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Edward A. Delisser (1829 – July 1900) was an Australian surveyor who travelled between Fowler's Bay and Eucla in August 1866. He subsequently followed the Aboriginal paths that went between the Head of the Bight and Eucla. It was on this trip that he became the first European to use the name Nullarbor. The Delisser Sandhills near Eucla are named after him. In the 1890s a rabbit plague passed through the area and ate much of the sand dune vegetation, thus destabilising the dune system and causing large sand drifts to encroach on the town site. The original town was abandoned, and a new town site established about 5 km to the east and higher up on the escarpment. The ruins of the telegraph station still stand today amongst the constantly shifting dunes.
I carried a soft spot for Eucla before we left the UK, partly to do with its past as an old important telegraph station but mainly due to its location and dunes. Walking in and out of these dunes holds an amazing sense of isolation despite the town of 86 people nearby. After this fresh morning photograph we were treated with a close up encounter of a wedged tail eagle. I’m guessing he doesn’t get many humans on his patch so a fly-by was in order for scoping us out. What an epic sight, just hanging there 5-6 meters up. Their wing span can reach 2.5 meters. It wouldn’t have surprised me if it came over to consider swooping for us it was that big.
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