Camballin, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Camballin is a small town in the West Kimberley
district of Western Australia
. The town is located on the Camballin Station about 110 km south of Derby
and between Derby and Fitzroy Crossing
, with the homestead
being situated in the town. The town was established by the Public Works Department of Western Australia to service the Camballin Irrigation Scheme
which has since become defunct due to flooding. At the 2006 census
, Camballin had a population of 702.
The town now houses school teachers and other personnel who work at the nearby Looma Community
. Amenities in the town are: Caravan Park, Shopping (No fuel), reticulated water and power, phones (including pay phone booth) and mechanical repairs. The town is also serviced by a landfill site nearby, mobile satellite phone coverage and contains a rundown picture gardens. The power station provides power to the nearby communities of Looma and New Looma.
The towns growth continued with the ALCCO (Australian Land & Cattle Company Limited) purchasing Camballin station
, Liveringa station and a further 5 stations in the Kimberley region. This influx of private investment created strong labor demand for the next two decades. with the project leaving a lasting legacy to this day.
The name was chosen by Northern Development Ltd in 1957, with townsite being constructed to service the Liveringa Rice Project. The town was named after one of the nearby stations.
Kimberley region of Western Australia
The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory.The region...
district of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. The town is located on the Camballin Station about 110 km south of Derby
Derby, Western Australia
Derby is a town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. At the 2006 census, Derby had a population of 3,093. Along with Broome and Kununurra, it is one of only three towns in the Kimberley to have a population over 2,000...
and between Derby and Fitzroy Crossing
Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia
Fitzroy Crossing is a small town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, 400 km east of Broome and 300 km west of Halls Creek. It is approximately 2,524 km from the state capital of Perth....
, with the homestead
Homestead (buildings)
A homestead is either a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding, such as a ranch, station or a large agricultural operation of some other designation.-See also:* Farm house* Homestead Act...
being situated in the town. The town was established by the Public Works Department of Western Australia to service the Camballin Irrigation Scheme
Camballin Irrigation Scheme
The Camballin Irrigation Scheme consisted of the Fitzroy River Barrage, the Seventeen Mile Dam, Company Pump, numerous irrigation channels, a seventeen kilometre levee bank, silos for grain storage which were built at the Broome Jetty and other support infrastructure located at the Camballin...
which has since become defunct due to flooding. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Camballin had a population of 702.
The town now houses school teachers and other personnel who work at the nearby Looma Community
Looma Community, Western Australia
Looma is an Aboriginal community about 120 km south-east of Derby adjacent the Fitzroy River. At the 2006 census, Looma had a population of 393.-History:...
. Amenities in the town are: Caravan Park, Shopping (No fuel), reticulated water and power, phones (including pay phone booth) and mechanical repairs. The town is also serviced by a landfill site nearby, mobile satellite phone coverage and contains a rundown picture gardens. The power station provides power to the nearby communities of Looma and New Looma.
History
The Camballin township was initially established to support Northern Developments Pty. Ltd., a company incorporated in Sydney in 1951 to establish small scale rice production in 1952. Demonstration that rice production was feasible, a 17-mile dam was constructed on the Uralla creek in 1957, trebling the water storage.The towns growth continued with the ALCCO (Australian Land & Cattle Company Limited) purchasing Camballin station
Station (Australian agriculture)
Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...
, Liveringa station and a further 5 stations in the Kimberley region. This influx of private investment created strong labor demand for the next two decades. with the project leaving a lasting legacy to this day.
The name was chosen by Northern Development Ltd in 1957, with townsite being constructed to service the Liveringa Rice Project. The town was named after one of the nearby stations.