What is Australian Central Western Standard Time?

Covering Eucla in Western Australia, Border Village in South Australia and a few Nullarbor Plain roadhouses, Australian Central Western Standard Time is set to UTC+8.45.

Australia is a huge country, and has a somewhat confusing selection of time zones. It makes sense to have different time zones across such a large country, in a similar manner to the United States. Otherwise a clock set to Sydney time might see Perth spending its mornings in darkness.

Time zones mostly go by state borders, although there are some oddities. Broken Hill in New South Wales, for example, goes by South Australia’s Australian Central Standard Time. And Lord Howe Island is half an hour ahead of the rest of New South Wales.

Australian Central Western Standard Time in Eucla

The most bizarre time zone in Australia, however, is Australian Central Western Standard Time. This is an unofficial time zone, but ACWST is adhered to by people and businesses around Eucla in Western Australia.

Don’t want to drive the Nullarbor? Then consider a ten day camping adventure tour from Perth to Adelaide (or in the opposite direction).

If you’ve never heard of Eucla, that’s no surprise, as it really is in the middle of nowhere. It is the first ‘village’ over the Western Australian border when driving across the Nullarbor Plain from South Australia. Village is pushing it – Eucla is essentially just a roadhouse and an abandoned telegraph station. In the most recent census, Eucla had a population of just 53 people.

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Where does Australian Central Western Standard Time cover?

Australian Central Western Standard Time (ACWST) stretches along the Eyre Highway for about 340km, starting at Border Village in South Australia. Border Village time finishes just east of Caiguna in Western Australia, covering just a handful of roadhouses and cattle stations.

Border Village in South Australia uses Australian Western Central Standard Time — The Big Kangaroo is the main attraction at Border Village, South Australia – one of the few places in Australia to use Australian Western Central Standard Time.

ACWST is set to UTC+8.45, making it one of very few time zones in the world set to a quarter hour. The idea is that it bridges the gap between Western Australia, on UTC+8, and South Australia on UTC+9.30.

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Daylight Saving Time and ACWST

This gets even more confusing, however, when South Australia moves to Daylight Saving Time in summer. From the first Sunday in October, the clocks move forward an hour in South Australia. They move back again on the first Sunday in April.

This means that if driving across the Nullarbor from Adelaide to Perth in the summer, it’s suddenly an hour and three quarters earlier when you pull in for fuel at Border Village. Going in to take a picture of the clocks gives you something to do there once you’re bored of the Big Kangaroo. This is one of Australia’s notorious roadside Big Things.