Northampton is a town north of

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldt ...

, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 868. The town contains a

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

building. The town lies on the

North West Coastal Highway North West Coastal Highway is a generally north–south Western Australian highway which links the coastal city of Geraldton with the town of Port Hedland. The road, constructed as a sealed two-lane single carriageway, travels through remote a ...

. Originally called The Mines, Northampton was gazetted in 1864 and named after the colony's

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, John Hampton. The town was sited in the Nokanena Brook valley, between the hamlets around the two major

copper mine Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ...

s in the area, the Wanerenooka and the Gwalla. It was the service town to the

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, the Principality of Hutt River. The town is known for its many wildflowers. Cave paintings at the Bowes River turnoff show that the region has been inhabited by

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

. The surrounding areas produce

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

and other

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

crops. The town has a receival site for

Cooperative Bulk Handling The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled ...

History

Lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

ore was first found by explorer James Perry Walcott, a member of

Augustus Charles Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

's party, in 1848 in the bed of the Murchison River, establishing the mining industry in Western Australia. By 1864, of lead ore and of copper ore were exported from the district, representing 14% of the colony's total annual exports, exceeded only by wool (52%) and

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

(18%). By 1877 the district's exports of copper and lead ores had grown 350% and were the colony's second largest export, still at 14% of the total, after wool (53%). The town was left under water by flooding in 1900 following torrential rainfall. The bridge over Nokanena Brook was swamped, with extensive damage; the water levels were the highest recorded in ten years. In 1936, of lead were produced from the Northampton field, followed by in 1937. Most of this came from the Grand Junction mine, which was closed in 1938. The Northampton State Battery opened in 1954 and operated for about 30 years leaving large amounts of

tailings In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material ...

stockpiled. Locals removed the waste to use in buildings and other construction works. The battery was demolished in 2010 with the remaining tailings being sealed in a containment cell. An investigation into lead contamination in the town commenced in 2013. The Northampton Lead Tailings Project aims to collect information on all land parcels around the town to determine extent of the distribution of lead tailings, which contain about 3% lead, in the area. In April 2021 the town suffered serious damage from Tropical Cyclone Seroja after making landfall as an Australian scale Category 3 system north of nearby Gregory.

Heritage

Northampton is one of the oldest towns in Western Australia, having been declared a townsite in 1864. It was classified as a "historic town" by the National Trust of Australia (WA) in 1993 in recognition of the important heritage buildings that have been conserved and which are still in use there. Notable among them are two buildings by the eminent priest architect Mgr Hawes. Most important is the Church of Our Lady in Ara Coeli, built . It is a romantic Neo Gothic, hammer dressed, sandstone building with some Arts and Crafts elements. Next to the church is the Convent of the Sacred Heart, also by Mgr Hawes, built in 1919 in a more conventional two storied Australian style with its deep sun-shading wooden verandahs. Both buildings are on the Permanent Register of the State Heritage Register of Western Australia. File:St Mary in Ara Coeli.jpg, West front of the Church of Our Lady in Ara Coeli File:Church of Our Lady in Ara Coeli, interior.jpg, Church of Our Lady in Ara Coeli, interior File:Former Sacred Heart Convent.jpg, Former Sacred Heart Convent

Transport

The first Western Australian government railway was constructed from Geraldton to Northampton, a distance of , and opened on 26 July 1879. An extension from Northampton to Ajana of was opened on 13 March 1913. The line closed on 29 April 1957.Milne, Rod (2001) ''Rails to Ajana''

Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin ''Australian Railway History'' is a monthly magazine covering railway history in Australia, published by the New South Wales Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society on behalf of its state and territory Divisions. History and pro ...

, February, 2001 pp. 45-53

Notable residents

: * Sir David Brand (1912–1979), 19th

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...

William Burges William Burges (; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian era, Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century Industrial Revolution, ...

(c. 1806–1876), established Bowes Estate, pastoralist, resident magistrate, MLC * Jamie Cripps, Australian rules footballer * Patrick Cripps Australian rules footballer * John Drew (1865–1947), newspaper publisher, anti-federationist, Colonial Secretary, Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Lands, Minister for Education. * Paul Hasleby,

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er * Herbert Johnson (1889–1962), federal Minister for the Interior * Josh J. Kennedy, Australian rules footballer * Andrew Lockyer, Australian rules footballer * Samuel Mitchell (c. 1838–1912), pioneer of the mining industry in Western Australia, MLC, MLA *

Bradley John Murdoch Bradley John Murdoch (born 19 February 1958) is an Australian criminal serving life imprisonment for the July 2001 murder of English backpacker Peter Falconio in Australia. He will be 74 when eligible for parole in 2032. Murdoch is being held ...

, convicted murderer of English backpacker Peter Falconio * Harry Taylor, Australian rules footballer * Brynn Teakle, Australian rules footballer

History

Heritage

Transport

Notable residents

References

Further reading