Australias Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the country, joining all mainland capital cities except the national capital, Canberra. At a total length of approximately , it is the longest national highway in the world, surpassing the Trans-Siberian Highway (over ) and the Trans-Canada Highway (). Over a million people traverse some part of the highway network every day. It is the longest continuing highway in the world as the Pan-American Highway is separated by the Darién Gap and AH1 is separated by the Sea of Japan. However, it is not the longest continuous stretch of highway as both the northern section of the Pan-American Highway and the continental section of AH1 still out-measure it.
History
Highway 1 was created as part of the National Route Numbering system, adopted in 1955. The route was compiled from an existing network of state and local roads and tracks.
Since that time, all states and territories except for Western Australia have adopted (or are in the process of adopting) alphanumeric route numbers. As a consequence, much of Highway 1 is now marked with a M1, A1 or B1 route marker (depending on the route's quality and importance). A notable exception is in Tasmania, which was the first state to adopt alphanumeric route numbers but Highway 1 is still marked with a National Highway 1 shield.
In South Australia, sections of Highway 1 which were once part of the National Highway were marked as "National Highway A1" or "National Highway M1" but have since been replaced by the standard "A1" and "M1" shield markers
Track
Large sections of Highway 1 are shared with the Australian National Highway, though the two are not synonymous. Where they diverge, Highway 1 follows a coastal route, such as the Princes Highway from Sydney to Melbourne, whereas the National Highway follows an inland (and generally more direct) route between major cities, such as the Hume Highway and Freeway from Sydney to Melbourne.
thumb|Princes Highway, which is part of the Highway 1 network, at [[Moruya, New South Wales]]
From Sydney, it heads southwards to Melbourne and onwards toward Adelaide. This section mostly follows the Princes Highway, except sections where that highway has been bypassed by freeways. It leaves the Sydney central business district via the Eastern Distributor, and continues southward through the Sydney metropolitan area via Southern Cross Drive, General Holmes Drive, The Grand Parade, President Avenue, and the Princes Highway (NSW). From Sydney's southern outskirts, it proceeds to Wollongong via the Princes Motorway, which bypasses the parallel section of the Princes Highway. Highway 1 returns to the Princes Highway south of Wollongong, from which it traverses the length of the NSW South Coast and into Victoria. East of Melbourne, Highway 1/Princes Highway turns into the eastern section of the Princes Freeway. Within Melbourne, this freeway turns into the Monash Freeway, and then into CityLink, which passes just south of the Melbourne central business district.
Highway 1 exits Melbourne to the west via the West Gate Freeway and the western section of the Princes Freeway towards Geelong, which it bypasses via the Geelong Ring Road. It then proceeds west following the Princes Highway to Warrnambool, into South Australia to Mount Gambier, and then to Adelaide.
From there, it runs to Perth via Port Wakefield Road, Augusta Highway, Eyre Highway, Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, South Coast Highway and South Western Highway.
It then heads to Darwin via Brand Highway, North West Coastal Highway, Great Northern Highway, Victoria Highway, and Stuart Highway.
From Darwin, Highway 1 follows the Stuart Highway to Daly Waters, and thereafter the Carpentaria Highway to Borroloola. The Savannah Way is the largely unsignposted route for Highway 1 between the QLD/NT border, east of Borroloola, and Normanton, Queensland.
From there, it follows the Gulf Developmental Road and Kennedy Highway to Cairns and southwards via the Bruce Highway to Brisbane.
It then returns to Sydney via the Queensland/northern NSW section of the Pacific Motorway (QLD/NSW), the Pacific Highway (NSW), and the Sydney–Newcastle section of the Pacific Motorway. The motorway ends in Sydney's northern suburbs, and Highway 1 follows the Pacific Highway through Sydney's upper north shore, before turning onto the Gore Hill Freeway, Warringah Freeway. It crosses beneath Sydney Harbour in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, and follows the Cahill Expressway for a short stretch before joining the Eastern Distributor.
In Tasmania, Highway 1 starts at the Brooker Highway in Hobart and heads towards Launceston via the Midland Highway. At Launceston it becomes the Bass Highway to Burnie. Highway 1 ends at Burnie; the Bass Highway continues to Marrawah on the west coast as Highway A2.
Route markers
{| style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em; color:black; font-size:95%;" class="wikitable"
|- style="text-align:center;"
! State
! Segment
! Route marker
! Road(s)
! See also
|-
|rowspan=8|New South Wales
| Queensland border to West Ballina
| M1
| Pacific Motorway
| rowspan=8|Highway 1 (New South Wales)
|-
| West Ballina to
| A1
| Pacific Highway
|-
| Newcastle to Wahroonga
| M1
| Pacific Motorway
|-
| Wahroonga to Artarmon
| A1
| Pacific Highway
|-
| Artarmon to
| M1
|
|-
| Mascot to
| A1
|
|-
| Waterfall to Yallah
| M1
| Princes Motorway
|-
|rowspan=2| Yallah to Traralgon
|rowspan=2| A1
| Princes Highway
|-
|rowspan=3| Victoria
| Princes Highway (Vic)
| rowspan=3|Highway 1 (Victoria)
|-
| Traralgon to
| M1
|
|-
|rowspan=2| Colac to Mount Gambier
|rowspan=2| A1
| Princes Highway
|-
|rowspan=7| South Australia
| Princes Highway
| rowspan=7|Highway 1 (South Australia)
|-
| Mount Gambier to Tailem Bend
| B1
| Princes Highway
|-
| Tailem Bend to
| A1
| Princes Highway
|-
| Murray Bridge to Glen Osmond
| M1
| South Eastern Freeway
|-
| Glen Osmond to
| A1
|
|-
| Dulwich to Medindie
| R1
| City Ring Route
|-
| Medindie to WA border
| A1
|
|-
|rowspan=3| Western Australia
| SA border to
| National Highway 1
| Eyre Highway
| rowspan=3|Highway 1 (Western Australia)
|-
| Norseman to Port Hedland
| National Route 1
|
|-
| Port Hedland to NT border
|rowspan=4| National Highway 1
|
|-
|rowspan=4| Northern Territory
| WA border to
| Victoria Highway
|rowspan=4|Highway 1 (Northern Territory)
|-
| Katherine to spur
| Stuart Highway
|-
| Katherine to
| Stuart Highway
|-
| Daly Waters to Queensland border
| National Route 1
|
|-
|rowspan=3| Queensland
| NT border to Cairns
| National Route 1
|
|rowspan=3|Highway 1 (Queensland)
|-
| Cairns to Curra
| A1
| Bruce Highway
|-
| Curra to NSW border
| M1
|
|-
| Tasmania
| Entire Route
| National Highway 1
|
| Highway 1 (Tasmania)
|}
The Savannah Way section
The section from the eastern end of the Carpentaria Highway at Borroloola in the Northern Territory to the western end of the Gulf Developmental Road near Normanton in Queensland is part of the Savannah Way but has no highway name/s. Wollogorang Road runs from Borroloola to the NT/Qld border, and Westmoreland Road runs from there to Doomadgee. From there Doomadgee Road runs to Burketown, and Nardoo Burketown Road then runs to the Leichhardt River. Burketown Normanton Road runs from the river to the Burke Developmental Road near Normanton. National Highway 1 follows this south for to the Gulf Developmental Road.
Road conditions
With such a vast length, road conditions vary greatly; particularly two-lane sections in northern Queensland, due to driver fatigue.. While there have been previous attempts (notably Team Highway 1 to Hell’s record of 5 days, 13 hours & 43 minutes set in a 200 Series Toyota Landcruiser and which skipped Tasmania's stretch of road), Team Cobber Dingo did not omit sections of the highway, completing a full and complete lap of the longest National highway in the world. The vehicle chosen to complete the lap was a red 1998 Ford Falcon AU Series 1 Futura wagon nicknamed "Bill".
Team Cobber Dingo (a team of 2 friends) commenced the lap in Hobart, Tasmania at midday on 22 October 2023, crossing the Bass Strait aboard the Spirit of Tasmania ferry that evening. The mainland portion of the lap commenced and concluded at the old Ford assembly plant in Geelong, Victoria. The direction of travel for the mainland portion (clockwise or anticlockwise) was determined by flipping a coin in the carpark of the old Ford assembly plant, the result being a clockwise loop.
The elapsed time, including the ferry voyage (approximately 10 hours), was 7 days, 3 hours & 11 minutes.
See also
- Highway 1 (New South Wales)
- Highway 1 (Northern Territory)
- Highway 1 (Queensland)
- Highway 1 (South Australia)
- Highway 1 (Tasmania)
- Highway 1 (Victoria)
- Highway 1 (Western Australia)
- Highways in Australia
- List of A1 roads
- List of highways numbered 1