DESCRIPTION
Local industries revolve around farming but also include the construction of silos, wheat bins and seed cleaning services.
Doodlakine, Baandee, North Baandee, Daa-dening Creek, Wool-undra, Kodj Kodjin and Priors are
other localities contained within the shire.
Doodlakine is 15 kilometres east and was the first town to be settled in the area.
Doodlakine was gazetted as a townsite on the 16th March 1891.
The Kellerberrin hotel burned down in 1997 but the hospitality at the new pub is just as good as it ever was. There are
some interesting photos on the walls of the town and the old pub.
An Agricultural Hall was built in 1897 and queries were raised in parliament by the Member for Yilgarn, as to why the
government would spend money on a place where nobody lived except "two men, a dog and a dead kangaroo".
This hall is today used as the folk museum. The museum is located on the corner of Leake Street and Bedford Street,.
The building has had many uses over the years including an Agricultural Hall, a school, a Court House, Road Board office
and finally in 1972 it became the local museum.
It has an interesting collection of memorabilia including a comprehensive photographic record of the area.
There are a number of old pieces of farm equipment which were used in the early days of the area's settlement.
Slightly undulating countryside is dotted with salmon and York gums, gimlet and banksia. Many varieties of birds can be
seen but some of the most obvious are the noisy flocks of parrots.
In spring there are good displays of wildflowers and native animals that inhabit the area include kangaroos, echidna,
wallabies and assorted reptiles.
There is a pleasant picnic area and lookout on Kellerberrin Hill with good views over the town and surrounding countryside.
If the Men's Shed is open when you are in town it might be worth while sticking you head in and saying Hi. They are a
friendly bunch and happy to share some local knowledge with visitors.
HISTORY
The first European known to have visited the area was Robert Dale
who led an exploratory party inland from York in the 1830.
Charles Cooke Hunt was later
commissioned by the government to sink wells in the area and during his travels he discovered and named Kellerberrin hill.
From 1861 pastoralists moved in to the district. Among the earliest settlers were : Massingham, Leake, Sewell and Ripper.
By 1877 these families had established the properties of Cutten-ing, Milligan, Moor-an-oppin and Mt Caroline.
The Northam to Southern Cross railway was constructed in 1895 and
Kellerberrin was a station on the line.
Charles Glass found gold while sinking a well in the area and a prospecting party was quickly formed to examine his land for
more signs but none were found. The party decided to move further out towards the Yilgarn hills (Yilgarn is the Aboriginal
name for white quartz.) The leader of the party (Colreavy) reported back to Perth that there was no evidence of gold but
as soon as his services were terminated he and a mate provisioned themselves and quickly went back to the same area.
Meanwhile another prospecting party (Edward Payne and Robert Kirkham) had been more successful and discovered gold on October
20th 1887.
The town dates from 1895 when the townsite was first surveyed and may have been named after a nearby hill 'Killa-bin' or
'Killa-buring'.
The hill was named by local Aborigines after a fierce type of ant known as the keela.
There is a second theory about the name meaning 'camping place near where rainbow birds are found'. This originates from
the Aboriginal words, 'kalla' which means 'camping place' and 'berrin berrin' which means 'rainbow bird.'
The name Killaburnin was possibly used by an explorer in 1861 and that C. C. Hunt used the name Kellerberrin in 1864.
The town was eventually gazetted in 1901.
TALL TALES AND TRUE
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OTHER INFORMATION
ATTRACTIONS
Gardner Nature Reserve (35km south west), Mt Caroline, Folk museum, Milligan homestead, Mt Stirling,
Kokerbin Rock,
(20km south), Kellerberrin Lookout, Wildflowers in spring.
Town heritage trail, Durakoppin Reserve (27km north).
BUILDINGS OF NOTE
Former agricultural hall 1890, Post office 1912, St. Joseph's Church 1916, Massingham House 1912, St Andrew's Presbyterian Church 1938, Old Kellerberrin Fire Station 1912
FAMOUS SONS AND DAUGHTERS
Jessie Pengilly, Bron Pickett, Peter Walsh, Nicky Winmar.
ELECTORAL ZONES
State : Central Wheatbelt
Federal : Durack
OTHER INFO.
Postcode : 6410
Local Government : Shire of Kellerberrin
PHOTOS
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