Great Northern Highway Travel Guide — Things to Do, Food & Hotels
highway in Western Australia
About Great Northern Highway
Early Europeans in the north of Australia only had short stretches of dirt road linking their farms and towns to harbours, where steamers would call for goods and passengers. This was a barrier to trade, and to wartime defence when the north coast came under Japanese attack, so from 1944 two highways were built from Perth towards Darwin. One was the coastal Highway 1; the other, described here, was the Great Northern Highway (GNH) cutting inland. The two routes met at Port Hedland and thereafter ran concurrently until the GNH turned off to the port at Wyndham. Not until 1989 was GNH sealed throughout its length, and upgrading continues to this day. The latest major upgrade was in 2020, when the Tonkin Highway bypassed the Swan Valley towns near Perth. Trade remains the main purpose of the
Great Northern Highway Travel Guide Sections
Our comprehensive guide covers 5 sections including: