The Dingo Fence

Wednesday, 4th April 2007 by

It's probably as long as the Great Wall of China, but up until recently I had never heard of what could be the longest man made object ever - The Great Dingo Fence of Australia!

Erected in the 1885 to keep Dingos and other wild dogs out of the South eastern Australia, the fence stretches right across Australia and is at least 5,000km long. The fertile land in the south is used for sheep breeding, but the Dingos had a habit of eating the sheep so had to be kept out.

Although it is only 6 feet tall, you can make out the path of the fence across Australia due to the presence of maintenance tracks which run along both sides. In our thumbnail shot we see Cameron's corner, where the Dingo fence joins the tri-border of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia.

Despite the fence's age it has never been officially surveyed, so an exact path is hard to pin down. Google Earth Forum user A185F has created a placemark file which gives you a rough idea of the fence's route and its enormous scale.

Updated: It's not clear exactly how long the fence is, and how it compares to the great wall. So, for now, we'll just say it's really, really long.

Wikipedia: Dingo Fence

Thanks: WynRichards & A185F