Chandler is a rural locality between Merredin and Mukinbudin 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 ...

. It had a population of 104 at the 2006 census. Initially established to serve the nearby

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 ...

(a source of

potash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

) mine at nearby Lake Campion, land was set aside in 1942 for a townsite. Lots were surveyed soon afterward and the town was gazetted in 1943. The mine was a state government project with government employees that was needed following the supplies of the mineral being cut off after the commencement of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A potash works was erected in the town reserve in 1943. Following the war, the government closed down the plant once supply of Alunite had normalised. The company, Australian Plaster Industries, then took up a lease in the area and in 1949 commenced production of

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

that is used in the manufacture of

plaster of paris Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

and

plasterboard Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gib board, gypsum board, buster board, turtles board, slap board, custard board, gypsum panel and gyprock) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or witho ...

. During that time, the town boomed and had two main streets, over 70 houses, a

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

, a

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

and powerhouse. Production ceased in 1952; the entire town was sold off in 1953. The name of the town was chosen to honour Mr J Chandler, a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

, who had discovered the alunite deposits.

References

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