with up to capacity were located alongside the highway, including at Madura Pass, Moonera, Cocklebiddy, and east of Mundrabilla. In some cases the tanks were accompanied by amenity such as a shed, or a hut and stove, or even petrol and cafes at Ivy Tanks. The establishment of Ivy Tanks in any form was being lost by the 1980s. Naming In the 1930s and 1940s, the Western Australian Nomenclature Advisory Committee had been choosing directional names for the state's main arterial roads (such as Great Eastern Highway), while the South Australian Highways Department had been naming the major roads to other states after explorers (such as Flinders Highway, named after Matthew Flinders). The historical memorials committee of the Royal Geographical Society in South Australia was disappointed in 1938 that no road had been named after Eyre, despite its suggestion that the road from Port Augusta towards Perth should be Eyre Highway. In the same year, the RAC suggested that the proposed new highway be named Forrest Highway, after John Forrest, and the Assistant Minister for Commerce, Senator Macdonald, concurred. On 21 January 1942, Prime Minister John Curtin announced the war cabinet decision to name the newly constructed road Forrest Highway, for military purposes. Separately, the states' nomenclature committees were considering names for the road. A proposal for a single name to be used in both states was put by the Western Australian committee to the South Australian committee when the highway was completed. Two names were suggested: Great Western Highway, in line with similar directional names in Western Australia, and Eyre Highway, after the explorer. After several communications between the committees, both decided to use the name Eyre Highway. After receiving a letter from the South Australian Premier in May 1943, supporting the nomenclature committee's recommendation, Curtin agreed to the name, subject to approval from the Western Australian government. The South Australian section was named Eyre Highway on 20 May 1943, with the portion from Murat Bay (Ceduna) to the state border declared a main road. Eyre Highway was gazetted in Western Australia on 11 June 1943, and included the road from Coolgardie to Norseman until Coolgardie–Esperance Highway was gazetted on 16 August 1957. Sealing The state of Eyre Highway remained relatively unchanged throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The road received yearly maintenance, but further, more expensive works were not warranted due to the low traffic volume of approximately fourteen