Driving the Strzelecki Track

Posted 23 October, 2019 John Pedler

This iconic outback route owes part of its history to cattle rustling.   In 1870, Henry Arthur “Harry” Readford droved about 1,000 stolen cattle from Queensland through to Blanchewater Station in northern SA, roughly following the route we now know as the Strzelecki Track. He sold the mob at Blanchewater and then skedaddled to Adelaide.   Two years later, he was tracked down and arrested in Sydney, and wound up in court in the Queensland town of Roma. Despite overwhelming evidence against him, he was acquitted. It’s thought the jury was so taken by his skill and daring that they couldn’t bring themselves to convict him. Following the verdict, a stunned Judge Blakeney turned to the jury members and said, “Thank God, gentlemen, that verdict is yours, not mine.” The government then closed the Roma District Court for two years.     Although there had been stock movements in the region prior to Readford’s bold caper, it’s thought the fame surrounding his escapade drew attention to this route for droving cattle to the Adelaide markets. When droughts, economic downturns and the constant difficulty of crossing The Cobbler dunefield saw the stock-route all but abandoned, no-one knew of the natural resource bonanza that lay beneath the desert sands. The development of the oil and gas fields has seen the Strzelecki Track turned into a major outback road, and in good weather it can be travelled in a conventional vehicle with decent ground clearance. These days you’re much more likely to encounter a convoy of caravanners or a fleet of semi-trailers hauling equipment to Moomba, rather than a robber and his cows.    

Accommodation and camping

Accommodation is available at Leigh Creek Resort, Leigh Creek Caravan Park, Leigh Creek Hotel (Copley Pub), Copley Caravan Park, Lyndhurst Hotel, Innamincka Trading Post and the Innamincka Hotel. There are caravan parks at Leigh Creek, Copley and Lyndhurst. Camping is permitted in the town common at Innamincka (honesty box) and there are toilets and coin-op showers opposite the Trading Post. Many travellers head for the campsites east and west of town, on the waterholes of Cooper Creek. Camping permits are available online at Parks SA, or from the Innamincka Trading Post.