Ooldea
Coordinates: 30 ° 27 ′ S , 131 ° 50 ′ E
Ooldea is a tiny settlement in the Australian state of South Australia . It is located on the Trans-Australian Railroad at the eastern end of the Nullarbor Desert , about 863 kilometers from Port Augusta . The place is 143 km north of the Eyre Highway, which runs parallel to the railroad .
Ooldea was founded as a mission station . During the construction and operation of the trans-Australian railroad, the place was an important supply station, later also for the Maralinga nuclear weapons test site . Today the place is still occasionally used to replenish water supplies by the Indian Pacific , but is otherwise uninhabited.