Wooroloo is a town on the outer fringe of the

Perth metropolitan region The Perth metropolitan region or the Perth metropolitan area is the administrative area and geographical extent of the Western Australian capital city of Perth and its conurbation. It generally includes the coastal strip from Two Rocks in the ...

, located off

Great Eastern Highway Great Eastern Highway is a road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt and the Goldfields-Esperance, Goldfie ...

in the eastern part of the

Shire of Mundaring The Shire of Mundaring is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council, eastern metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The Shire covers an area of and had a popul ...

. At the 2021 census, Wooroloo had a population of 2,613.

History

The name comes from a

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...

word that was first recorded in 1841, with other spellings also used. A timber mill operated by Byfield Brothers commenced operations in the 1880s, and Byfield's Mill was established as a railway stopping place for the Eastern Railway in 1893, being renamed to Wooroloo in 1897. A school opened on 22 August 1903 with 22 children and one teacher, and a community hall was built with help from residents of nearby Chidlow in 1904; the townsite of Wooroloo was declared in 1913. The Wooroloo Sanatorium for people with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

was built in 1915, but by the 1960s the sanatorium was no longer required and the institution became a general hospital for the surrounding district. The facility was subsequently converted into a prison after Corrective Services took over the site in 1972. In 1970, Ray Williams, a Perth businessman, travelled around the world looking for what he considered to be the perfect horse to breed and cross with Australian horses. He decided upon

Andalusian horse The Andalusian, also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE (Spanish language literally translates to "Spanish pure breed". This name is sometimes capitalized when used in English-language publications, but is all lower-case in Spanish, which ...

s after seeing them at an equestrian show in London, and subsequently travelled to

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and in September 1971 bought the stallion "Bodeguero" and five purebred mares. He then started the first Andalusian stud in Australia at Wooroloo, "Bodeguero Stud", which in 1974 was incorporated into El Caballo Blanco, now El Caballo Resort.

Present day

Wooroloo contains a community hall, liquor and general store, post office and primary school (1903), and was also home to El Caballo Resort, with a convention centre and 18-hole golf course, as well as horse

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

displays. The town is the site of two major prisons in the Western Australian prison system, the minimum-security Wooroloo Prison and the medium-security Acacia Prison. The pool at Wooroloo Prison is open to local residents. The population in 1991 was 761, and in 1996 was 853.

Wooroloo Brook

:''See also Wooroloo Brook'' The water course and catchment of the same name has its source in the locality.

Transport

Wooroloo, at 36 miles and 40

chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

from Perth, was a booking railway station from 1897 to 1965 on the Eastern Railway. Wooroloo currently has the 328

Transperth Transperth is the public transport system for Perth and surrounding areas in Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation, and consists of train, bus and ferry services. Bus operat ...

bus three times weekdays from Midland, with a journey time of approximately 50 minutes; also has two 331 trips during weekdays from Mundaring, with a journey time of approximately 35 minutes. All services are operated by

Swan Transit Swan Transit is an Australian bus company operating Buses in Perth, Transperth bus services under contract to the Public Transport Authority (Western Australia), Public Transport Authority. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems. History On 21 ...

Bus

* 331 Wundowie to Mundaring – serves Werribee Road, Bailup Road, Wilson Street, Government Road and Old Northam Road

References

External links

Wooroloo
on

Geoscience Australia Geoscience Australia is a statutory agency of the Government of Australia that carries out geoscientific research. The agency is the government's technical adviser on aspects of geoscience, and serves as the repository of geographic and geolo ...

El Caballo Resort
{{authority control Suburbs and localities in the Shire of Mundaring Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia Bushfire affected towns in Western Australia