The Canning Stock Route is the longest historic stock route in the world, but for the Aboriginal people whose Country it crosses, it is also something else entirely: a corridor through some of the most significant Dreaming tracks in the Western Desert.
What Is the Canning Stock Route?
The Canning Stock Route runs around 1,850 kilometres through the Gibson, Little Sandy and Great Sandy Deserts of Western Australia, connecting Halls Creek in the East Kimberley to Wiluna in the state's Mid West.
Government surveyor Alfred Canning surveyed it in 1906 and 1907, intending it as a droving route that would let cattle be walked from Kimberley stations south to markets around Wiluna, avoiding areas affected by tick-borne cattle disease.
Between 1908 and 1910, Canning's construction party sank a chain of wells, roughly a day's walk apart, along the route's full length, allowing cattle and drovers to find water at regular intervals through the desert.
History of the Canning Stock Route
Survey and Construction
Canning's 1906 survey party was the first group of white Australians to enter much of the Great Sandy Desert. To locate water sources in country his party didn't know, Canning captured a number of Aboriginal men along the route, restrained them, and forced them to eat salt so that their need for water would lead the party to nearby soakages and waterholes. A Royal Commission later examined Canning's conduct during the survey; despite this, he was engaged to lead the well-sinking expedition that followed.
Well 33 and the Heart of the Route
Well 33, known to its traditional owners as Kunawarritji, sits roughly at the midpoint of the route and lies at the heart of a rich cluster of Jukurrpa (Dreaming) stories from the surrounding desert. It became one of the main points from which desert families eventually left their homelands during the mid-twentieth century, moving on to communities as far away as Turkey Creek, Wiluna, Jigalong, Balgo and Bidyadanga. Today Kunawarritji remains an Aboriginal community and a fuel and supply stop for the small number of four-wheel-drive travellers who take on the route each year.
Conflict and Contested History
The stock route's construction and early use brought Aboriginal families whose Country it crossed into direct, often violent contact with settlers for the first time. At Well 9, known to the local Martu people as Palatji, explorer John Forrest's party clashed with a large group of Martu men in 1874, decades before the stock route itself was built; Forrest's account and the account passed down by Martu Elders differ sharply, a reminder that this history carries more than one perspective.
Further north, in 1911, a droving party was killed at Well 37, and a police expedition sent in response killed a number of Aboriginal people in the area. Wangkatjungka artists, including Peter Goodijie, have also documented family accounts of violent confrontations near Well 42, passed down through generations as part of the oral history connected to their Country.
Because of this history, and ongoing resistance from desert families, the route saw little use between 1911 and 1929, with many wells deliberately damaged during this period.
Restoration and Later Use
In 1929, following a Royal Commission into the state of the Western Australian beef industry, the wells were repaired, and the route reopened, remaining in irregular use for droving until the last cattle run in 1959. After a period of disuse, the first motor vehicle expedition completed the full length of the track in the 1960s, and the Canning Stock Route is now used mainly as a four-wheel-drive adventure route, typically taking between ten and twenty days to complete, with permits required to cross the native title land it passes through.
Dreaming Stories Along the Canning Stock Route
For Aboriginal families of the Western Desert, the Canning Stock Route's path cuts directly across country that has been occupied and sung for around 30,000 years. Numerous Jukurrpa, or Dreaming, tracks and songlines cross the route, particularly around its northern end; some of these were interrupted by the stock route's construction, and only the outer layer of many of these song cycles, described by their custodians as the "easy stories," can be shared publicly. Deeper layers of this knowledge, tied to ceremony and law, remain restricted and are carefully protected by the communities who hold them.
Aboriginal artists from Wangkatjungka, such as Peter Goodijie and Willie Kew, have painted their own families' stories of waterholes along the route, connecting specific sites to both Dreaming and remembered history. Artist Nyuju Stumpy Brown painted Ngupawarlu, her birthplace and spiritual home near Well 39, in bold, richly coloured works recreating the waterhole and law ground at the centre of her Country. These individual stories form part of a much larger body of work: the Yiwarra Kuju (One Road) Canning Stock Route Project, developed by artists and Elders from twelve language groups and twenty-four communities along the route, bringing together painting, oral history and cultural mapping to record the route's meaning from an Aboriginal perspective.
How the Canning Stock Route Is Painted
Artists connected to the Canning Stock Route paint from deep, personal knowledge of specific waterholes, rock holes and sandhills along its length, often the very Country their own families managed and moved through long before the stock route existed. Because much of this knowledge carries cultural restrictions, artists and communities work closely with curators and cultural advisers to decide what can be shared publicly and what must remain within community, ensuring that what reaches a gallery wall has been offered, rather than taken.
Shop the Collection
Every artwork in this collection is created by Aboriginal artists with the cultural authority to paint these stories, directly supporting artists and their communities. When you buy through Mandel Aboriginal Art Gallery, you're supporting the continuation of these stories for future generations, backed by clear provenance and a direct connection to Country.
Contact us for further details on the history of the route and other Dreamtime stories.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Canning Stock Route?
The Canning Stock Route runs approximately 1,850 kilometres through the Gibson, Little Sandy and Great Sandy Deserts of Western Australia, making it the longest historic stock route in the world.
What is the history of the Canning Stock Route?
It was surveyed by Alfred Canning in 1906, with a chain of wells sunk between 1908 and 1910 to support cattle droving from the East Kimberley to Wiluna. Early use was limited due to conflict with Aboriginal families along the route; the wells were repaired and the route reopened in 1929, with droving continuing until 1959.
What is significant about Well 33?
Well 33, known as Kunawarritji, sits near the midpoint of the route and is central to a cluster of Dreaming stories from the surrounding desert. It became a major departure point for desert families in the mid-twentieth century and remains an Aboriginal community today.
Are there Dreaming stories connected to the Canning Stock Route?
Yes. The route crosses numerous Jukurrpa, or Dreaming, tracks, particularly toward its northern end. Some parts of these stories are shared publicly, while deeper, restricted layers of knowledge remain protected by the communities who hold them.
What is the Canning Stock Route used for today?
Since the last cattle drove in 1959, the route has become a four-wheel-drive touring track, typically taking ten to twenty days to complete, crossing native title land that requires permits and respectful engagement with local communities.
