DESCRIPTION
Pithara is located on the Great Northern Highway not far south of the larger town of Dalwallinu.
In recent years the trend has been for services to move to the larger town and now even the general store in Pithara has closed.
The town has been a service centre for local farms but as services have moved away, the focus is been centered around the
C.B.H. wheat handling facility.
The area is popular with visitors in the wildflower season.
HISTORY
The town's name is Aboriginal in origin and was originally given to a water source in the area. The name first appeared on maps in
1907. The meaning is not known.
The first Europeans to make use of land in the district were the Benedictine monks of New Norcia.
Michael Leahy was granted land on August 6th 1907. Soon afterwards his brother and a cousin also obtained land nearby.
The name was given to a siding on the Mullewa to Wongan Hills railway in 1913 but the name
was changed to Hettie the following year. Protests by local residents saw the name change back again to Pithara when it was gazetted in
December 1914.
A school was opened in November 1915. The Pithara Hotel opened in 1916 and was located on the opposite side of the railway to the rest of the town.
The local hall and supper room are considered to be "a good and intact representative example of a regional Town Hall in the Inter War Free Classical
architectural style". The hall was built in 1931 and remained in use until 1999. The original hall had been a timber and iron and was constructed in 1918 from
materials from an abandoned goldfields town.
In the 1920s the town was expanding with the construction of a general store, bakery, saddler, greengrocer, butcher, blacksmith, garage, billiard saloon,
tea rooms, coffee palace and post office.
In 1926 the Bank of New South Wales opened a branch in town and the CWA started up in 1929.
During World War 2 a munitions dump was established near the town and an armoured division was stationed in the area. The hall and supper room were
pressed into service as an army hospital.
In 1960 the bakery burned down and in 1986 the school closed. A long period of decline had begun.
The local hall was deteriorating and if nothing had been done to arrest the decline, it was likely to become unstable. In 2009 the hall was slated for demolition
but soon afterwards was placed on the State Register of Heritage Places. For the time being, the hall has been given a reprieve.
A speedway (race track) was built in 1974 and was still operating in 2016.
TALL TALES AND TRUE
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OTHER INFORMATION
ATTRACTIONS
Wubin Rocks, Buntine Rocks, Petrudor Rocks, Walk trails, Wildflowers.
BUILDINGS OF NOTE
Local hall 1931, Bank of NSW building 1926.
ELECTORAL ZONES
State : Moore
Federal : Durack
OTHER INFO.
Postcode : 6609
Local Government : Shire of Dalwallinu
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