Welbungin, Western Australia

Town in Western Australia

30°50′S 117°59′E / 30.833°S 117.983°E / -30.833; 117.983Population35 (SAL 2021)^[1]Established1923Postcode(s)6477Elevation348 m (1,142 ft)Area875.3 km² (338.0 sq mi)Location

287 km (178 mi) ENE of Perth
13 km (8 mi) east of Bencubbin

LGA(s)Shire of Mount Marshall State electorate(s)Central Wheatbelt Federal division(s)Durack

Welbungin is a small town located just off the Koorda–Southern Cross road 287 km (178 mi) from Perth in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.

Land was reserved in the area for a town hall as early as 1915 but it was not until the extension of the railway line from Mount Mashall to Lake Brown was planned to pass close by and that a station would be established in 1921 that the local primary producers association began to campaign for a town to be gazetted. The area was also known locally as Polkinghome's Corner but was gazetted in 1923 as Welbunging. The spelling was later changed to its current spelling in 1944.^[2] The name of the town is Aboriginal in origin and was first recorded in 1889 by early surveyors after the name of a nearby hill.

In 1932 the Wheat Pool of Western Australia announced that the town would have two grain elevators, each fitted with an engine, installed at the railway siding.^[3]

The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops. The town is a receival site for Cooperative Bulk Handling.^[4]

References

^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Welbungin (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
^ "History of country town names – W". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
^ "Country elevators". The West Australian. Perth. 6 July 1932. p. 10. Retrieved 6 April 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "CBH receival sites" (PDF). 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.