Ilkurlka Community, Western Australia
Ilkurlka (sometimes spelt Ilkulka) is a small hub on the Anne Beadell Highway in central Western Australia. It has a roadhouse, a tiny outstation, and a Spinifex cultural centre with an art gallery. The Spinifex people have lived in the Great Victoria Desert for thousands of years. After being moved to Yakatunya because of the 1950s Maralinga nuclear tests, they later resettled at Ilkurlka and at nearby Tjuntjuntjara. In 2000 they won native title over about 55,000 square kilometres of desert, and Ilkurlka sits in the centre of these lands. The 2003 roadhouse was built by the Spinifex people to serve communities up and down the desert, especially Tjuntjuntjara. It is run by the Ilkurlka Aboriginal Corporation and runs on solar power with a back-up generator; as of 2023, the manager is Philip Merry.
The roadhouse also houses the visitors’ centre and the Spinifex Arts Project gallery, selling works by local artists. Nearby is Ikurlka rockhole, which inspired a painting by Simon Hogan, now in the British Museum. Ilkurlka is the most isolated roadhouse in Australia: 165 km west of the South Australia border and the only fuel and supplies stop on the 1,300 km Anne Beadell Highway between Laverton and Coober Pedy. It is about 600 km east of Laverton and 750 km west of Coober Pedy. The nearest community is Cosmo Newberry, about 200 km away. Accommodations include a hilltop studio, a campsite with hot showers and toilets, and a covered barbecue area. There is an airstrip for the weekly mail plane, and basic DIY mechanical repairs are available. Alcohol is not available on this land.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:47 (CET).