What is the Strzelecki Track?
The Strzelecki Track is an outback road in northeast South Australia linking Lyndhurst, near the Flinders Ranges, with the small settlement of Innamincka near the Queensland border, a distance of about 470 kilometres.
The track follows the general line of an old stock route through the Strzelecki Desert. It is named after Strzelecki Creek, which in turn honors the Polish explorer Paul Edmund de Strzelecki.
In the 1870s the cattle thief Harry Readford drove about 1,000 stolen cattle down this route from Queensland to South Australia. His story is said to have inspired the novel Robbery Under Arms by Rolf Boldrewood.
Oil, gas and history
The discovery of natural gas and oil in the Cooper Basin brought heavy vehicle traffic to the area, and sections of the road were improved for the mining and energy industry. Moomba, a gas production center, lies close to the track.
Innamincka sits on Cooper Creek and is close to sites linked to the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition of 1860 and 1861, including the Dig Tree just over the border in Queensland. The area is also rich in birdlife around permanent waterholes.
The track is mostly unsealed and can close after rain. Drivers should plan carefully and carry plenty of water and fuel.
Did You Know?
Innamincka Regional Reserve protects wetlands and waterholes along Cooper Creek.