Police stop 12-year-old boy more than 1,000km into attempt to drive across Australia

An emu crosses the highway in South Australia
An emu crosses the highway in South Australia Credit: Getty Images

Outback traffic police have arrested a 12-year-old boy who was almost a third of his way toward driving solo across Australia.

The unlicensed boy was picked up by local police on the Barrier Highway near the remote mining town of Broken Hill, about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from his home in Kendall on the east coast.

"He’d taken the family car," detective inspector Kim Fehon told news agency AAP on Monday. "His parents reported him missing immediately after he left home, so they were looking for him."

The had been planning to travel some 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles) to Perth in the country's far west, but was caught out by a broken bumper, which was dragging across the ground, according to a statement from New South Wales state police.

The car had suffered some damage, Ms Fehon confirmed. "So it appears [the boy] did have an accident while driving," she said.

Police are still investigating why the boy took the car and attempted to travel to Perth.

"Checks revealed the driver to be a 12-year-old boy (who) was travelling from Kendall NSW on his way to Perth," said a police statement on Sunday, adding that the boy had been arrested.

The boy was arrested and taken to Broken Hill police station before being released to his parents, AAP reported.

The 12-year-old was due to be questioned by local detectives once the family arrives back home.

It was likely he would be charged under the Young Offenders Act over three offences, including failing to pay for petrol and driving without a licence, police told AAP.

The journey from Kendall to Perth by car would be a gruelling more than 40-hour undertaking, traversing the entire country across some of the world's harshest deserts, including the Nullarbor Plain where little more than native animals and small shrubs survive in the sweltering heat.

Australia's official tourism site advises visitors to take six days just to cross the Nullarbor, on a highway famous for its unbending trajectory through the barren scrubland.

It also advises drivers to "carry extra petrol and plenty of water and food".

Australia is the world's sixth largest country, with a land mass some 50 percent greater than Europe.

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