Campion is an abandoned townsite in the Wheatbelt region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, located in the

Shire of Nungarin The Shire of Nungarin is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, and with a population of 255 as of the , is one of the nation's least pop ...

on the Koorda–

Bullfinch Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds. True bullfinches The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus '' Pyrrhula''. These birds are distributed across Asia and Eu ...

Road. It is situated within the locality of Chandler, with the closest town being Mukinbudin.

History

Agricultural settlement in the Campion district began in the early 1920s, with migrants and soldier-settlers being employed as clearing contractors by the

Agricultural Bank of Western Australia Bankwest is an Australian bank based in Perth, Western Australia. It was founded as the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia in 1895 by the Government of Western Australia being renamed the Rural and Industries Bank in 1944, and Bankwest in ...

and staying on to purchase their own blocks. The area was originally known as the East Lake Brown district, with nearby Lake Brown being one of a series of intermittent lakes in the area 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 1836 and named after Colonial Secretary

Peter Broun Peter Nicholas Broun (17 August 1797 – 5 November 1846), known for most of his life as Peter Nicholas Brown, was the first Colonial Secretary of Western Australia, and a member of Western Australia's first Legislative Council. Early life Pet ...

. It was renamed Campion in 1925 after Sir William Campion, the newly appointed

governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch, King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and commun ...

. A state school was built in Campion in 1925 and opened by the local member of parliament Harry Griffiths, with around 100 people in attendance. The Campion townsite was officially gazetted on 28 March 1928, following the extension of the Wyalkatchem to Mukinbudin railway line, with the townsite located at the intersection of the railway and the State Barrier Fence of Western Australia (the "rabbit-proof fence"). The section of the railway passing through Campion, during construction was known as the Lake Brown to Bullfinch railway. The Campion

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

elected one councillor to the Nungarin Shire Council. Sir William Campion visited the townsite named in his honour in 1930, in the second-last year of his term as governor. A local schoolteacher, Eunice Bedwell, recalled Campion's visit and described the townsite as comprising:

Demise

In 1928, the Campion district produced 40,000 bags of wheat. However, the local wheat industry was affected adversely by falling wheat prices in the late 1920s and the onset of the

Great Depression in Australia Australia was affected badly during the period of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Depression began with the Wall Street crash of 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. As in other nations, Australia had years of high unemployment, poverty, ...

. In 1932, the district was plagued by

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

s and sought the intervention of the federal government, resulting in the so-called

Emu War The Emu War (or Great Emu War) was a nuisance wildlife management military operation undertaken in Australia over the later part of 1932 to address public concern over the number of emus, large flightless birds indigenous to Australia, said t ...

. Following the discovery of

alunite Alunite is a hydroxylated aluminium potassium sulfate mineral, formula potassium, Kaluminium, Al3(sulfur, Soxygen, O4)2(Ohydrogen, H)6. It was first observed in the 15th century at Tolfa, near Rome, where it was mined for the manufacture of alum ...

on the west side of Lake Campion, a state-owned processing facility was established in 1942 and a new townsite was gazetted at nearby Chandler. Subsequently development activities focused on Chandler, with the Campion townsite remaining undeveloped and the local school being closed. The Campion railway siding was closed in 1956 and the townsite was cancelled in 1972.

Environment

A species of

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They have adapted to grow in waterlo ...

in the

Byblidaceae ''Byblis'' ( ) is a small genus of carnivorous plants, sometimes termed the rainbow plants for the attractive appearance of their mucilage-covered leaves in bright sunshine. Native to Australia and New Guinea, it is the only genus in the fami ...

family, ''

Byblis rorida ''Byblis rorida'' is a species of carnivorous plant in the Byblidaceae family that is endemic to Australia. They have surfaces covered in glandular hairs, which can capture and also digest small insects. They are annuals with fibrous roots, at ...

'', is found on the shores of Lake Campion.

References

{{authority control Wheatbelt (Western Australia) Ghost towns in Western Australia