Ooldea - SA

Ooldea was a tiny settlement in South Australia. It is on the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain, 863 km west of Port Augusta on the Trans-Australian Railway. Ooldea is 143 km from the bitumen Eyre Highway.

It was the site of a mission for Aboriginal children which was visited twice by Norman Tindale and was home for many years to Daisy Bates, both concerned with understanding and protecting Aboriginal culture. A cairn commemorating Daisy Bates was designed by F. Millward Grey and erected in 1953.

Ooldea was an important camp during construction of the railway, as it is near a permanent waterhole, first discovered by Europeans when Ernest Giles used it in 1875. On 17 October 1917 the final link of the railway was completed at Ooldea, linking the western section from Kalgoorlie to the eastern section to Port Augusta. On 17 October 2017, a centenary celebration was held west of the siding.

The siding was dependent on the Tea and Sugar Train for the delivery of supplies until 1996 when the train was withdrawn. The longest dead straight section of railway line in the world starts west of Ooldea at the 797 km post and continues past Watson to a point between Loongana and Nurina, a distance of 478 km.