Austin is an
abandoned town in the
Murchison region of Western Australia. The town is located south of
Cue on an island in
Lake Austin and for this reason was also known as Lake Austin and The Island Lake Austin.
The lake and the town are both named after surveyor
Robert Austin, who was the first
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an to explore and chart the area. Austin initially named the lake the Great Inland
Marsh
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
but the name was later changed to Lake Austin. The townsite was gazetted in 1895.
When Austin travelled through the area he described it as ''very indifferent'' but also added ''the geological features indicate rich goldfields''.
The town had one ten head
stamp mill
A stamp mill (or stamp battery or stamping mill) is a type of Mill (grinding), mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than Mill (grinding), grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking materia ...
operating the Austin mine just outside town in 1895.
Transport to and from the town was originally provided by a bi-weekly coach from
Yalgoo but by 1898 the railway was extended to the town.
The townsite is still visible from the
Great Northern Highway.
References
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Ghost towns in Western Australia
Shire of Cue
Ghost towns in the Mid West of Western Australia