This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
31.63781° S, 129.00413° E
FIELD GUIDE
The story
Rooey II stands at the point where South Australia becomes Western Australia, which is one of the loneliest state borders on earth.
Border Village sits at the eastern edge of the Nullarbor crossing on the Eyre Highway, and the roadhouse there operates twenty-four hours because it has to – the next fuel in either direction is a long way off, and the crossing is one of the great long drives, more than a thousand kilometres of treeless plain between Ceduna and Norseman.
A giant kangaroo at that point is doing something specific. It marks an achievement. Drivers arriving have either just completed the Nullarbor or are about to start it, and an enormous landmark at the border is the natural place to stop, photograph and register having got there. Almost everyone who crosses does.
The name is the giveaway. Rooey II implies a Rooey I, which suggests the original was replaced at some point – the ordinary fate of a fibreglass animal in one of the harshest positions in the country, where UV, heat and wind do their work without interruption.
The border also has a practical dimension worth knowing: quarantine restrictions apply crossing westward, and there is a time-zone change.
Current visitor evidence continues to confirm Rooey II beside the complex, and a geotagged licensed photograph independently pins the sculpture.
What happened to the first Rooey, and when the current one went up, are not recorded.
Photograph
This is a photograph, shown separately from the illustration artwork.
The Border Village Roadhouse remains an active 24-hour Nullarbor stop and current visitor evidence continues to confirm Rooey II beside the complex. A geotagged licensed photograph independently pins the sculpture.
ACCESS
Navigate to Border Village Roadhouse and use the established roadhouse stopping area. Do not stop on the Eyre Highway shoulder at the sculpture.
