In 1894 Walter Dunn pioneered the track to the
Dundas Goldfield. He set up a store at Cocanarup (18 kms SW of Ravensthorpe) to provide supplies to travellers from
Albany to the goldfields.
Dunn’s Track is a little travelled track that traverses some very remote and rough country. This track is a twin of The
Holland Track which took prospectors from
Broomehill to
Coolgardie in the 1890’s.
Go to top Interactive Route Map

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Dunns Track 
From: Ravensthorpe
To: Norseman
This trek supports moving map, to take a virtual tour click on the Play button.
Access
permits are not required for this trek note.
Go to top Things to See & Do
The trek begins in earnest when crossing through a
gate in the Vermin Fence. Please ensure you shut the
gate again after you pass through.
On the eastern side of the
gate through the fence and to the north are two water tanks and an old Rabbit Proof Fence boundary rider’s camp. The camp is a dilapidated corrugated iron three sided structure with an earth floor, its well worth a look.
The country quickly changes to rolling hills and gullies and the scrub is low and almost impenetrable.
At around the 35 kilometre mark, on the eastside of that creek, leave the vehicle and follow the creek bed south to the remains of a small dam and rock cairn. North of the track at the same point are some stone footings of a building.
At around the 58 kilometre mark on the north side of the track there is a low lying granite outcrop. Here you will find a number of
gnamma holes; these may hold water depending on the season. These should not be relied on and the water quality would be dubious at best.
Peak Charles (651 metres) and the nearby
Peak Eleanora stand out of the plain and can be seen up to 40 kilometres away.
There is a walk trail to the top of
Peak Charles, however it is not for the faint hearted, those taking the walk will have the most fantastic 360°
views of the surrounding countryside. There is a 2 metre high rock cairn at the top.
The vegetation changes to the typical goldfields woodland as you approach
Peak Charles. The main access to
Peak Charles is from the north east via the well formed but gravel
Peak Charles-
Norseman Road that leads to the park from the
Coolgardie-
Esperance Highway. Two wheel drive vehicles can access
Peak Charles via this access way.
The upright stone walls around
Moir Rock were constructed to funnel water into a tank on the southern side of the rock. W. Moir took out a lease on the area that included this rock in the late 1880’s; the rock was subsequently named after him.
Stennet Rock also has a rock wall to harvest rain water, however at this rock the water is fed into a well constructed turkey nest dam. The rock is named after Thomas Stennet who prospected this area with Moir in 1892.
Next stop is
Dundas, an abandoned goldmining town 22 kilometres south of
Norseman. Although all buildings have gone, the layout of the streets can be seen and occasional signs provide detail on the town.
A well prepared vehicle will take you to a pristine environment that has its own natural beauty; this area has seen little changes since the first explorers visited the area.
Thoroughly plan your trip, don’t take a trip to this area lightly. You may be lulled into a false sense of security because of the seemingly lack of remoteness; however the middle section of the track is little travelled.
A wise precaution is to get hold of some updated and detailed mud maps of the area or get hold of some digital maps of the region to use on a laptop. If you decide to get some digital maps of the region, you could load these into
OziExplorer (which should be installed and running on your laptop) and load the plot file for this trek from ExplorOz. Another precaution against getting lost is to use a GPS with the track back feature so you can reverse the track and follow it back out again if you do get lost.
Mobile phones will not obtain a signal and CB/UHF radios don’t have the strength of signal. For your safety ensure you have a
satellite phone or
HF radio. We advise that you refer to the latest information and advice about outback
communications in the
Communications Topic.
Punctures from stakes are almost a certainty, ensure you have quality tyre repair gear, a second spare is preferable. It is strongly suggested you travel with another vehicle and not solo. Obviously a 4WD is required and high clearance is highly recommended. Travellers should read the
4WDriving Topic for related articles and checklists for vehicle setup and driver awareness.
Some sections of the track are overgrown and vehicle scratching is a certainty so be forewarned.
Suitable areas for campsites are scarce at the Ravensthorpe end of the track, because of the thickness and closeness of the scrub. Fire wood is a scarce commodity on the track south of
Peak Charles.
Fuel Supplies & Usage
 | Ravensthorpe, Norseman |
Diesel | 4cyl 35 litres |
ULP | 4cyl 40 litres |
LPG | 4cyl 50 litres |
| 6cyl 38 litres | 6cyl 45 litres | 6cyl 44 litres |
| 8cyl 38 litres | 8cyl 41 litres | |
Usage is averaged from
TrekFuel (* specific to trek) submissions and calculated based on trek distance.
Best Time To Visit
The cooler months of April to October with Spring being the best months to enjoy the wildflowers.
Closest Climatic Station
Salmon Gums Res.Stn.
Distance from Trek Mid Point 66.5km E
| | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Mean Max. °C |
30.5 | 29.6 | 27.3 | 23.7 |
19.8 | 16.9 | 16.0 | 17.3 |
20.3 | 23.3 | 26.3 | 28.9 |
| Mean Min. °C |
13.9 | 13.9 | 12.6 | 9.9 |
7.2 | 5.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 |
5.7 | 7.5 | 10.1 | 12.2 |
| Mean Rain mm |
26.5 | 23.9 | 24.4 | 27.8 |
34.4 | 38.6 | 36.9 | 33.3 |
31.9 | 26.5 | 25.7 | 20.1 |
Best time to travel Ok time to travel Travel NOT recommended
Services & Supplies
The following locations have various services and supplies:
Ravensthorpe,
NorsemanFood, fuel and facilities such as caravan parks, shops and mechanical services are available at Ravensthorpe or
Norseman.
Go to top Camp Sites & Accommodation
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Norseman - WA 

This gold mining town lies about 190km south of Kalgoorlie and is often regarded as the western gateway to the Nullarbor Plain. Norseman is at the junction of the Eyre Highway (the highway that heads
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Most of this trek is over dirt roads and in
places which are very sandy. The terrain is a mixture of sandy track and creek crossings that are sometimes steep sided.
Vegetation tends to be scrub and heath, with thick but tall scrub at the southern end and goldfields woodlands at the northern end.
In 1894 Walter Dunn pioneered the track to the
Dundas Goldfield; he set up a store at Cocanarup (18 kms SW of Ravensthorpe) to provide supplies to travellers from
Albany to the goldfields.
Surveyor General John S. Roe whilst on his 1848 explorations in the area named
Peak Charles after the then Governor, Charles Fitzgerald, he also named nearby
Peak Eleanora after the Governor’s wife.
In 1910 Guy May and Arthur Hewby, also explored extensively throughout the area and followed Dunn’s Track to the north east. Hewby had a trackside swamp named after him. Hewby and May constructed the cairn on
Peak Charles.