoppin, WA
There is absolutely no good reason to add Burracoppin to your Australian itinerary in order to learn this. But if you happen to be making the long, tedious drive from Perth to Kalgoorlie, then why not stop for ten minutes?
Burracoppin is also on the Prospector train route from Perth to Kalgoorlie.
What does X mean in Australia?
What does CBD mean in Australia?
In South Australia, what is Goyder’s Line?
What does Acknowledgement of Country mean?
What is a bottle shop in Australia?
Where would I be in Australian Central Western Time?
What is a roadhouse in Australia?