Merredin

 

Merredin, 260km east of Perth on the route to the goldfields, is famed for its golden grain as a center of Western Australia’s wheat-growing industry.

Although first crossed in 1836 by Western Australia’s Surveyor-General John Septimus Roe, the settlement of Merredin did not develop until the 1890s, stimulated by the first discovery of gold further east at Southern Cross in 1890s, stimulated by the first discovery of gold further east at Southern Cross in 1888.

The availability of fresh water led to the choice of Merredin as a rail center, and the holding dam and water tower which still stand today were constructed when the railway reached Merrdin in 1893. 

The Old Railway Station which is a feature of the town today was built in 1920, using pressed bricks salvaged from three original kalgoorlie loop line stations.  According to legend, the bricks were made of clay which contained traces of gold which today would be regarded as a mineable grade.

The station has been carefully restored and now houses G117m the locomotive built in 1897 to haul the Kalgoorlie Express, the original merredin signal box and other rail artefacts.

The railway station is the starting point for the Merredin Peak Heritage Trail, an easy half-hour walk viewing the historic buildings in the town and a more strenuous 6km hike around the peak.

Merredin gained its name from the merit trees which grew in the vicinity and were used by the local Aborigines to make spears.  A grove of merit trees stands near the center of the town today.

East of the town is Burracoppin Rock, a largest rock outcrop which is a popular picnic spot.

Photo courtesy:  drivewa

 

 

Toodyay

 

The Avon Valley’s nearest town to Perth, Toodyay, lies amid a tranquil rural setting, easily accessible from Perth by car or in the comfort of Westrail’s “Prospector” train.  Toodyay is ideal for picnics with Duidgee Park and the Lookout Reserve being the most popular spots.

Originally constructed 5km away on a site which proved to be flood-prone, the town grew in it’s present setting from 1860 and was known as Newcastle until 1910, when it reverted to the original name.  aboriginal word “duidgee”, meaning place of plenty.  Among Toodyay’s many outstanding examples of well-preserved historic buildings is the Old Newcastle Gaol.

Built by convicts in 1864 to replace the original Toodyay lockup, which was further downstream and across the river, it is now a fascinating museum where visitors can examine colonial-era artefacts and try their hands at brick-making or bottle-rubbings or take part in a mock trial.

The three-storey Connors Mill, built in 1870 as a steam-driven flour mill and later a power house, houses the Toodyay tourist center and an exhibition devoted to Moondyne Joe, Western Australia’s most notorious bushranger.

Moondyne Joe roamed the rugged, bush-clad hills around Toodyay in the 1860s.  Among his many exploits was a daring escape from the Old Toodyay Lockup.  Moondyne Joe’s colorful deeds are remembered in April each year when Toodyay celebrates the Moondyne colonial and Convict Festival.

The annual Western Australian Folk Festival is also held in Toodyay each September.  Also close to Toodyay are the historic Coorinja Winery and the Hoddy Well Archery Park, where beginners of all ages as well as experts stalk targets along natural bushland trails.  A short distance off the road between Perth and Toodyay is the inspiring Avon Valley National Park, with its impressive winter waterfall.  Railway travelers get outstanding views as the train follows the river through the park.

Photo courtesy:  static.flickr

 

 

Eyre Highway

 

The Eyre Highway commemorates the feat of Edward John Eyre, who braved hunger, thirst and attacks to travel from Adelaide to Albany in 1841.Starting in Norseman, the highway travels east across the Fraser Range before reaching Balladonia.  Due to the abundance of local stone, the pioneer settlers at Balladonia erected stone fences which still stand a century later. From Balladonia, the highway travels straight across the plain to Caiguna, 182km away—one of the longest stretches of straight road in the world.

Cocklegiddy, east of Caiguna, is world famous among divers for its massive network of flooded caves which lie deep beneath the sand.  World diving records have been set at Cocklebiddy Cave, 12km north of the highway. The ruins of an early Aboriginal mission lie on the edge of the Cocklebiddy township.   The Eyre Bird Observatory is accessible by four-wheel drive track from the highway south to the coast.

Madura, where the highway climbs the escarpment, was once renowned for the magnificent Waler Horses bred on Madura Station for the Indian Army. Eucla, 13km west of the Western Australia/South Australia border, was the site of one of the busiest, yet loneliest, telegraph stations in Australia in the late 19^th Century, when the telegraph was Australia’s main communications link with the world.  The present-day township was established on the Hampton Escarpment after the original buildings were swallowed by sand dunes.

The evocative, sand-engulfed ruins of the original telegraph station lie close to the coast, a short distance away.  A short drive from the settlement, Eucla National Park extends to the coastline and contains the vast Delisser Sandhills and Wilson Bluff, from where the awesome coastal cliffs extend unbroken for hundreds of kilometers to the east.  Visitors to the park many see whales and seals close to the shore.

Photo courtesy:  flickr

 

 

Lake Grace

 

First explored by John Septimus Roe in 1848, Lake Grace gained its name from the shallow salt lake 8km to the west.

The restored Inland Mission Hospital, established in 1925 by John Flynn, is the last A.I.M. Hospital in Western Australia.

To the east of Lake Grace is the starting point for Holland’s Track, which was cut by prospector John Holland in 1893 in his rush to get to the gold-fields at Coolgardie.  The wheel tracks left by the wagons of the prospectors who followed Holland can still be seen.

Newdegate, 50km east of Lake Grace, is a picturesque town noted for its springtime wildflower displays and a two-day machinery field event each September.

Lake King, further east across a large salt lake, is the starting point for a sand track which crosses Frank Hann National Park on the road to Norseman and the Eastern States.

The Roe Heritage Trail which retraces part of J.S. Roe’s explorations in 1848, begins south of Lake King and covers natural reserves, historical sites and panoramic views from a granite formation, Mr. Madden.

Photo courtesy:   abc.net.au

 

 

Wagin

  

Wagin is the center of Western Australia’s major wool-growing and merino stud industries.  The town celebrates with the two-day Wagin Woolorama stud sheep show each March and the 7 meter-high Giant Ram, the biggest monument of its type in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Wagin Historical Village depicts life of 100 years ago with its recreated main street of authentic building and restored farm machines in working order.

The highlights of the Historical Village are included in a one-hour Heritage Trail, while another two-hour Heritage Trail also covers the western area of the town.

Photo courtesy:  australianpictorials