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Australia is a highly urbanised country, and outside these major urban areas the landscape becomes rural which eventually gives way to the 'bush', a term that refers to nature or natural areas of vegetation. Travelling further inland from the bush, the landscape starts to become arid and less hospitible with fewer settlements. This area is known by the term, 'The Outback'.
The outback is actually the biggest area of desert on earth outside of the Sahara, it also includes large areas of savannah grassland. Despite the harsh environment, little rainfall, and periods of extreme heat, it is home to big populations of kangaroos, emus, dingoes, and the Australian feral camel, as well as small shrubs and stunted trees. The longest fence in the world known as the Dingo fence, divides the outback from the main rural area of Australia. It was built to stop dingo's from threatening livestock. It is an impressive 5,614 km (3,488 mi) long.
Early European exploration of inland Australia was sporadic. More focus was on the more accessible and fertile coastal areas. The first party to successfully cross the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney was led by Gregory Blaxland in 1813, 25 years after the colony was established. People starting with John Oxley in 1819 and 1821, followed by Charles Sturt in 1829-1830 attempted to follow the westward-flowing rivers to find an "inland sea", but these were found to all flow into the Murray River and Darling River which turn south.
Over the period 1858 to 1861, John McDouall Stuart led six expeditions north from Adelaide into the outback, culminating in successfully reaching the north coast of Australia and returning, without the loss of any lives. This contrasts with the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition in 1860-61 which was much better funded, but resulted in the deaths of seven of the eight members of the expedition.
Exploration of the outback continued up to the 1950s when Len Beadell explored, surveyed and built many roads in support of the nuclear weapons tests at Emu Field and Maralinga and rocket testing on the Woomera Prohibited Area. The outback is still being explored but more so for mineral exploration. In 1983 a film team discovered what is now called Purnululu National Park. The park was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2003, for its outstanding universal natural heritage values.
Less than 10 percent of the Australian population lives outside the urban settlements on the coastal fringes. Despite this, the outback and the history of its exploration and settlement provides Australians with a mythical backdrop, and stories of swagmen, squatters, and bushrangers and so on are central to the national ethos of the country. The song Waltzing Matilda, which is about swagmen and squatters, is a popular traditional Australian song.
Original versions of our photos can be purchased & web versions can be shared subject to conditions.