DESCRIPTION
One hundred years have slipped away
since the pioneers pushed through
to them we give a fond salute
for they were brave and true
Let's all make a silent wish
and pray it's not in vain
the great old town Wiluna
shall rise up and march again
From Syd Hopkinson's poem 'A salute to Wiluna'
The local hotel was said to have the longest bar in the world but I suspect this would be very hard to substantiate. It has been some time since the hotel served any
beer though, as an alcohol ban was imposed on the area.
The town is now the stepping off point for those travelling the Gunbarrel Highway or the Canning Stock Route.
Wiluna is at the southern end of the 1800km Canning Stock Route which crosses no less than three deserts on the way to Halls Creek.
Gold in the Blood by James Doughty captures Wiluna's remoteness:
'If one cared to walk to the end of Seventh Street, and keep going into the trackless, sometimes stony, sometimes sandy desert, one might go a thousand miles without
encountering another living soul.
It lay in the desert on the road to nowhere, an isolated township of tin-roofed shanties, drab and dilapidated with the passing years. More than a hundred empty miles to the
west was Meekatharra. Leonora was almost double that distance to the south and the east.
These two faded towns were railheads, outposts on the edge of things. Wiluna lay beyond; a central point for a fan of desolation that swept out and upwards into un-computed
distances.'
Peter Hartland described the town as he found it in 1994 in the following manner:
'When you drive into Wiluna the first thing you will notice will be hordes or drunken Aborigines outside the old pub. And surrounding them - at throwing distance - a ring of
discarded cans spread across the road.'
Thankfully with the alcohol ban now in place, this scene is no longer part of the traveller's first experience of Wiluna.
Even though mining has seen a resurgence in the area the modern culture of 'fly in, fly out' means the town gets little benefit from the mines and there are no new residents to bring life back into the community.
HISTORY
John Forrest passed through this area in 1875 establishing a supply depot at
Weld Springs. The next exploration was undertaken by Lindsay Elder in 1892. In 1896, a member of the Elder expedition, Lawrence Wells, brought another expedition to
the region and reported likely 'auriferous deposits'.
Lawrence Wells returned to Wiluna in 1935 (at over 80 years of age) and was amazed to find over 7,000 people living in the vicinity. Sadly he was killed in a train crash
soon afterwards.
George Woodley, James Wooton and Jimmay Lennon are given credit as the first to discover gold in the area but it is likely that William Earl was actually the first to find
gold in 1891, but he was unable to stay long enough in the area to follow up the find because of lack of water. By the time he returned the trio of Woodley, Wooton and
Lennon had all registered claims.
Mining boomed in the area until about 1907. There was a break of a few months in working the mines in 1900 due to an unprecedented flood. By 1913 mining had almost
come to a stop with the last big mine closing down. In the same year a serious conflict erupted between to local Aboriginal tribes that went to war with each other along
the shores of Lake Violet. Six people were killed and many wounded.
By 1920 there were only about 100 people left and the town struggled on until 1929 when the next mining era was issued in by Wiluna Gold Mines Corporation. Initial tests
were disappointing but the company had a lot of capital behind it and persevered with deep underground shafts. Eventually they had some success and once again the town's
population increased.
Originally the town had 4 hotels and they were the scene of many a good pub brawl. On one Saturday afternoon there were no less than 32 fights in the various pubs.
At its peak in the 1930s the town had a population of around 9,000 and had a daily train service to Perth (via Geraldton ).
When the mine closed in 1947 the town once again shrank back into a dusty backwater.
Surprisingly, for a town on the edge of the Simpson Desert, Wiluna did not have problems with a fresh water supply. Underground water was plentiful and an agricultural
research station was established in the 1960s. Prior to that there were even attempts to grow peanuts (by Plaistowes) - with some success.
Citrus fruit was grown and proved to be very productive. When the research station closed and moved to Meekatharra, the Aboriginal people took
over the orchard and fruit was sent down to Perth for sale. An emu farm was another project that was tried in order to give some sort of self sufficiency to the local people.
By 1963 most people had left town and concrete foundations were the only sign of many of the houses that had once lined the streets. In 1966 the local hospital closed to
be replaced by a nursing post. All serious cases were sent on to Meekatharra.
On September 2nd 1967 a bright light in the sky followed by several sonic booms alerted people to the entry of a meteorite into the atmosphere above the town. Months later
fragments were being located with some weighing as much as 23 pounds.
The name Wiluna comes from an Aboriginal word (weeloona) which means bush curlew (one source says 'place of winds'. and yet another says 'white water').
After Anglicising the name it was gazetted as Wiluna in 1898.
Major General Michael Jeffery, Western Australia's 28th Governor and Australia's 24th Governor-General, was born in Wiluna on December 12th 1937.
TALL TALES AND TRUE
Baby boom
The railway from Wiluna to Mullewa was famous for its lack of promptness. One story concerns a lady and a conductor:
Lady: 'When will we arrive? I must get to Wiluna as soon as possible, I'm pregnant.'
Conductor: 'Madam I am surprised you boarded the train in that condition.'
Lady: 'When I boarded the train I wasn't in this condition!'
Perhaps this is just folklore but word has it that a camel train once beat the steam train on a journey between the two towns.
Arrested bird
A talking parrot called Warra had the habit of breaking into foul language if anyone ever flicked her tail.
She had the run of the town and one day she was sitting on the window sill of the court house, apparently watching proceedings, when someone walking outside
flicked her tail and she launched into a tirade of abuse.
On hearing the commotion Warden Owen banged his gavel on the table and called out 'Arrest that bird!' and Warra was taken into custody and banned from the
court house thereafter.
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(C) Sailing Malanda
OTHER INFORMATION
ATTRACTIONS
North Pool, Pioneer cemetery, Canning Stock Route, Gun barrel Highway, Lorna Glen, Lake Violet, Vincenti's Pool, Red Hill, Wanjarri Reserve, Swimming pool.
BUILDINGS OF NOTE
Nothing known.
ELECTORAL ZONES
State : Kalgoorlie
Federal : Durack
OTHER INFO.
Postcode : 6646
Local Government : Shire of Wiluna
PHOTOS
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