Gibb River Road, Outback road in the Kimberley region, Western Australia, Australia.
The Gibb River Road is a former cattle route running east–west for almost 660 kilometres (410 mi) through the Kimberley, between Derby and the Kununurra and Wyndham junction of the Great Northern Highway. Since the mid-2000s it has been upgraded to a formed gravel two-lane road with a few short bitumenised sections; the last 74 km into Derby are sealed. It passes Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek, Adcock, Manning, Galvans, Lennard and Bell gorges and the Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges.
Construction began in 1950 after a Commonwealth grant, part of the Beef Roads Scheme, and the southern Derby section opened in 1956 at a cost of £713,677, used to truck live cattle. The northern section stayed under the Shire of Wyndham–East Kimberley until Main Roads Western Australia took over in 1996 and upgraded the full length.
The route traverses traditional lands of Indigenous Australian communities who have maintained deep spiritual connections to these landscapes for thousands of years, with ancient rock art sites visible throughout the region.
Travel requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle and careful planning for fuel, water, and supplies due to limited services, with the best conditions from May to September when rivers are lower and roads are drier.
The road is named after geologist and explorer Andrew Gibb Maitland, but the Gibb River itself does not cross it, running nearby at about 16°06′S 126°31′E. The southern section, sometimes called the Derby–Gibb River Road, was finished in 1956 at a cost of £713,677 and was used to truck live cattle.
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