Brunswick Junction is a town in the South West of Western Australia, situated along the

South Western Highway South Western Highway is a highway in the South West region of Western Australia connecting Perth's southeast with Walpole. It is a part of the Highway 1 network for most of its length. It is about long. Route description Perth to Bunbury ...

between Harvey and Bunbury. It had a population of 772 people at the 2016 census, down from 797 at the 2006 census.

History

The Aboriginal name for the Brunswick area is Mue-De-La. The Brunswick River which runs just north of the town was surveyed by

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 ...

in 1830, and likely named by Governor Stirling after the Duke of Brunswick. Stirling was in command of HMS ''Brazen'' in 1813 when the ship was commissioned to take the Duke of Brunswick to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. The Duke was on the ship for five days. The first farm in the area, "Alverstoke", started in 1842 by Marshall Waller Clifton, was producing wheat, barley and potatoes within a few years. A bridge was built over the Brunswick River at

Australind Australind is a town in Western Australia, located 12 km north-east of Bunbury, Western Australia, Bunbury's central business district. Its Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area is the Shire of Harvey. At the 20 ...

to give settlers in the area easier access to what was then the main community in the Harvey District. In 1893, when the Perth-Bunbury railway was completed, no-one lived in the present-day townsite, but the Brunswick Farmers' Association was formed, with a post office and school operating nearby. In 1898, a junction was opened south of the river when the line to

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Many type ...

opened and

Brunswick Junction railway station Brunswick Junction is a rural railway station serving the town of Brunswick Junction, Western Australia and is the penultimate stop on Transwa's ''Australind'' train service. History Brunswick Junction opened in 1898, with its station buildi ...

was built. The population of the town was 68 (38 males and 30 females) in 1898. The Brunswick Junction Prison was located in the former railway barracks. By 1979, it was a minimum security prison with capacity for 26 inmates. It was closed in 1984. The town's centre underwent a significant upgrade in 2011 as part of the Royalties for Regions program, a dairy themed playground, landscaping and an underground power hub were all part of the $380,000 project that was opened by

Brendon Grylls Brendon John Grylls (born 5 June 1973) is an Australian politician who was a National Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 2001 to 2017. Grylls became leader of the National Party in Western Australia from 2005 to ...

Present day

Brunswick Junction is mainly known today for dairying, to which a large Friesian cow (nicknamed Daisy) stands testament in a park in the centre of town. Peters Creameries produces milk products and cheese from nearby dairy farmers. The town also hosts several historic buildings, including the shire hall, Catholic and Anglican churches and railway cottages, and the nearby Beela Valley has a scenic drive which takes in farming country east of the town as well as the Mornington forests. The Brunswick Agricultural Show is one of the largest in regional Australia with over 15,000 visitors in October of each year. A fashion parade, trade exhibits, arts and crafts and flowers are among the things on offer.

Transport

Brunswick Junction is on the

, north-east of Bunbury. In town, the South Western Highway carries the name Ommaney Road. Brunswick Junction is linked by road to

to the west via Clifton Road.

Railway junction

The

passenger train from

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

to Bunbury stops at

Brunswick Junction Brunswick is the historical English name for the German city of Braunschweig (Low German: ''Brunswiek'', Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek''). Brunswick may also refer to: Places and other topographs Australia *Brunswick, Victoria, a suburb of ...

as the penultimate station on the

South Western Railway South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...

. It is a railway junction for the railway line from

, and the former railway branch lines that extended further east of Collie.See Bowelling for details of the lines...

References

External links

Town map of Brunswick Junction
(Shire of Harvey)
Brunswick Show
{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Shire of Harvey