The Great Central Road is a mostly unsealed Australian highway that runs from Laverton, Western Australia to Yulara, Northern Territory . It passes through a number of small communities on the way. It is called Tjukaruru Road between the NT border and its junction with Kata Tjuta Road, and some consider that junction to be its northeastern end, 48 km from Yulara and the Lasseter Highway.
The Great Central Road (GCR) forms part of the Outback Way which goes all the way to Winton, Queensland, and is being developed as the third east–west transcontinental highway across Australia.
History The Great Central Road has its origins in the early 1930s when Warburton was established as a missionary settlement, and supplies were delivered from Laverton via a rough bush track.
By the mid-1950s, the track from Laverton had become graded dirt. In 1958 during survey for the Gunbarrel Highway as part of the Woomera rocket range project, Len Beadell visited Warburton and built a new road from Giles via the Rawlinson Range to Warburton. At Jackie Junction north of Warburton, the Gunbarrel Highway branched from this road towards Carnegie Station further west. Beadell returned to Giles via a different bush track which passed east through the Blackstone Range towards Docker River.
In January 1978 funds were provided to Warburton council by the Government of Western Australia to construct a more direct road from Warburton to Docker River which bypassed part of the twenty-year-old Gunbarrel Highway. The Great Central Road and original Gunbarrel Highway are coincident for near Giles.
In 1988 the Outback Highway Development Council Inc. (OHDC) was formed as a non-profit alliance of local governments to lobby for the sealing and upgrading of the Outback Way including the Great Central Road.
In 2024, the road was closed for some months due to flooding.Great Central Road remains closed as Laverton shire estimates flood damage could cost up to $100 million ABC News (Australia) 19 April 2024
Road conditions and road sealing updates In May 2026, 736 km remained to seal of the GCR in WA, and 117 km remained to seal of Tjukururu Road in the NT.
The Western Australian road sealing project between Laverton and the NT border is due to be completed in 2032 at a cost of $678 million.
The unsealed sections are graded to a standard suitable for two wheel drive vehicles and caravans. It is on the most direct route from Perth to Uluru with approximately 10,000 vehicles travelling the route annually.
It is recommended that communications equipment be carried while driving on this road.
Fuel supplies Laverton and Yulara at each end of the GCR have fuel supplies. In addition in May 2026 the Outback Way website listed three fuel stations on the GCR: Tjukayirla Roadhouse, 300 km from Laverton, Warburton Roadhouse, 560 km from Laverton, and Warakurna Roadhouse, 786 km from Laverton.
Permits and quarantine restrictions The route also passes directly into Aboriginal reserves and it is a legal requirement for travellers to hold a valid transit permit at the time of travel, even when staying on the Great Central Road.
As of May 2026, the following free permits are required to travel the Great Central Road:
Great Central Road Laverton to Tjukayirla Roadhouse: apply to WA Dept Planning Lands & Heritage. The application is referred to the Yilka Talintji Aboriginal Corporation. Great Central Road Tjukayirla Roadhouse to NT Border: applications via the Ngaanyatjarra Council permit portal. Tjukururu Road (the Great Central Road in the Northern Territory between the NT Border and Kata Tjuta Road): applications via the Central Land Council.
When heading from the Northern Territory to Laverton there is an amnesty bin for Quarantine WA outside of Laverton. All passenger vehicles are to stop and dispose of all quarantine risk material that is stated on the sign, including all fresh fruit, vegetables, honey, seed, potatoes, onions and other such plants. This area has a mobile inspector from time to time and there is risk of fines if travellers are stopped and offending material is found.
Gallery
Attractions The two most notable attractions on this road are Kata Tjuta/The Olgas and Uluru (Ayers Rock), both within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory.
On the Western Australian side of the border, other attractions include Tjukayirla Roadhouse, whose name derives from the Tjukayirla rockholes, which are located at the southwest end of the campground. Wildlife can be seen around the roadhouse, including dingoes, emus, kangaroos, camels and many species of birds.
Empress Springs, or Reti, is a significant cultural site for Ngalia people, and is situated on land subject to a native title claim. The site is depicted in a mural on Kalgoorlie Police Station, created by Deeva and Kado Muir in 2018. The springs are inside a cave, located around north along the David Carnegie Road, the junction of which is along the Great Central Road west of the roadhouse. Access is via a chain ladder.
Nearby attractions include the marker erected by surveyors Harry L. Paine and Hugh C. Barclay in 1931 on their expedition to the Warburton Ranges, known as the Paine & Barclay Survey Marker. The closest rockhole to the marker is the Winduldarra Rockhole.
Additional attractions include Lasseter's Cave, the Petermann Ranges, Giles Weather Station, the ochre bluff of Giles Breakaway, Lake Throssell, Lake Yeo Nature Reserve, and Peegull Waterhole and Caves.
Junctions
References
External links
Great Central Road on ExplorOz Great Central Road (Tourism Western Australia)