Kulin is a town in the eastern 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 t ...

, approximately 280 km from Perth. It is the main town in the Shire of Kulin.

History

The first European known to have visited the Kulin area was Captain

John Septimus Roe John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's legislative and executive councils for nearly 40 years, but also a participant in ...

, Surveyor General of the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

on his 1848-49 expedition to examine the south coast. He encountered a group of

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

34 miles east of Nalyaring (near Brookton) who guided the expedition party to several water sources, including the Kulin Rock soak, before leaving the party at Yeerakine Rock (just south and east of Kondinin) as this was the limit of their territory. These guides used the name "Coolin" to describe the area now known as Kulin Rock. In the early years, settlers occasionally encountered groups of Aborigines hunting

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban ...

. Although artifacts such as grinding stones and stone choppers have been found in the district, no signs of permanent occupation were found by early settlers other than the

mia-mia A mia-mia is a temporary shelter made of bark, branches, leaves and grass used by some Indigenous Australians. The word is also used in Australian English to mean "a temporary shelter". Coming from the Wathawurrung language, the term is also used ...

s built by "Europeanised" Aboriginal shepherds from Narrogin in the employ of Michael Brown. Brown, a businessman from Narrogin, took up large pastoral leases in the Kulin/Kondinin area including Kulin Rock and Gnarming in 1905. These and other leases in the area were terminated in 1909/1910 to allow the government to distribute the land for agricultural purposes. The first land selected for farming in the Kulin area was at Wogolin and Dudinin in January 1909 – extending from the more established areas of Narrogin and Wickepin. Settlement did not proceed evenly from this direction however as early farmers selected areas with better soils or reliable water sources. This was the case at Kulin Rock with Edward John (Dick) Reardon and Michael Healy arriving there in February 1909 to take up farming land. Much of this activity took place before the official survey at the end of 1909 including James Fitt (previously an overseer for Brown) taking up land adjoining Jilakin Rock and at Jitarning. Jilakin had been the original name of the location in 1913; in 1915 it was changed to Kulin. In 1932 the Wheat Pool of Western Australia announced that the town would have two

grain elevators A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...

, each fitted with an engine, installed at the railway siding.

Present day

Kulin has a population of about 350 and is an agricultural centre for a district whose main activities are wheat and sheep farming.

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...

viewing is possible during September and October. The town contains a district high school, a

Bendigo Bank Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is an Australian financial institution, operating primarily in retail banking. The company was formed by the merger of Bendigo Bank and Adelaide Bank in November 2007. Before the merger, Bendigo Bank delivered its pr ...

, shopping facilities, accommodation (hotel, motel, caravan park), council offices and a

telecentre A telecentre is a public place where people can access computers, the Internet, and other digital technologies that enable them to gather information, create, learn, and communicate with others while they develop essential digital skills. Telecent ...

. Every year in October, it hosts the Kulin Bush Races. Kulin has its own

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, a ...

, which covers the shire and surrounding areas. It has two permanent police officers who live in the township and conduct highway patrols and provide support to nearby stations. The town is a stop on the

Transwa Transwa is Western Australia's regional public transport provider, linking 240 destinations, from Kalbarri in the north to Augusta in the south west to Esperance in the south east. The Transwa system provides transport to the major regional ...

bus service to Esperance. 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 grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

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 ...

Tin horses

The roads leading into and through Kulin have a collection of over 100 tin horses. The largest is 10 m long and stands 5 m high. All the horses are made primarily from

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

tins and drums. They are from entries into the annual competition as part of the local race day.

Kulin Bush Races

The Kulin Bush Races is an annual event involving horse races, betting, alcohol and fireworks. It is held on one day, but campers can sleep the night the day before and after the event. All money made from the event is put back into the community.

Water slide

The water slide at the Kulin Aquatic Centre is the largest in regional Western Australia; it is high and long. It was opened in 2001. The slide was funded by a local farmer to improve local sport and recreation. It was bought from

Tanawha, Queensland Tanawha (pronounced /'tæn-uh-wuh/) is a rural locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The name ''Tanawha'' is believed to be a Māori language word referring to a legendary New Zealand monster. For statistical purposes ...

, disassembled and trucked to Kulin by local volunteers, then reassembled.

Blazing Swan

Blazing Swan is an annual regional

Burning Man Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred ...

event held in Kulin. It is a 7-day event which is an experiment in temporary community and artistic expression, and is guided by the ten principles of Burning Man, plus an eleventh - consent. The event occurs around Easter each year, with the 2017 event scheduled for 12–18 April. The event location is in dry bushland near Jilakin Lake, and is referred to as Jilakin Rock City. Each year a swan-shaped wooden effigy is built and burned at the culmination of the event.

References

External links

Shire of Kulin
{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Wheatbelt (Western Australia) Grain receival points of Western Australia