21/04/2026
What on earth is a Corduroy?
A. a type of fabric weave or
B. a type of road construction
If you answered both, you are correct and both relate to each other somewhat.
Corduroy roads in Western Australia were historic, early 20th century log, sleeper or plank surfaces used to traverse swampy, sandy, or soft ground.
These roads, featuring jarrah timber laid perpendicularly to the traffic or side-by-side, were vital for early transport, particularly in the Perth area and logging regions. Some designs included two parallel tracks of sleepers for horse-drawn carts and early trucks, often featuring timber planks that sank into the sand.
They prevented wheels from sinking and were often later upgraded with tar or gravel.
A corduroy just followed the natural surface of the land. It wasn’t smooth. “Planks were laid down and wriggled their way into the sand under the weight of carts”
Corduroy roads, constructed from logs laid side-by-side to traverse mud and swamps, were vital for early Australian pioneering, particularly in Gippsland (VIC), Perth (WA), and along Cobb & Co routes. These roads, which often used durable timber like cypress pine or jarrah, provided crucial passage for horse-drawn carriages, bullock teams, and, later, early motor traffic across soft or boggy ground.
These rugged tracks were notoriously uncomfortable, offering a heavily jolted ride, but were a necessary engineering solution to the challenges of traversing the Australian landscape before modern roads.
These roads got their name from the ridged appearance of the logs, similar to the fabric corduroy.
While often covered by modern roads, remnants of these old timber structures have historically reappeared in some areas after heavy grading or erosion.
Corduroy roads can also be built as a foundation for other surfacing. If the logs are buried in wet, acidic, anaerobic soils such as peat , they decay very slowly.
If anyone has any further information they could contribute on the location of local corduroys, we would be interested to hear from you.
Photo courtesy of the State Library of WA and titled
Corduroy Road in the South West circa 1910’s
