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EUCLA

Latitude 31° 43' S Longitude 128° 53' E

Eucla is the easternmost settlement in Western Australia. It is situated close to the Western Australian/South Australian border on the edge of the Nullarbor Plain, and north of the Great Australian Bight. The area of Eucla was first explored by Edward John Eyre in 1841, whilst exploring from Fowler Bay in South Australia to Albany in Western Australia. Eyre did not record any name for the area. In 1867, Mr B Douglas, President of the Marine Board of South Australia reported on the discovery of a port at Eucla, but the name is reported as though already known at that time.

The survey of the Eucla (Interstate) telegraph line from Albany to Adelaide in 1873/4 identified the need for a town at Eucla. Land was set aside in 1873, although the townsite was not gazetted until 1885. The telegraph line opened in 1877, and the Eucla telegraph station was one of the most important on the line. The original settlement was abandoned through the encroachment of the sand dunes for which the area is known. Eucla is assumed to be a form of an Aboriginal name for the area, "Yinculyer", which one source gives as referring to the rising of the planet Venus. Another local Aboriginal name for the area is "Chinialla".


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