Cook, South Australia

Cook is a railway station and crossing loop located in the Australian state of South Australia on the Trans-Australian Railway in the locality of Nullarbor about 826 km west by rail of Port Augusta and about 100 km north of the Eyre Highway via an unsealed road.

History
Cook was created in 1917 when the railway was built and is named after the sixth Prime Minister of Australia, Joseph Cook. The town depended on the Tea and Sugar Train for the delivery of supplies, and is on the longest stretch of straight railway in the world, at 478 km which stretches from Ooldea to beyond Loongana. When the town was active, water was pumped from an underground Artesian aquifer but now, all water is carried in by train.

The 1964 black-and-white film Nullabor Hideout was set in and around Cook.

Today
In 2009, it was said to have a resident population of four, and is essentially a ghost town. The town was effectively closed in 1997 when the railways were privatised and the new owners did not need a support town there, although the diesel refuelling facilities remain, and there is overnight accommodation for train drivers. Cook is the only scheduled stop on the Nullarbor Plain for the Indian Pacific passenger train across Australia and has little other than curiosity value for the passengers. The bush hospital is closed, but the town maintains some medical supplies in the event of a train disaster. The hospital advertised itself at the station with the catch cry "If you're crook come to Cook". The shop is only opened while the Indian Pacific is in town. It has a few houses and fuel tanks for the locomotives. The crossing loop can cross trains up to 1800 m long. The former airstrip is known as a place to spot inland dotterel.

An interview with a resident revealed that they use both the Western Australian and South Australian time zones, for people from both states, so they do not have to adjust their watches. When the railway was sold, eight transportable houses were taken away and made into holiday houses on the coast.

As of 2016, Cook is officially described as 'unbounded locality' which is not to be used as an address and since 2013, it has been located in the locality of Nullarbor.