The Eyre Telegraph Station is a building on the remote south-east coast of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, on the Great Australian Bight

Great Australian Bight

The Great Australian Bight is a large bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia.-Extent:...

. Built in 1897 of local limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

, it is a substantial one-storey structure, with a wide timber-framed verandah and a corrugated iron roof, that housed a telegraph

Electrical telegraph

An electrical telegraph is a telegraph that uses electrical signals, usually conveyed via telecommunication lines or radio. The electromagnetic telegraph is a device for human-to-human transmission of coded text messages....

 repeater station on the line between Adelaide, South Australia, and Albany, Western Australia

Albany, Western Australia

Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....

. It is now within the Nuytsland Nature Reserve

Nuytsland Nature Reserve

Nuytsland Nature Reserve is a protected area of Western Australia in the far south eastern part of the state.Nominally located at 32° 18' S 125° 52' E, it has an area of 6,253.44 km², and takes in over 500 kilometers of coastline from Cape Pasley to Red Rocks Point. It was gazetted in 1969...

, below the Nullarbor Plain

Nullarbor Plain

The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about...

 escarpment

Escarpment

An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...

, and is surrounded by mallee

Mallee (habit)

Mallee is the growth habit of certain eucalypt species that grow with multiple stems springing from an underground lignotuber, usually to a height of no more than ten metres...

 woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

 and sand dunes.

The station is 49 kilometres (30 mi) south of Cocklebiddy

Cocklebiddy, Western Australia

Cocklebiddy is a small roadhouse community located on the Eyre Highway in Western Australia. It is the third stop east of Norseman on the long journey east across the Nullarbor Plain. The area is noted for its underground caves and lakes.-History:...

, close to “Eyre’s Sand Patch”, the site where explorer

Exploration

Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...

 Edward John Eyre

Edward John Eyre

Edward John Eyre was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and a controversial Governor of Jamaica....

 found water and rested for three weeks in 1841 during his epic 3200 km overland journey along the coast of the Great Australian Bight. The building replaced an earlier and less substantial wooden one built when the telegraph was first constructed in 1875–1877. It would have been manned by a Telegraph Master with one or more assistants.

After operating for 50 years the telegraph station was closed in 1927 and the building left to decay for the next 50. In 1977 it was the focus of a restoration program by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union

Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union

The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia, was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions. This makes it Australia's oldest national birding association. It is also Australia's largest...

, now Birds Australia, with assistance from the Western Australian Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and the Post Office Historical Society, in order to establish it as the Eyre Bird Observatory

Eyre Bird Observatory

Eyre Bird Observatory is an educational, scientific and recreational facility in the Nuytsland Nature Reserve, Western Australia.Cocklebiddy is the nearest locality on the Eyre Highway 49 km to the north....

, Australia’s first. The building is listed on the Australian Register of the National Estate

Register of the National Estate

The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...

.