Babakin is a small town located in the Wheatbelt region of

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 ...

between the towns of

Bruce Rock Bruce Rock is a town in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately east of Perth and southwest of Merredin. It is the main town in the Shire of Bruce Rock. History Originally known as Nunagin or Noonegin, the name of ...

and Corrigin. At the the population of Babakin was 56. Facilities in the town include a school, shop, hall and sporting facilities. Babakin was a

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Australia Pastoral lease ...

from 1873 to 1914 at this location, first taken up by C. Heal (Jnr). The name stems from a

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

term for the

dingo The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...

. The population increased with land grants given to returned servicemen after the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1926, Babakin joined with Ardath to field an Australian rules team in the Bruce Rock Football Association. In 1932, the

Wheat Pool of Western Australia Cooperative Wheat Pool of Western Australia, commonly known as the Wheat Pool of Western Australia, is a cooperative of wheat growers in Western Australia. The cooperative was formed in 1922 and one of the inaugural trustees was Charles Walter Harp ...

announced that the town would have two

grain elevators A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposi ...

, each fitted with an engine, installed at the railway siding. A very rare plant species inhabits the area—the Western Underground Orchid (''

Rhizanthella gardneri ''Rhizanthella gardneri'', commonly known as western underground orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a herb that spends its entire life cycle, including flowerin ...

'').

References

* Higham, Geoffrey ''Where was That? an historical gazetteer of Western Australia''. Geoproject Solutions, Winthrop, W.A: . * Lovell, Avon. ''Bruce Rock : a revised history'' Bruce Rock, W.A: Bruce Rock Shire Council, 1993. . ** A rare and beautiful thing. Feature on ''Rhizanthella gardneri'' – in Lovell, pp. 167–174. Towns in Western Australia Shire of Bruce Rock {{WesternAustralia-geo-stub