DESCRIPTION
Wheat, sheep and mining are the mainstay of the economy in this area. The wildflowers that bloom in the shire also account for a thiving
tourism industry which may be seasonal but is an important income resource.
St. Joseph's church was designed by M. Hawes and is described as 'utilitarian' with regards to its outside appearance. It is one of the few
buildings designed by Hawes that is so plain outside. It is possible to see the inside of the church by collecting a key from the shire office.
St. Pauls church was built in 1960 incorporating a crying room. The room had a double glazed window and a loudspeaker so that mothers with crying
infants would not miss the service but would not disturb other parishioners.
Perenjori is part of the Monsignor John Hawes Heritage trail that includes the towns of:
Carnamah,
Morawa,
Mullewa,
Geraldton,
Northampton,
Yalgoo,
Nanson and Bluff Point.
There is an excellent nature based campsite at Camel Soak about 42 kilometres east of Perenjori. Here a large granite outcrop holds a large pool of water
that was originally used by the camel trains and men building the vermin proof fence that runs north to south through the shire.
Another campsite is located near John Forrest Lookout a little further north east.
Hidden behind a screen of trees on the west side of Karara Station Road are the ruins of Damerwah State Farm that opened in the 1920s. This was an agricultural research
farm where new strains of wheat were tested.
Header Muster
On the 19th of December 2003, 56 combine harvesters gathered in a paddock on the Cannon family's farm at Bunjil.
The result was an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for the first ever header muster where the vehicles all
worked on the same paddock at the same time.
200ha of wheat was stripped in just 24 minutes and yielded 495 tonnes of grain.
HISTORY
The area was explored by John Forrest
in 1869 but remained untouched until gold was discovered by George Woodley at Rothsay in 1894.
Rothsay is about half way between Paynes Find and Perenjori and today is just a ghost town.
By 1897 Rothsay was a small settlement around the mine and at its peak it reached a population of around 500 but the mine closed down in
1902. Claude de Bernales reopened the mine in 1932 but it failed to deliver and was abandoned until 1987 when Metana Minerals had another
go but again the mine failed after about 5 years. The area is thought to have produced in excess of 90,000 ounces of gold during the mining years.
Matt and Tom Farrell started farming in the area in 1906 but it took a long time for the town site of Perenjori to be developed.
Perenjori is located between the areas considered farm country and station country. Mining is also an increasing activity in the area. It started life
as a railway siding on the Wongan Hills to Mullewa line and was gazetted as a town
site in 1916. Small schools were first established in outlying areas in 1912 and the town's first store established in 1922. The town hall
was constructed from 1924-5 and this was followed by a hotel in 1927 (Note.This date may be incorrect as we have also seen a date of 1919
for the hotel's construction.)
Originally part of the Irwin Road Board, in 1916 the Morawa-Perenjori Road Board was formed. In 1928 the Perenjori Road Board split from
the Morawa Road Board and became a separate entity. In 1931 a hospital was constructed.
The name comes from an Aboriginal word perangary which means waterhole. (One source quotes the name 'Peranj-jiddee' that refers to
bushes that surrounded a nearby waterhole.) This is yet another town where the railway station sign was incorrectly written and
resulted in the name of the town being changed.
TALL TALES AND TRUE
Illiterate Pigs Beware
Joe O'Dea built the first structure of any significance in the town of Perenjori.
With his wife he ran a makeshift restaurant and catered to the culinary needs of the railway workers.
Joe kept a number of animals but they were rarely restrained and often wandered into the crop fields of farmers.
One put up a notice saying, 'Poison laid here', but Joe just said that his pigs couldn't read.
The farmer's response was to shoot one of the pigs....
From the book 'Sound of the Cockies' by Bill and Jenny Bunbury.
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OTHER INFORMATION
ATTRACTIONS
Fossicking, wildflowers, salt lakes, nearby ghost towns, Church of St Joseph, Heritage trail, Caron rail trail, Rothsay heritage trail,
Mongers lake, Camel Soak,
John Forrest Lookout, Damperwah State Farm, Orchid Ridge, People's Pathway.
BUILDINGS OF NOTE
Church of St Joseph 1937, Hotel.
ELECTORAL ZONES
State : Moore
Federal : Durack
OTHER INFO.
Postcode : 6620
Local Government : Shire of Perenjori
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