The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia,[1] formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence, and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits, and other agricultural pests from the east, out of Western Australian pastoral areas.[2]
There are three fences in Western Australia: the original No. 1 Fence crosses the state from north to south, No. 2 Fence is smaller and further west, and No. 3 Fence is smaller still and runs east–west. The fences took six years to build. When completed, the rabbit-proof fence (including all three fences) stretched 2,023 miles (3,256 km). The cost to build each kilometre of fence at the time was about $250 (equivalent to $42,000 in 2022).[3]
When it was completed in 1907, the 1,139-mile (1,833 km) No. 1 Fence was the longest unbroken fence in the world.[4]
- ^ "Introduction". The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, Centenary 1901–2001. National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 8 July 2004. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ "State Barrier Fence overview". agric.wa.gov.au.
- ^ "History". The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, Centenary 1901–2001. National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 22 July 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ "The No. 2 Rabbit Proof Fence". Calamunnda Camels Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2013.