Corrigin is a town in the central
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 ...
, east-southeast of the state capital,
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 ...
, Western Australia, along State Route 40. It is mostly a farming community focused on crops and sheep, and holds the
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
of "the most dogs in a
ute
Ute or UTE may refer to:
* Ute (band), an Australian jazz group
* Ute (given name)
* ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus
* Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles
* Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...
".
History
The name "Corrigin", of
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 ...
Aboriginal origin, was first recorded in 1877 relating to a well in the area. The meaning of the name is unknown.
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
The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence, and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits, and other agricultural pests from th ...
. Most of the land was once held by George Walton on 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 ...
, which he ran from his
homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
*Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...
at Wogerlin rock. The first
settler
A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.
A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...
s 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.
In 1909, the Government planned to build a railway from
Brookton on the
Great Southern Railway to the town of
Kunjin, 17 km west of Corrigin. Some time after, a line from
Wickepin was also proposed, and the Government decided to locate the crossing point at Corrigin.
A storm swept through the area in 1913 lashing the area with
hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...
stones over in diameter. The town was also deluged with over 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 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, Western Australia
Wickepin is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, south-east of Perth and east of Narrogin. Wickepin had a population of 380 at the .
History
Wickepin's name is of Aboriginal origin, first recorded in 1881, but the meaning ...
opened a month later, and the main office of the
local Road Board moved to the town. In 1915, a school was built.
In 1932 the
Wheat Pool of Western Australia announced that the town would have two
grain elevators, each fitted with an engine, installed at the railway siding. The bulk handling facility had been installed by November the following year and the first trial load of wheat was satisfactorily loaded.
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
Hard may refer to:
* Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture
* Hard water, water with high mineral content
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series
* Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock super ...
.
The wheatbelt was struck by
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
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 of drought-breaking rain over a couple of days.
The town was lashed by a violent storm on
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
in 2013. Destructive winds and of rain tore through over the course of an hour leaving behind fallen powerlines, uprooted trees, sheds torn apart and roofs ripped from homes.
Present day
Corrigin has a population of 903 and is a key agricultural centre for a district focused mainly on wheat and sheep farming. It is the location of a
CBH management zone office, and in 1973 was the location of a
"type B" wheat bin.
It contains a district high school (originally opened 1915 as a primary school),
National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank (abbreviated NAB, branded nab) is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "The Big Four") in terms of market capitalisation, earnings and customers. NAB was ranked 21st-la ...
branch, shopping facilities, accommodation (hotel, motel, caravan park), council offices and a
telecentre. Each year, it hosts an agricultural show.
The town is a stop on the
Transwa
Transwa is Western Australia's regional public transport provider, linking 240 destinations, from Kalbarri in the north to Augusta in the south west to Esperance in the south east.
The Transwa system provides transport to the major regional ...
bus service to Esperance via Kulin/Hyden.
A large rocky outcrop just to the east of town is
Corrigin Rock.
About 5 km west of town is the Corrigin dog cemetery, containing over 80 buried dogs.
In popular culture
Corrigan, the fictional town in which the 2009
Craig Silvey
Craig Silvey (born 1 January 1982) is an Australian novelist. Silvey has twice been named one of the Best Young Australian Novelists by ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' and has been shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. His 200 ...
novel ''
Jasper Jones
''Jasper Jones'', is a 2009 novel by Australian writer Craig Silvey. It has won and been shortlisted for several major awards including being shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. The novel was selected by the American Librar ...
'' and the subsequent
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
are set, derives its name from Corrigin.
Climate
References
External links
Shire of CorriginDog in a Ute– includes photos and history of the event.
{{Authority control
Towns in Western Australia
Wheatbelt (Western Australia)
Grain receival points of Western Australia