New research winds back the clock to a time when the Nullarbor was lush and full of life.

A team of scientists from Curtin University have discovered evidence about the Nullarbor Plain, suggesting that it was covered in dense forests five million years ago, before becoming the parched, treeless desert it is today. 

The analysis - published in Geophysical Research Letters - states that the dryness occurred between 2.4 million and 2.7 million years ago. 

The researchers analysed goethite, a mineral also known as rust, to see how conditions have changed over time. 

Goethite forms when iron-rich water comes into contact with oxygen. 

“Our study offers the first direct age constraint on the transition to aridity on the Nullarbor Plain,” says lead researcher Maximilian Dröllner. 

“We knew it must have been somewhere in this [time frame], but now we can use this as an anchor point to better understand evolution processes in Australia.”