Goomalling
Goomalling township is situated in the Central Wheat belt area of Western Australia, 132km north east of Perth.
The name was derived from the Koomal Possum which inhabited the area in abundance when the district was first established. Now known as 'Place of the silver grey possum.' Goomalling was also called 'Coomarin' or 'Coomallyn'. The current name was first used by Alfred Hillman in 1846.
The present population of the Shire (as opposed to just the town) is approximately 1200. The district produces several varieties of wheat, lupins, wool, beef, cattle, pigs, fat lambs etc.
The Goomalling Historical Society has placed sign posts on the old school sites within the Shire - many can be spotted on the road verges.
Information of the local heritage trail is available from the Telecentre or Caravan Park. The walk points out places of historical significance around the town site of Goomalling.
Although only a small town with limited shopping facilities, Goomalling is a very nice place to stop and relax for a few days and it is fortunate in being at the centre of a number of other towns that can be reached in a series of days trips.
Suggested day trips from Goomalling:
1. From Goomalling you can head north to Wongan Hills and then travel east to Cadoux, south to Dowerin and back to your starting point.
2. Travel south west to Toodyay and then you can chose to go south to Clackline, then follow the Great Eastern Highway either west to Chidlow and north to Noble Falls before returning via Toodyay again, or you can turn east to Northam and then north to Jennacubbine and back to Goomalling.
3. The last tour is south east to Meckering then along the Great Eastern Highway through Cunderdin and Tammin and nearby Hunt's Well before turning north to Wyalkatchem and then returning via Dowerin.
Each of these trips is on sealed roads and will take you to a number of interesting places and covers a wide range of different terrain, ranging from thick forest around Chidlow to salt lake country near Cadoux and along the Goldfields Water Scheme.
The caravan park is one of the best shire parks in the state and is run by a very friendly and helpful couple. There is also an excellent hardware store just over the railway line (on the Dowerin road) which is (in general) cheaper than the hardware stores in Northam.
Goomalling is a wonderful example of good old fashioned country hospitality and town pride.
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PIONEERS' PATHWAY PART III GOOMALLING AND TOODYAY
Toodyay is a town located in the Avon Valley, 85 km north-east of Perth, Western Australia.
The meaning of the name is uncertain, although it is Noongar Indigenous in origin - maps in 1836 referred to Duidgee, while some believe it was named for a local woman named Toodyeep who accompanied early explorers in the area.[2] Another source suggests it could mean place of plenty. The name Duidgee is preserved in the riverside recreation area, Duidgee Park.
In 1861, Western Australia's best known bushranger, Moondyne Joe, was imprisoned in Toodyay for stealing a horse, but escaped. After a series of crimes and jail terms, he was on the run again, returning to Toodyay in 1865 to steal supplies for an attempt to escape overland to South Australia. The annual Moondyne Festival is a light-hearted celebration of this darker side of Toodyay's history.
The Newcastle Gaol, in Clinton Street, was completed in 1864 and in use as a state gaol until 1909. It is now preserved as the Old Gaol Museum; an historic building and tourist attraction.
In 1870, a steam-driven flour mill, Connor's Mill, was built on Stirling Terrace by George Hasell. The mill was also used to generate electricity in the early part of the twentieth century. Saved from demolition in the 1970's, and restored to demonstrate the milling process and machinery, the mill now forms the museum section of the Toodyay Visitors Centre.[3]
The State Register of Heritage Buildings includes the Gaol, Connor's Mill, Toodyay Public Library (built 1874), Toodyay Post Office (designed by George Temple-Poole, built 1897) and the Toodyay Fire Station (designed by Ken Duncan, built 1938), as well as several other historic sites in Toodyay.[3] Some of the historic architecture of shops and residences along Stirling Terrace, the main street, form a distinctive frontage described as the Stirling Terrace Streetscape Group.[4]
[edit] Transport
Toodyay, being an historic township and an hour's distance from Perth, is a venue for daytrippers, tourists and motorcyclists. The circuit - Toodyay Road through Gidgegannup / Toodyay / Chittering Valley and Great Northern Highway - is a favourite with motorcyclists. On most weekends, Toodyay's main street is lined with cruisers and sportsbikes of many models, makes and vintages, their riders relaxing in the increasing number of pavement cafes that are springing up to accommodate the burgeoning tourist trade.
Toodyay also serves as a stop on the Avonlink and Prospector passenger trains from Perth to Northam and Kalgoorlie.
Goomalling
Attractive wheatbelt town
Located 132 km east of Perth, Goomalling is a pretty little wheatbelt town with the mandatory pub, rail head, small service centre for the surrounding region and bulk handling wheat silos. Sheep and wheat created the town and sheep and wheat will sustain it.
The area was first explored by Assistant Government Surveyor Austin in 1854 but there was no great need for a town. The monks at New Norcia, which was about 60 km northeast of the present townsite, often brought their sheep into the area. And George Slater, who had arrived from England with his parents in 1930, owned a huge selection which covered 100 000 acres from Goomalling to Kalguddering. He moved into the area in the 1850s. His house (the ruins are on the Dowerin road outside town) became a regular stopover point for miners who travelled through the area on their way to the goldfields on their way to Kalgoorlie and Southern Cross.
Goomalling didn't really come into existence until 1902 when it was declared a town and the railway from Northam arrived. It is claimed that the town got its name from the Koomal possum which inhabits the area but, like most explanations for town names, there is no really hard evidence for this assertion.
With a tiny population of 600 in the town, and servicing a further 600 in the surrounding wheat and sheep areas, Goomalling is the sort of place which is often driven through without stopping.
DON PUGH CARAVAN TRIP 20008
Kalannie
Kalannie is a small town in the Shire of Dalwallinu, in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately 259 kilometres (161 mi) north-east of the state capital, Perth.
Kalannie was gazetted as a townsite in 1929. The name is Aboriginal, and is in a list of names from the York area where the meaning is given as where the Aboriginals got white stone for their spears.
The main resources in Kalannie are wheat and gypsum. Kalannie is connected to the narrow gauge rail network from a branch-line on the Amery to Bonnie Rock section.
Shire of Northam
Located in the heart of the Avon Valley, on the banks of the Avon River, Northam has recently been announced as a Supertown. Russell Goodrick's Best Country Towns takes a closer look into what Northam has to offer for Regional Living.
As seen on Best Country Towns - Episode 1. Channel 44 West TV. Western Australia.
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