Highway runs through the northern part of the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. The route and many of the settlements, including Bordertown, were established in the 1850s to supply water to horses for the gold escorts from the Victorian goldfields to Adelaide.

Gold was taken to Adelaide rather than the closer Melbourne because a higher price was offered there. The higher price was offered to stop the South Australian economy from collapsing, as all the labourers were heading to the Victorian