Woodanilling is a small town in the Great Southern 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 ...

Location

The town is south 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 ...

on 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 ...

, from Katanning and from Wagin. The town is in a sheep and grain producing area and was named after a spring in the Boyerine Creek, found about south of town.

History

The

Wiilman Wiilman are an indigenous Noongar people from the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, Wheatbelt, Great Southern (Western Australia), Great Southern and South West, Western Australia, South West regions of Western Australia. Variant spellings o ...

people are the

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of the Woodanilling area. During 1830–31, the area was first explored by Europeans, in expeditions by Captain Thomas Bannister. The construction of

Albany Highway Albany Highway links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany, on the state's south coast. The highway travels through the southern Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions, and is designated State Route ...

in the early 1850s and the Great Southern Railway in 1889 brought settlers to the area and helped to establish the town, which was located on a railway siding that was initially known as Round Pool. The townsite was gazetted in 1892. In 1895 it was renamed Yarabin and changed finally to Woodanilling the following year (1896). The name Woodanilling is Aboriginal in origin and means either "lots of minnows" or "place where the bronzewing pigeon nests". An agricultural hall and

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

were built in the town prior to 1903 (when the school was closed temporarily after the teacher, a Mr Campbell, was transferred). By 1906, the Woodanilling Road Board was formed and the population of the shire swelled to 800, during its most prosperous period (1905 to 1920). At around this time the town boasted five general stores, a blacksmith, post office, bakery, hotel, railway station and trotting track. "Mallet" (

marlock A marlock or moort is a shrubby or small-tree form of ''Eucalyptus'' found in Western Australia. Unlike the mallee, it is single-stemmed and lacks a lignotuber. It has a dense canopy of leaves which often extends to near ground level. Marlock spec ...

or mallee) bark was also exported from the area in large quantities by 1907. The

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

of the local

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

church was laid in 1908 in front of a large gathering including the local

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

, Rev. W. Kennedy. The

Western Australian Bank The Western Australian Bank was a bank operating in Western Australia from 1841 to 1927. It was formed amidst the aftermath of the sale of the first Bank of Western Australia (1837-1841), which had sold out to the Bank of Australasia, as pro ...

branch and new hotel were erected in the town in 1908, along with many improvements being made to the school. Local farmers were confident of a

bumper crop In agriculture, a bumper crop is a crop that has yielded an unusually productive harvest. The word "bumper" in this context comes from a usage that means "something unusually large", which is where this term comes from. Though very productive har ...

after experiencing favourable conditions for the year. The railway station yard was upgraded later the same year, a

weighbridge A truck scale (US), weighbridge (non-US) or railroad scale is a large set of scales, usually mounted permanently on a concrete foundation, that is used to weigh entire rail or road vehicles and their contents. By weighing the vehicle both emp ...

, new crossing, tracking yards and enlarging the current yard were all completed the following year. The school changed teachers four times in 1908, with finding suitable quarters being the main problem. The school was also enlarged to cater for the growing enrolment. Between 1920 and 1960 migrants from Ireland, Germany, England and even China arrived contributing to the fabric of the local community. The local school was destroyed by fire in June 1949, the school had 64 students enrolled at the time. By November the minister of education decided that a new primary school would be built but older students would travel to Katanning for their classes.

Economy

The town services the surrounding area which is primarily concerned with sheep and wheat.

References

{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Great Southern (Western Australia) Grain receival points of Western Australia