Dukes Highway

The Dukes Highway is an important 189 kilometre highway corridor in South Australia which links the Australian cities of Adelaide and Melbourne. It is part of the National Highway system spanning Australia, and is signed as National Highway A8.

The Dukes Highway starts in Tailem Bend on the Princes Highway and extends southeast to the state border near Bordertown, South Australia. The highway continues in Victoria as the Western Highway, with the same route signage (National A8). The length of the highway on the South Australian side is around 191 km, joining onto the Western Highway which is 443 km.

Generally, the quality of the Dukes Highway is of a high standard, with the entire road having wide lane widths and sealed shoulder. The final 17 km of the highway after Bordertown, was originally built on unstable ground but was re-constructed in 2005.

The Dukes Highway runs along the northern side of the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. The route and many of the settlements (including Bordertown) were established in the 1850s to supply water to horses for the gold escorts from the Victorian goldfields to Adelaide.

Gold was taken to Adelaide rather than the closer Melbourne because a higher price was offered there. The higher price was offered to stop the SA economy from collapsing as all the labourers were heading to the Victorian Goldfields. The 'Bullion Act' was passed and an Assay Office was established in Adelaide for the assaying and stamping of gold in 1852. It is claimed that this saved SA from bankruptcy.