Moora is a townsite located 177 km north of

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 ...

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 ...

. Moora was one of the original stations on the Midland railway line to Walkaway, and the townsite was gazetted in 1895. At the , Moora had a population of 1,755.

Commercial area

The town is the largest wheat belt town between

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

and Perth. The town provides facilities and services such as

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...

s, schools, commerce and retail sectors, community recreational facilities; plus a Pharmacy, Dentist, Doctors and District Hospital. The surrounding areas produce

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 other

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

crops. The town is a receival site for

Cooperative 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 ...

Natural disasters

The town was left underwater in 1932 when heavy rainfall inundated the town, causing severe flooding. The town was left isolated as both rail lines and roads had portions washed away. Over half the town was submerged to a depth of , and once the waters receded, was left under a thick coating of mud. Crops and stock in the surrounding area were also lost. In March 1999, the town suffered a major

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

when ex-Tropical Cyclone Elaine caused the

Moore River Moore River is a river in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Geography The headwaters of the Moore River lie in the Perenjori, Carnamah and Dalwallinu Shires. The river then drains southwards through Moora, flows westerly before j ...

to break its banks, with 1000 people evacuated. Just as the community was recovering, another major rainfall event on the already saturated land in May of the same year caused yet another flood in the town.

Education

Moora is home to the Central Midlands Senior High School, Moora Primary School and St Joseph's School (SJSM)—a Catholic

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

school.

Recreation

The Moora Agricultural Show is held every year in September, and includes a full Equestrian Program, Fire Works, a Fashion Parade, entertainment and exhibits. The Moora Cup Race Day is one of the biggest events on Moora's social calendar, and is held every year in October. Many tourist attractions can be found around the Moora District, ranging from the Western Wildflower Farm to the abundance of hand-painted murals and the Moora Town Clock. As such, Moora is often a popular stopover for tourists en route to holiday destinations and those following the wildflower trail.

Nature

Moora lies within the

Moora Important Bird Area Moora Important Bird Area comprises a fragmented area of 685 ha centred on the rural township of Moora, in the wheatbelt region of south-west Western Australia. It lies about 175 km north of Perth. Most of the site is private land. ...

, declared by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports up to 60 breeding pairs of the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

Carnaby's Black Cockatoo Carnaby's black cockatoo (''Zanda latirostris''), also known as the short-billed black cockatoo, is a large black cockatoo endemic to southwest Australia. It was described in 1948 by naturalist Ivan Carnaby. Measuring in length, it has a s ...

. Surrounding the town are several rural activities (such as the growing of wheat, barley,

canola Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, i ...

, oaten hay and

lupin ''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 ...

s, as well as the raising of sheep, cattle and pigs) and a silica mine located 15 km north of the townsite.

Climate

Notable residents

Musician Paul Harding from electronic music group

Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the ...

attended Moora Primary School.

Gallery

Image:St James church.jpg, St James Anglican church Image:Moora Shire offices.jpg, Shire council offices and garden Image:Moora visitors centre.jpg, Visitors centre garden Image:Australian Draughthorse Memorial.jpg, Australian Draughthorse Memorial Image:Moora Post Office, 2016.JPG, Moora post office

References

External links

Shire of Moora

CMAS Moora Show
{{Authority control Towns in Western Australia Wheatbelt (Western Australia) Grain receival points of Western Australia