Mingenew is a town in

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 north 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 ...

. It is the seat of government for the

Shire of Mingenew The Shire of Mingenew is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, about southeast of the city of Geraldton and about north of the state ca ...

History

Mingenew was named after Mingenew Spring, an Aboriginal word recorded by

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 ...

settlers A settler is a person who has 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 pioneer. Settle ...

in 1856, possibly deriving from either the words ''Minga nu'' "the place of many ants and flies" or ''Mininoo'' "the place of many waters". Mingenew and the surrounding Irwin District were first explored by the brothers Augustus Charles and

Francis Thomas Gregory Francis Thomas "Frank" Gregory (19 October 1821 – 23 October 1888) was an Australian explorer and politician. Born in England, he emigrated with his family to Australia as a boy. He was the younger brother of the explorer and politician Augu ...

in August 1847, looking for suitable grazing land. Settlement of the district then occurred in the 1850s because it was ideal country for

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

. The Midland railway line opened in August 1891, and private land was subdivided, followed in 1906 by subdivision of government land. In 1906, the town of Mingenew was gazetted. Mingenew 1920s panorama

Agriculture

Today, the town's economy is based on the

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and

lupins ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

. Mingenew is known as ''The Grain Centre''. The Mingenew grain facility (CBH,

Co-operative Bulk Handling The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym for Co-operative Bulk Handling), is a grain growers' cooperative that handles, markets and processes grain from the wheatbelt of Western Australia. History CBH was formed on 5 April 1933, at a ...

) is recognised as the largest inland grower fed receival site facility in the Southern Hemisphere, with a holding capacity of 403,000 tons. There is a giant wheat stalk sculpture, affectionately known as "Big Ears" by the locals, at Cecil Newton Park in the main street of the town, emphasising the importance of wheat farming in the area.

Attractions

Wildflowers

Mingenew has many spectacular displays of wildflowers between late July and early October. Varieties include everlastings, hakeas, banksias and grevilleas. Mingenew's floral emblem is the bird beak hakea (''

Hakea orthorrhyncha ''Hakea orthorrhyncha'', commonly known as bird beak hakea, is a shrub which is endemic to the Murchison River area of Western Australia. Description ''Hakea orthorrhyncha'' has a spreading habit, growing to between tall with a similar spread ...

'').

Coalseam Conservation Park

Located 33 km north east of Mingenew, the Coalseam Conservation Park is a renowned site for its carpets of native pink and white everlastings (''Rhodanthe chlorocephala ss. rosea'') and yellow pom pom (''Cephalipterum drummondii'') wildflowers. The area was named the Coalseam after the Gregory brothers discovered

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

exposed within the sedimentary layers of the banks of the

Irwin River The Irwin River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was named on 9 April 1839 by the explorer George Grey, while on his second disastrous exploration expedition along the Western Australian coast, after his friend Major F ...

in 1846. This marked the first discovery of coal in Western Australia, however, after a number of shafts were dug, only narrow seams of poor quality coal were found, so the site was abandoned. The park is now a popular picnic place, where remnants of its mining history are still present. Also present are many marine fossils embedded in the riverbank and the magnificent limestone cliffs from the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

Ice Age, 250 million years ago – the oldest geological era.

Sports clubs

Sport is an integral part of the fabric to the community of Mingenew. * Mingenew Football Club * Mingenew Hockey Club * Mingenew Netball Club * Mingenew Tennis Club * Mingenew Cricket Club * Mingenew Turf Club * Mingenew Karate Club * Mingenew Bowls Club * Mingenew Golf Club

References

External links

Shire of MingenewYoutube Video about Mingenew
{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Mid West (Western Australia) Grain receival points of Western Australia