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Gardens by the Bay
Orchids and hydrangeasYear 3 started on 7
th November 2018, the day we flew to South Africa via Singapore with Singapore Airlines. We were making a surprise visit to see Danie’s mum (tannie, an Afrikaans term of respect) for her 80
th birthday on 9
th November. Only Hettie, Danie’s cousin in Johannesburg was in on the secret.
We left Perth at 1730 and arrived in Singapore in the middle of a big electrical storm at 2245. We had only 2 hours to wait in the business class lounge and flew to Johannesburg arriving at 0610 after a 10-hour flight. It was great having a flatbed so we both slept well.
After picking up the hire car we went to have coffee with cousin Hettie before driving about 1.5 hours to Vaalpark, Free State, where Dtannie was staying with brother Cassie and his wife Nickie. When we arrived there was nobody home so we sat and waited for about half an hour, tannie and Nickie came home and were so surprised and happy to see us standing there. Cassie came soon after and he and Danie went to the shops. Johan and
Lower Chittering
Home for most of 2018 Mandy arrived unannounced so I had to go and hide in the bedroom until Danie could surprise his brother.
After a good sleep the next day we watched South Africa beat Australia in the cricket and then went to meet more of the family at a nearby restaurant. We had arranged to stay in the carpark until everyone had arrived then walked in to surprise two more brothers and wives plus Mandy’s son and daughter and partners. Unfortunately, two more brothers and wives couldn’t make it due to illness but we had another brother to surprise the following day. 6 brothers we got to see and several of tannie’s grandchildren.
On 10
th November there was a family braai (BBQ) at Cassie’s place with more grandchildren and great grandchildren to catch up with. Fortunately, on our previous visit, I had already met nearly everyone.
On Sunday we went to breakfast with Cassie, Nickie, Johan and Mandy and tannie and then home to Cassie’s to watch more cricket and a thrashing of Australia. Monday we left Cassie’s and went to Johan’s for a couple of days taking tannie to Sasolburg, Free State, with us. On Wednesday we took tannie
Lower Chittering
View from the house across Chittering Valley to her house where we stayed overnight. Tannie's legs were playing up so we couldn’t take her out for dinner as planned.
This short visit was purely so Danie and his mum could be together for her birthday. It was so good to be able to do this as Danie lost his dad in February not long after we left South Africa earlier in the year.
Friday, we called to see Hettie for coffee and made our way to the airport for our flight to Singapore where we spent five days at the Marriott Tang Plaza on Orchard Road. We flew out at 1345 and arrived in Singapore at 0610 to another huge storm, there is a six-hour time difference. We took a pre-booked shuttle bus calling in at several hotels before ours, giving us a quick trip around the city.
As we were so early getting to the hotel we were directed to the Executive Lounge on 27
th floor where we had a second breakfast (lunch and breakfast on the plane) and sat having coffee until our room was ready around midday. We needed a nap badly so stayed in our room until it was time
Lower Chittering
Steep drive to get to our parking spot for drinks and hors d’ouvres at 1730 on the dot. There was so much food on offer we didn’t need to go out for a meal.
Singapore Singapore lies 1 degree (137kms) north of the Equator at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsular with Indonesia’s Riau Islands to the south. Singapore territory consists of one main island and 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its size by 23%!((MISSING)130 square kilometres). The country is known for its transition from a third world to first world in a single generation. Official languages are English (the lingua franca), Malay, Tamil and Mandarin with 74%!o(MISSING)f population being Chinese and 33%!o(MISSING)f the population being Buddhists. The population is around 5.6 million (39%!o(MISSING)f whom are foreign nationals) and area 722.5 square kms.
Stamford Raffles founded colonial Singapore in 1819 as a trading post of the British East India Company. After the company’s collapse in 1858 the islands were ceded to the British Raj. It gained independence in 1963 and became a sovereign nation in 1965. It is now known as the world’s safest country, smartest city. It has been identified as the most expensive
One of Many Bonfires
This was definitely the best bit of winter in Lower Chittering WA city to live in and is a tax haven.
Sunday 18
th November we slept in until 1032 so missed breakfast in the Executive Lounge so just had coffee there and then took a walk down Orchard Road. The road was festooned with Christmas lights and decorations which was nice to see, as well as the pricey shops. There were plenty of people out walking and taking photos. We had a nice lunch before returning later to the hotel for drinks and nibbles – I had had my Singapore Sling yesterday so opted for a Manhattan tonight before going back to wine. We were drinking a very nice pinot noir from Chile and stuck with it – the Australian wine on offer was not the best! Whilst in the Lounge Danie was able to video call his mum which she loved as he showed her part of the skyline in Singapore.
Monday we bought a Tourist Pass for use on the buses and MRT, we used this extensively during our stay which saved a lot of hassles and money. We first went to Chinatown but were there a little too early as nothing happens until after 1100, we did
get to see the shophouses, the 1827 Sri Mariamman Temple and Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. We wanted to come back to try the famous Chilli Crab, but at $55 each we declined and later learnt the crabs come from Sri Lanka. We’ll wait and catch our own later next year. We then caught the MRT to Little India, the most unimpressive part of Singapore, dirty and smelly. We had a look around then took the MRT to Newton Circus where we got off and walked back down Scott Road to our hotel for a shower and get ready for drinks. We had just ordered and sat next to an Australian couple talking with another Australian couple so naturally we asked if we could join them. One of the couple were just leaving for their 3-course meal which is part of the package we too were on. We got talking to Wayne and Lynne from Jervis Bay in NSW, they were here for three days then going to Cambodia and returning to the hotel later for another 3 days. They too were into the pinot noir. Renate and Jim returned after their meal quite shocked – they ordered a bottle of
Danie's Mum with Mandy and Linda
The pool at Johan & Mandy's place wine, the same as we were drinking, in the restaurant by the pool and it cost $100 or $28 a glass !!!! We carried on drinking our complimentary bottles. Singapore is no longer a cheap place to stay and has changed so much since my last visit. The hors d’ouvres, which are plentiful and filling, finish at 1900 and desserts are brought out until 2130. We moved to a table for six and enjoyed a night of chatting and sharing stories. Renate is German and Jim Australian but both have lived all over the world and now live in Mawson Lakes, South Australia.
Tuesday, we went to Gardens by the Bay, but had to go to Marina Sands Bay to collect our pre-booked ticket so got MRT to nearest stop, walked over the Helix Bridge to the famous hotel with an infinity pool on the top. Helix pedestrian bridge links the Marina Centre and the CBD crossing the Singapore River, opened in 2010. The lobby of the hotel joins the three towers and was so busy when we were there, mainly Indian and Chinese tourists. We walked across to the Gardens, opened in 2012, this nature park is built
Singapore
Scott Road and Orchard Road from our room on 250 acres of reclaimed land in the Central Region of Singapore. The park consists of three waterfront gardens. The Flower Dome is the largest glass greenhouse in the world. We walked through one of the gardens to the Flower Dome, an amazing collection of nine different gardens from five continents. There are thousand-year-old olive trees and unusual baobabs and masses of cacti and succulents both big and super tiny. From here we went to the Cloud Forest, first thing we saw was the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at 35 metres as we descended through the surreal mist-filled Cloud Walk and Treetop Walk. The orchids were spectacular and look too beautiful to be real. There were plenty of different pitcher plants and ferns from the cool, moist Tropical Montane regions of the world.
After this we walked to the OBCB Skyway and strolled 22 metres above the ground taking in the Gardens and Marina Bay skyline. We had a cooling ale before taking the nearby MRT to Raffles Place. The Raffles Hotel is still closed for major renovations and is due to reopen in 2019. However, this was not our destination, we wanted to go to Altitude 1, the
second highest skyscraper in the city at 282 metres. Here on the 63
rd floor you can step outside and wander round getting a 360-degree view of Singapore’s skyline. You see the world’s busiest harbour, the contrast between traditional red brick houses and skyscrapers; the modern architecture of the Marina Bay Sands, ArtScience Museum and the Singapore Flyer. In with the price of the ticket we were given a drink and told to take our time and look around. We saw the Merlion, the Singapore Cricket Club, founded in 1837 and one of the premier sports and social clubs in Singapore. We also spotted the Old Supreme Court Building, St Andrew’s cathedral, Chinatown and City Hall. This saved us a lot of leg work and the day was warm and very humid.
Tonight, we had dinner at the Pool Grill with Wayne and Lynne, having had drinks up in the Lounge first. We drank tap water with our meal, three courses, starting with oysters, then barramundi then cheese platter. We then went back to join Renate and Jim to carry on with the bottles of pinot noir until 2130.
Raining and thunder whilst we had breakfast on Wednesday. We
Singapore
From our room decided to go on an adventure taking a public bus to Johor Bahru in Malaysia. We got the MTR to the bus station and after a bit of a wait boarded the 170 to the Causeway. This bus took 1 hour 15 minutes which we wanted as it took us through parts of Singapore we would not have seen on the Express bus. We had to get off the bus before the Causeway and go through Singapore Customs and Immigration then get another bus across the Causeway into Malaysia where we had to go through their Customs and Immigration. We had no plan so just went for lunch and walked around for a while. We learnt later that Singaporeans go over to JB for shopping in the new Mall full of expensive shops and to eat and buy food as the exchange rate is very good right now. No wonder the buses were full.
We took the bus back into Singapore and got off at the first MRT station – Kranji, which was on the same line as our Orchard stop. The driverless train was above ground for most of the trip so we saw even more of Singapore
Singapore
Orchard Road at night from our room including the Singapore Turf Club which was founded in 1842 as the Singapore Sporting Club to operate the Serangoon Road Race Course. This turned out to be a whole day experience and we were pretty hot and bothered by the time we got back to our hotel. We spent the evening with our new friends in the Executive lounge.
Johor Bahru Formerly known as Tanjung Puteri and is the capital of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is situated along the Straits of Johor at the southern end of peninsular Malaysia. Johor Bahru has a population of 497,097, while its metropolitan area, with a population of 1,638,219, is the third largest in the country
Johor Bahru was founded in 1855 as Iskandar Puteri when the Sultanate of Johor came under the influence of Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim. The area was renamed "Johor Bahru" in 1862 and became the capital of the Sultanate when the Sultanate administration centre was moved there from Telok Blangah.
During the reign of Sultan Abu Bakar, there was development and modernisation within the city; with the construction of administrative buildings, schools, religious buildings, and railways connecting to Singapore.
Johor Bahru was occupied by the Japanese forces from 1942 to 1945. Johor Bahru became the cradle of Malay nationalism after the war and gave birth to a political party named United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) in 1946. After the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Johor Bahru retained its status as state capital and was granted city status in 1994.
Thursday – leaving day so we had a sleep in and went down to the Marriott Café for breakfast – our first visit. It was rather noisy but the buffet choice was more extensive with freshly squeezed juices, ham on the bone, chilli crab omelette (if you knew to ask for it) and lots of other choices. The coffee was not the best so we went up to make our own in the Lounge. Whilst eating we were presented with a bill - S$98 for two meals!! I soon sorted this out as breakfast was included in our package. The S$ is A$0.98.
We went back to our room to shower and pack, the taxi was booked for noon. We were able to check in immediately even though our flight was not until 1830. This we did on
The Merlion
Symbol of Singapore purpose as we wanted to check out the Butterfly Garden in T3 and take the driverless train to T2 to see the Orchid Garden and outdoor Sunflower Garden. We could have taken in a free movie or sat round the outdoor pool if we wanted to – Changi Airport is deservedly Airport of the Year for many years now. We made our way to Singapore Airlines Business Lounge where we had lunch and a few drinks whilst waiting for our 5-hour flight back to Perth. No time difference made it great, we also could prebook our dinner which we did a few months ago from a pretty extensive menu. I had lobster Thermador and Danie a beef dish, we managed a few hours sleep too arriving back in Perth just before midnight. Got our Duty Free from the collection point, caught the shuttle bus to our carpark and got home to Lower Chittering just after 0100
Friday 23
rd November. We will be here until Wednesday, 5
th December when we leave for our next farm sit near Cunderdin, pop 650,156kms east of Perth in the Wheatbelt region. Established in 1906 as a stop-off town during the goldrush in the Western
Australian Goldfields. The railway came to the small settlement in 1894. The Mortlock River runs alongside the town.
When we arrived in Cunderdin at the Donovan's home on 15 acres on the outskirts of town, Steve was waiting for us. We sorted out a place to set up and were invited for a roast dinner that night - one of their lambs at a guess, and typical country hospitality.
The next day we went up to the farm to see what the story was, it is 700 acres on the other side of Cunderdin about 10 minutes drive and the home of Woonwooring Kelpies. Kelpie - An Australian sheep dog successful at mustering and droving with little or no guidance. It is a medium sized dog and comes in a variety of colours . We were introduced to the eight 7 week-old Kelpie puppies and the other Kelpies - Boss, Tilly, Rappa, Belle, Bluey, Buck, Buzz, Bonnie, Mallee, Penny, Digger, Chulla, Max, Sylvie, Gerry, Connie, Ben and Kelly. Belle had five puppies that day!!! Took us a while but we got to know all their names. There is also a flock of sheep -Merinos and Poll Dorsets and
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Singapore Cricket Club to the left nineteen horses to keep an eye on. Back at the house in Cunderdin we got to meet George the cat, Harry and Dirty Harry the rescued cockateils, Nigel the budgie, Ollie and Sadie the Labradors and Sadie's four puppies. Sue and Steve left for Tasmania the following day and we were on our own.
We didn't do much exploring whilst In Cunderdin but went to check out Meckering, went to Northam for Christmas lunch at the Riverside Hotel with friends, Dee and Craig from Lower Chittering, went to Mundaring twice for shopping and did a trip through the southern central wheatbelt in a loop to Wave Rock and back. Danie flew in a glider for the first time (I had done this many years ago in Ponteland in the UK).
Cunderdin Airfield lies to the north of the town and was constructed early in World War II as an elementary training school for ab initio pilots for the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS). The facility comprised a large airfield, hangars and technical huts together with a main base camp further to the east. Towards the end of the war, after sufficient pilots had been trained for both EATS
Singapore Cricket Club
With old colonial buildings in foreground and RAAF requirements in the South West Pacific, the airfield was used as an operational base for heavy bombers in connection with the campaign against the Japanese occupied Netherlands East Indies.
Following the war the base was used as a migrant camp and in 1957 the Commonwealth began disposing of some assets at the base and ownership of some of the buildings passed into private hands including the Gliding Club of WA which purchased Building 109. The original airfield comprised three main areas - the Movement Area, the Hangar Area and the Camp Area. The Camp Area is no longer a part of the airfield and now houses the Agricultural College. In 1992 the remaining land at the airfield (but excluding land for the Junior Agricultural High School and some other adjustments) was transferred to the Shire of Cunderdin under a special agreement with the Commonwealth.
The Gliding Club of WA was established in 1944 and is the longest established Gliding Club in the State. The club moved to the Cunderdin Airfield in 1959 and has been housed there ever since. The Bureau of Meteorology has an Automatic Weather Station (AWS) set up at the airstrip to monitor
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One of many groups of high rise flats on the island rainfall, temperature and other weather information.
It was too hot to do tourist things and we had both been to the immediate area many times in the past through work. The temperature on Christmas Day was 40.1C (104F).
Meckering is located within the Shire of Cunderdin
A railway line was completed in the area in 1895 and Meckering was selected as a station site. The first name chosen for the townsite was Beebering, the Aboriginal name for the hills just north of the town.
The townsite of Beebering was gazetted in 1895. The name of the town was changed to Meckering in 1897 to agree with the station name and the name for the town that was used locally. Meckering is an Aboriginal word thought to mean "moon on the water" or "good hunting". In early 1898 the population of the town was 225, 150 males and 75 females. The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops.
At 10:59 am on 14 October 1968, a 40-second earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale destroyed the town, and had effect on a considerable area in the south western region of Western Australia. Surface faulting was
Singapore
The Helix Bridge up to 3 metres high, and almost 40 km long. As it was a public holiday, the risk of casualties was reduced. Buildings in the metropolitan area of Perth were damaged as a result of the earthquake, and tremors were felt as far away as Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Esperance, and Albany. The building codes and various structural issues for Western Australia were modified as a result of the earthquake and further development of earthquake engineering. Every building now has to have quake-proof foundations usually, for homes, a sand pad. The memory and significance of the event is commemorated by the local and wider community in a number of ways. There is an interpretive walk through the destroyed town with plaques and a rose garden.
Mundaring has a population of 3061 (2016) and is in the Perth Hills Region. Best known for the start of the Mundaring to Kalgoorlie Pipeline, carrying water from Mundaring Weir. We will be following it all the way to Kalgoorlie on our Adventure.
The
Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is a pipeline and dam project that delivers potable water from Mundaring Weir to communities in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields, particularly Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. The project was
commissioned in 1896 and was completed in 1903. The pipeline is 760mm in diameter (30") and runs for 530kms (330 miles). The pipeline continues to operate today, supplying water to over 100,000 people in over 33,000 households as well as mines, farms and other enterprises.
During the early 1890s, thousands of settlers had travelled into the barren and dry desert centre of Western Australia in search of gold, but the existing infrastructure for the supply of water was non-existent and an urgent need arose. Prior to the scheme, water condensers,irregular rain, and water trains were part of the range of sources. Railway dams were essential for water to supply locomotives to travel to the goldfields.
The scheme was devised by C.Y. O'Connor, who oversaw its design and most of the construction project. Although supported by Premier Forrest, O'Connor had to deal with widespread criticism and derision from members of the Western Australian Parliament as well as the local press based on a belief that the scope of the engineering task was too great and that it would never work. There was also a concern that the gold discoveries would soon dry up and the state would be left
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Marina Bay Sands Hotel with a significant debt to repay but little or no commerce to support it. O'Connor committed suicide in March 1902 less than 12 months before the final commissioning of the pipeline.
Lady Forrest officially started the pumping machinery at Pumping Station Number One (Mundaring) on 22 January
, and on 24 January 1903 water flowed into the Mount Charlotte Reservoir at Kalgoorlie.
[O'Connor's engineer-in-chief, C. S. R. Palmer took over the project after his death, seeing it through to its successful completion. The government conducted an inquiry into the scheme and found no basis for the press accusations of corruption or misdemeanours on the part of O'Connor.
The pipes were manufactured locally from flat steel sheets imported from Germany and the United States. Mephan Ferguson was awarded the first manufacturing contract and built a fabrication plant at Falkirk (now known as the Perth suburb of Maylands) to produce half of the 60,000 pipes required. Hoskins Engineering established a factory near Midland to produce the other half. When built, the pipeline was the longest fresh-water pipeline in the world.
The choice of route for
the Eastern Railway through Northam, rather than York, is indicative of political patronage, as well as the avoidance of some other early routes to the goldfields.
However, there is evidence that the explorer of the 1860s Charles Cook Hunt had access to wells and tracks that were utilised in the 1890s. These subsequently affected the routes of telegraph, railway and the water scheme. The wells were made in conjunction with the local knowledge of aborigines, and also utilised land at the edge of granite outcrops
The pipeline ran alongside the route of the earlier route of the Eastern Railway and the Eastern Goldfields Railways for parts of its route, so that the railway service and the pipeline had an interdependence through the sparsely populated region between Southern Cross and Kalgoorlie.
Leakages were noted early, by the early 1930s, 1,700,000 kilolitres (370,000,000 imp gal) of water per year – a quarter of the total volume of water being pumped from Mundaring Weir – was leaking from the pipeline.
All the original eight pumping stations were powered by steam. There are now twenty pumping stations driven by electricity. Branch mains – or extensions were started as early as
1907.
Water from the pipeline was utilised for a number of country towns adjacent to its route, and also into the Great Southern Region. The Public Works Department started this project in the 1950s following the raising of the weir wall in the early 1950s and it completed this work in 1961. By 1951 the height of the dam wall was increased by 9.7 metres
At the time of its opening the scheme was recognised as the largest engineering undertaking of its time. The amount of steel used in construction was greater than any steel structure elsewhere in the world. It attracted worldwide attention. Never before had water been pumped so far or lifted so high. In 2009, the scheme was recognised internationally by the American Society of Civil Engineers as an international Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
Sadly, water from the pipeline became available just as the production of gold in the state's eastern goldfields was starting to decline. However regular water supplies meant agriculture could prosper. Today the Western Australian wheatfields are the most productive in Australia, accounting for 42% of the nation's wheat crop and coming mainly from the areas serviced by the goldfields pipeline
Johor Bahru
Motor bike park and its extensions. Six million sheep rely on the pipeline.
Northam situated at the confluence of the Avon and Mortlock Rivers about 97 kilometres (60 mi) east-northeast of Perth in the Avon Valley At the 2006 census, Northam had a population of 6,548. Northam is the largest town in the Avon region. It is also the largest inland town in the state not founded on mining.
The area around Northam was first explored in 1830 by a party of colonists led by Ensign Robert Dale and subsequently founded in 1833. Almost immediately it became a point of departure for explorers and settlers who were interested in the lands which lay to the east. This initial importance declined with the growing importance of the nearby towns of York and Beverley but the arrival of the railway made Northam the major departure point for prospectors and miners heading east towards the goldfields.
During the 1940s and 1950s in Northam there were extensive camps for displaced persons and immigrants from Europe.The Northam Migrant Accommodation Centre closed in September 1951. It had been the first place of residence in Western Australia for approximately 15,000 immigrants from the Baltic States, Hungary, Poland,
Italy Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia Ukraine, Belarus and Bulgaria. During the peak immigration period, Northam had the largest immigrant receiving facilities within the State and the third largest in Australia.By 1950, the camp housed 4,000 people and two new blocks of huts were built to accommodate them all.By May 1954, 23,000 migrants had passed through the Northam Camp once the Accommodation Centre had closed. A significant number of these post-war arrivals eventually settled in the Northam area.
On 18 October 2010 the Yongah Hill (YHIDC) centre was announced as being established at the former Northam Training Camp. It was not opened until early 2012, however, and, after it was downsized from the original 1500 expected occupancy, talk of expansion has been happening. In September 2018 a riot broke out at the centre and some buildings were set on fire, after a detainee was reportedly found in his cell injured after a suicide attempt. The detainee, who was a refugee, later died. Also in September 2018, a guard alleged sexually assaulted a detainee.
The town and hinterland of Northam are located in the Avon Valley - so named after the river the Avon River. It has been periodically flooded, and man-made
banks protect the town from inundation. The Avon is a name commonly used by organisations, newspapers and sporting groups. The river is spanned by a pedestrian suspension bridge; at 117 metres it is the longest such bridge in Australia.
The annual Avon Descent river race starts in Northam.
The Northam Flying 50's, a historical car racing event, is held each year in early April, attracting around 5,000 spectators
. The Northam Agricultural Show is held annually on a Friday and Saturday in mid-September.
The Kep Ultra running race is held each year on the Foundation Day long weekend in early June. The race starts in Northam and includes 100 km and 75 km events finishing at Mundaring Weir.
During World War I, Wilberforce, an area on the Spencers Brook to York Road was the area set up for the breeding and selection of horses to be transported to overseas theatres of war involving Australian horseman in particular the iconic 10th Light Horse Regiment.
Also in November 1920, an area at Noogogjerring was purchased by the Federal Government for £7,000. It was an area of 875 acres of farming land and was
located four miles (6.5 kilometres) north of Northam on the Northam - Pithara Road. Of that area, 860 acres were cleared and divided into 11 paddocks. The property was well watered, and carried a wind mill, two dwellings, three sheds, and a stable. The Goomalling railway bisected it. The Federal Government's purpose was the settlement of tubercular soldiers. The place was christened Anzac Farm.
During World War II Northam was the location of a number of important strategic military camps, depots and installations being the most concentrated of military activity areas in Western Australia. Due to its strategic geographical location and being close to water, the the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, close to strategic railway junction, as it was close to the coast but inland, Northam became an important military hub. The installations, camps, and depots were some of those developed in the Wheatbelt during 1939-1945, located within the Shire of Northam, some of which still exist today.
Our loop to Wave Rock and back :
Tammin - First settled in 1893 and was one of the original stations on the railway line to Southern Cross when the line opened in 1895. As the surrounding area developed
Changi Airport
Looking down on the Orchid Garden in Terminal 2 for agriculture there was sufficient demand for land in the area for government to declare a townsite in 1899. Sadly there are many closed businesses along the main road.
Kellerberrin - Early settlers from 1890 to 1910 from Ireland settled in the area of Kellerberrin and Wittem. Their family name was English and road was named after this family. The railway line from Northam to Southern Cross was constructed through here in 1893-94, and this section opened for traffic in 1895. Kellerberrin was one of the original stations when the line opened. By 1898 there was a demand for small blocks of land in the area, and the government surveyed a number of 20-acre lots the same year. The area was gazetted as Kellerberrin townsite in 1901, and the government soon made more land available for settlers.
Bruce Rock - Originally known as Nunagin but the name was changed to Bruce Rock after the large granite feature close to town. The rock was named after sandalwood cutter John Bruce who worked the area in 1879. Economically the area depends of the cropping of cereals, primarily wheat, but also barley, lupins and field peas. There are also sheep, goats
and pigs farmed in the area.
Narembeen - The area was initially surveyed in 1836 by the Surveyor General John Septimus Roe. After camping on a rocky outcrop and seeing a group of emus he named the area Emu Hill. By the 1850s European settlers arrived in the area looking for pastoral land for wheatand grazing. Sandalwoodcutters also frequented the area during this time.
A settler named Charles Smith bought a property he called Narimbeen. By the 1900s more farmers moved to the area as land was opened up and by 1918 the town-site of Emu Hill was gazetted. In 1920, the town-site of Narembeen only existed as a minor railway siding to the railway line that had only just been built to Emu Hill.
By the 1920s Emu Hill was the largest community in the region but the local populace opposed the building of a hotel in the town. As a result of this a Perth lawyer, Henry Dale and a Publican, Paddy Conlon, purchased 30 acres of land at the railway siding of Narembeen to build a hotel. The town of Narembeen was established in 1922 about 5 km from the Emu hill town-site. The
location of Narembeen was not the best choice as it is prone to flooding. In 1924, there were rumours that gold had been discovered close to the Rabbit Proof fence and the town of Holleton was established about 50 km from Narembeen, but Narembeen prospered as it was the closest train station to Holleton and offered a motor transport service to the miners. Narembeen had a population of 2,100 by 1925 and Emu Hill was no more. As of 2017 Narembeen has the largest juicery in Australia.
Hyden - Home to Wave Rock and Hippo's Yawn, popular local tourist attractions. Sandalwoodcutters were thought to be the earliest European visitors in the area. The land in the surrounding area was opened up for agriculture in the 1920s. A railwaywas built between Kondinin and Hyden Rock in 1930. The townsite was gazetted in 1932 following demand for land around the railway terminus. The first wheat crop was harvested in Hyden in 1927. The Hyden Progress Association was established prior to 1931 when the town was home to about 100 settlers. In 1931 the town had another large wheat crop which was transported from the railway terminus at Lake Grace The town
was being surveyed and already had an oil depot, tea rooms and an agency with a store being constructed. A large catchment of water had also been built at Hyden Rock. By 1933 the railway line from Lake Grace to Hyden was also completed.
The town's economy continues to rely on agriculture but mostly in the form of cattle and sheep production that has a current value of approximately $35 million. The town also benefits from mining and tourism.The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops.
Around 100,000 tourists visit the town throughout the year while travelling to Wave Rock which is found 4 kms to the east of the townsite. Other visitors arrive during the wildflower season between September and December to see the many wildflower species that bloom at the time and the birds that feed on the blossom.
Wave Rock is a natural rock formation that is shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave. The "wave" is about 15 m high and around 110 m long. It forms the north side of a solitary hill, which is known as "Hyden Rock". This hill, which is a granite inselberg, Wave Rock and Hyden Rock
are part of a 395-acre nature reserve, Hyden Wildlife Park.
Kondinin (pop 311 2006) Michael Brown, a businessman from Narrogin, took up large pastoral leases in the Kulin/Kondinin area in 1905. These and other leases in the area were terminated in 1909/1910 to allow the government to distribute the land for agricultural purposes. In 1949 the bulk wheat bin in town and another at Notting, located about 3 km from Kondinin, were both filled after a good season with excellent yields in the area despite the recorded rainfall of the previous year being only 254 mm.
It is also known as the ‘Home of the Group’ – the Kondinin Group, a farm improvement group which originated in Kondinin in 1955 and now has its head office in Perth, and has other offices in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. The Kondinin Group was formed as a self-help farmer group to study farm machinery reliability in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. It grew substantially in the 1990s and since 2000 has had about 10,000 members from mostly large scale cropping and livestock enterprises. Research suggests that the Kondinin Group has had a significant impact on the farm practices of
its members. In surveys, it was preferred over consultants, suppliers, state departments of agriculture and accountants as a source of reliable and impartial information. The Kondinin Group runs an online bookstore; that sells manuals on practical farm skills, teaching guides on agricultural industries and other materials; and a magazine, both of which are used to disseminate Kondinin Group's research and related training. The community of Kondinin, through its historical innovation, continues to have a major impact on broadacre agriculture throughout Australia and is an acknowledged influence on agricultural extension throughout the world. This is recognised by Kondinin's continued use as the brand name of the group.
Corrigin It is mostly a farming community focused on crops and sheep, and holds the world record of 'the most dogs in utes'. Previously held by St Arnaud in Victoria in 1997 (214) Corrigin broke the record in 2002 with 1527 which it still holds. Since 1970 dog owners have been welcomed to bury their dogs in the Corrigin Dog Cemetery and there are now over 200 dogs buried there. Corrigin is known as the premier dog town in Australia and the cemetery is a tourist drw card with tour buses visiting the
site.
Before 1908 Corrigin's only connection with the rest of the state was the railway track that ran to Merredin and it was difficult to get anyone to take up land near the rabbit proof fence Most of the land as once held by George Walton on a pastoral lease which he ran from his homestead at Wogerlin rock. The first settlers to the area were Mr A. W. Goyder (the son of the South Australian Surveyor General), who took up the area on which the town now stands. He was followed by Jack Crossland then by Messrs Gayfer and Jose Bros.
A storm swept through the area in 1913 lashing the area with hailstones over 25 mm in diameter. The town was also deluged with over 89 mm of rain in a few hours. Standing crops were flattened, fences in low-lying areas were washed away and most of the town was submerged under at least 2 feet of water.
In 1913, a railway siding was built, and named "Dondakin" by railway authorities due to conflict with the name elsewhere. However, after much local protest, the siding was renamed Corrigin and gazetted on 15 May 1914.The railway
line from Wickepin opened a month later, and the main office of the local Road Board moved to the town. In 1915, a school was built. By 1937 the town boasted a hall that cost £8.000 to build, a large state hotel, commercial buildings, bowling green, tennis course, golf course and one of the best showgrounds in the state. The town still had no adequate water scheme, there was no lack of well water but the water drawn was very hard.
The wheatbelt was struck by drought for much of 1939 and nearly all of 1940, described at the time as the worst in the states history until heavy rains arrived in December of that year. Corrigin received 118 mm of drought-breaking rain over a couple of days.The town was lashed by a violent storm on New Years Day in 2013. Destructive winds and 60 mm of rain tore through over the course of an hour leaving behind fallen powerlines, uprooted trees, sheds torn apart and roofs ripped from homes.
Quairiding pop 956 in 2006 The town was named for Quairading Spring, derived from a local Aboriginal word recorded in 1872 by surveyor Alexander
Cunderdin
Home for us for four weeks Forrest The first European settler in the area is believed to be Stephen Parker, who settled in nearby York. From 1859 to 1863, his son Edward Parker cleared land east of York towards Dangin, before Edward's son Jonah took over Dangin and the surrounding area. Jonah Parker subdivided his property and made Dangin a private townsite, surrounded by his land. A Methodist, Jonah Parker banned alcohol in the town and these factors led to residents leaving Dangin. The Government made available new land in nearby Quairading, and gave settlers a 160 acres block for free if they cleared the land and lived there for seven years. Many settlers took up the offer and moved into the area between 1903 and 1908. The area was rocked by an earthquake in April 2009; the epicentre was located approximately 20 km northwest of the town. The earthquake that measured 3.2 on the Richter Scale happened at 4.50am local time caused no damage.
It was near Quairading that we came across two sections of the Rabbitproof Fence - The longest fence in the world. Zooming in to the picture will tell the incredible story.
We left Cunderdin on 10th January. We enjoyed
The House in Cunderdin
We are staying around the back in our caravan our five weeks here looking after all the animals and exploring some of the area we had not seen before. Everything was very dry and the grain harvest finished around the New Year. Luckily we missed the extreme heatwave that they had in the Eastern States and we only had a few days over 40C, but our aircon saved us from being uncomfortably hot and nights were pretty cool thanks to the cool breezes coming in from the desert. There were only five 10-week old puppies and three 3-week olds when we left. Steve and Sue came back on 9th January and were so pleased to have had the time away with their family and Steve was thrilled to have his first Christmas Day free of feeding animals in many years. This makes our time farm sitting very rewarding knowing we have helped farming families get away for a few weeks. We were very surprised to get remuneration when we left which had not expected as living free for five weeks is payment in itself.
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