Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Saturday 11 October 1941, page 10


FIXING THE SA-WA BOUNDARY

By G F YOUNG

NOW. that the Defence Department

is proceeding with our East-West road, the location of the boundary between South Australia and Western Australia is a subject of revived interest.

To Lieut. Douglas, a South Australian soldier, goes the credit of determining this line In 1867. He erected a flagstaff near

Eucla, and 3 years later John Forrest fixed a plate on the western side of this pole.

The next survey was made by surveyor Anketell in 1908 while engaged in deciding on the route of the Trans-Australian railway. Anketell erected a cairn humble affair, still to be seen 40 miles west from the town of Deakin. Within 8 chains of this pile of gibbers is a still smaller collect on heaped up into a cone. Same mystery attaches to this. It is older than Anketell's, and has remained undisturbed for

sentimental reasons.

Railway officials and travellers often point to it and tell the audience in the

carriage "That is Forrest's determination of the boundary," and perhaps remark upon the small difference in the 2 calculations made with instruments inferior to modern surveyors' appliances. But Forrest, on his second exploration trip, went 300 miles farther north, so it certainly is not "Sir John Forrest's mark."

However, the official boundary mark is none of the above, but an obelisk, 6ft. 6in. high, 15in. square at the base, taper-ing to a little less than 12in. on top. It is securely planted in the Australian plain close to Eucla, and bears the date July 27, 1926.