Operating between 1877 and 1927 and situated on the Roe Plains below the
Hampton Tablelands (WA), Old
Eucla Telegraph & Repeater Station was a vital link between WA-SA, at one time being the busiest communication centre outside of capital cities.
When the telegraph line opened in 1877,
Eucla was one of the most important telegraph stations on the line. The town was proclaimed a township and gazetted in 1885, and reached its peak in the 1920s, prior to the construction of a new telegraph line further north alongside the Trans-Australian Railway in 1929. Many of the pioneer farmers and telegraph operators were buried at
Eucla, but as the sand dunes encroached onto their
graves, some of the headstones and plaques were removed and can now be seen at the museum at
Eucla.
The original town was abandoned after severe erosion caused sand drifts to encroach on the town and so a new townsite was established about 4 km to the north and higher up on the escarpment in the location that visitors now pass along the Eyre Highway.
The
ruins of the telegraph station still stand amongst the dunes, and are a local tourist attraction.