Highbury, originally Wolwolling, is a small town 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 ...

, located along the

Great Southern Highway Great Southern Highway is a highway in the southern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, starting from Great Eastern Highway at The Lakes, from Perth, and ending at Albany Highway near Cranbrook. It is the primary thoroughfare for this pa ...

between Narrogin and Wagin. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, Highbury had a population of 493.

History

Like many towns, Highbury came into existence with the construction of the Great Southern Railway, when a siding was built here in 1894. Highbury was originally called Wolwolling, after Wolwolling Pool, a permanent pool in the bed of the Arthur River 7 km to the south-southeast. It was gazetted under that name in 1905, but the local progress association complained that the name was too similar to others, causing letters and goods to go astray to other places. At a public meeting the names submitted to ballot were Highbury, Scottdale, and Linton. Linton was the preferred name, however it was renamed Highbury from August 1906. The Wolwolling State School was opened in 1904, with a permanent school building and teacher's quarters constructed in 1905. The school operated until 1946.

Present day

The town today is little more than a stop on the highway, with a store, tavern and hall utilised by the surrounding agricultural district in the southern

Shire of Narrogin The Shire of Narrogin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about south-east of the state capital, Perth. The seat of government is in the town of Narrogin. Until 2016, when the two entities merged, the Na ...

. A group called Highbury District Community Council report to council on issues affecting the area, and in 2006 successfully proposed the construction of a war memorial next to the hall to honour those from the district who had fought and died overseas.

References

{{Authority control Towns in Western Australia Shire of Narrogin