Narrogin, the principal town of Where the Rivers Begin, was first settled in the 1870s by shepherds tending sheep flocks. By 1900 it had become a self-supporting regional center.
Each March, Narogin celebrat4ed its rural importance with the Agrolympics, a unique teams competition calling on traditional farming “skills” including fencing, wool-pressing, cooee-ing and gumboot tossing.
Narrogin is a popular base for tours to the surrounding attractions.
The 14km Narrogin Township Heritage Trail takes in the best of the original buildings, including the Old Courthouse (now a museum) while the longer Narrogin District Heritage Trail, which covers 117km, tours historical farms in the district.
Some 39km east of Narrogin is the home of Albert Facey, whose auto-biography “A Fortunate Life” was the basis of a popular television mini-series.
The restored home, built by Facey after the original homestead burnt down, conveys the strength and courage Facey displays in his book, which is a dignified and quietly humorous account of his life of hardship, deprivation and finally, contentment.
An 86km Heritage Trail at Wickepin takes in many of the areas in the local district covered by Facey’s book.
To the north of Narrogin is Cuballing, once destined to be a major town but now a tiny township boasting a number of historic buildings including the original post office, hotel and bank buildings.
Photo courtesy: panoramio
