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Austin is an 
abandoned town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by Alle ...
in the Murchison region of Western Australia. The town is located south of Cue on an island in Lake Austin
Lake Austin, formerly Lake McDonald, is a water reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Lake Austin is one of the seven High ...
and for this reason was also known as Lake Austin and The Island Lake Austin.
The lake and the town are both named after surveyor Robert Austin, who was the first Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an to explore and chart the area. Austin initially named the lake the Great Inland Marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
but the name was later changed to Lake Austin. The townsite was gazetted in 1895.
When Austin travelled through the area he described it as ''very indifferent'' but also added ''the geological features indicate rich goldfields''.
The town had one ten head stamp mill
A stamp mill (or stamp battery or stamping mill) is a type of mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking material down is a type of unit operatio ...
operating the Austin mine just outside town in 1895.
Transport to and from the town was originally provided by a bi-weekly coach from Yalgoo but by 1898 the railway was extended to the town.
The townsite is still visible from the Great Northern Highway
Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...
.
References
{{authority control Ghost towns in Western Australia Shire of Cue Ghost towns in the Mid West of Western Australia