Ajana is a townsite within the

Shire of Northampton The Shire of Northampton is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, about north of Geraldton and about north of the state capital, Perth. ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is located at the junction of Ajana-Kalbarri Road and Ajana Back Road, by road north of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, by road southwest of Kalbarri, and west-northwest of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in the

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

region. The name ''Ajana'' is Aboriginal in origin and is thought to be either the

Nanda Nanda may refer to: Indian history and religion * Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE ** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire ** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...

name for the area or to be derived from a similar word meaning "mine".

History

Ajana was the terminus of an extension to the first government railway line in Western Australia. The line originally ran from

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

; it was extended to Ajana to encourage the development of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

and agriculture in the area. The station opened on 6 January 1913, and the townsite was declared on 26 November 1915. The railway terminated at the No 3 Rabbit Proof Fence, which ran through the townsite. A

telegraph station Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

, built in 1845 at nearby Mount View Station, provided early communications for the town. A

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

was established in 1922, and a school was built in the town in 1944. The railway line and Ajana station closed on 29 April 1957.

Barrel Well Aboriginal Community

The Barrel Well Aboriginal Community is located west-southwest of the Ajana townsite, on Warribanno Chimney Road. It sits on Victoria Location 11991, within the registered

Nanda People The Nhanda people, also spelt Nanda, Nhunda, Nhanta, and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people who live in the mid-west region of Western Australia around the mouth of the Murchison River. Language The traditional language of t ...

(WAD6136/98)

native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...

claim area, and has a population of 26, including 10 children. The community is managed by the Barrel Well Nanda Aboriginal Corporation, a body incorporated under the ''Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976'' on 26 May 1992. The Management Order of ''Reserve 1457 Victoria Location 11991 Barrel Well'' was transferred from the

Aboriginal Land Trust In Australia, an Aboriginal land trust (ALT) is a type of non-profit organisation that holds the freehold title to an area of land on behalf of a community of Aboriginal Australians. The land has been legally granted to a community by the governme ...

to the corporation on 28 June 2000.

References

External links

Native Title Claimant application summary
{{authority control Shire of Northampton Towns in Western Australia Aboriginal communities in Mid West (Western Australia)