Wickepin is a town 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 ...
, south-east of
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 ...
and east of
Narrogin
Narrogin is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, Western Australia, Perth on the Great Southern Highway between Pingelly, Western Australia, Pingelly and Wagin, Western Australia, Wagin. In the age of st ...
. Wickepin had a population of 380 at the .
History
Wickepin's name is of
Aboriginal origin, first recorded in 1881, but the meaning is not known. Until 1908, the area was sometimes known as Yarling, the name of a spring in the area; Yarling Well is west of the town. The area was leased in the early 1870s, but started to grow after the construction of the
Great Southern Railway in 1889. The land was opened up by the State Government in 1893, and by 1906 a town had started to develop.
In 1908, plans were announced to extend the railway from
Narrogin to Wickepin, and the town was gazetted in June of that year. Seven months later, the Road Board (later
Shire Council
Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the ol ...
) was constituted and the railway commenced operations. In the years prior to the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
Wickepin was an important service centre, featuring three banks, blacksmiths and other businesses as well as a post office and railway buildings.
Dorothy Hewett
Dorothy Coade Hewett (21 May 1923 – 25 August 2002) was an Australian playwright, poet and author. She wrote in a number of different literary styles: Modernist poetry, modernism, socialist realism, Expressionism (theatre), expressionism a ...
, most famous author of the wheatbelt, lived as a child on a prosperous farm about 15 km north-east of the town between 1923 and 1935. Her grandparents also operated the General Store in Wickepin. Two of her plays,
The Man from Mukinupin and ''Field of Dreams'', and a dozen of her most celebrated poems, especially "Legend of the Green Country" and "Once I Rode with Clancy", are set in the area.
Albert Facey,
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east.
Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
veteran and author of ''
A Fortunate Life
''A Fortunate Life'' is an autobiography by Albert Facey published in 1981, nine months before his death. It chronicles his early life in Western Australia, his experiences as a private during the Gallipoli campaign of World War I and his re ...
'', lived south of the town from 1922 to 1934 with his family.
From 1917 until 1964, Wickepin hosted an agricultural show in October of each year.
Present day
Wickepin is a service town for the surrounding agricultural district, and contains recreational facilities, historic buildings from its boom period in the 1910s–1920s, a
telecentre
A telecentre is a public place where people can access computers, the Internet, and other digital technologies that enable them to gather information, create, learn, and communicate with others while they develop essential digital skills. Telecent ...
, public library and caravan park. Albert Facey's house was moved to the main street of Wickepin in 2000 and is open to visitors. Wickepin has a primary school, first opened in 1911, with high school students travelling by school bus to
Narrogin
Narrogin is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, Western Australia, Perth on the Great Southern Highway between Pingelly, Western Australia, Pingelly and Wagin, Western Australia, Wagin. In the age of st ...
.
See also
*
Wheatbelt railway lines of Western Australia
The wheatbelt railway lines of Western Australia were, in most cases, a network of railway lines in Western Australia that primarily served the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region.
Maps of the Western Australian Government Railways ...
References
External links
Shire of Wickepin
{{authority control
Towns in Western Australia
Wheatbelt (Western Australia)
Grain receival points of Western Australia