The Kalamunda Zig Zag was a zig zag rail line that was part of the Upper Darling Range railway line in Western Australia, opening in July 1891 and closing in July 1949. Most of it was converted to a public road in 1952, part of which is now a tourist drive called Zig Zag Scenic Drive that offers views of Perth from the hills. To overcome a steep gradient up the Darling Scarp, a zig zag was built between Ridge Hill and Gooseberry Hill stations, being cheaper to build than a continuous gradient line. The Kalamunda Zig Zag closed on 22 July 1949 along with the rest of the line. In 1952 the track was removed and most of the Kalamunda Zig Zag converted into a narrow bitumen road.

Part of this road is now a tourist drive called Zig Zag Scenic Drive, with the zig zag section that descends down the Darling Scarp being one-way in the direction of descent with a speed limit of and, , closed to motor vehicles between the hours of 8:30pm and 11am. This section of road was closed to motor vehicles completely by the City of Kalamunda in May 2020 due to reports of anti-social behaviour at night including hooning, drug use and cruelty to wildlife. On the last Sunday of October each year, there is a community arts festival called the "Zig Zag Festival" held in Stirk Park, Kalamunda.

The zig zag is also used as a stage in the Targa West Rally. The road is closed to all traffic and the stage is run in reverse road direction, from the bottom to the top.

References

Further reading

  • Zig Zag Community Arts Festival page