Dalwallinu, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Dalwallinu is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia
, located 248 km from Perth via the Great Northern Highway
. Agriculture
and supporting industries are the town's primary economic activities. The town is also the first town on The Wildflower Way, a world-famous Western Australian tourist route which stretches north to Mullewa
. The town has an elevation of 335 m. At the 2006 census
, Dalwallinu had a population of 593.
The name of the town comes from the Aboriginal word that means "place to wait a while" or possible "goodlands". The first inhabitants of the area were nomadic and had no set boundaries and the area was mostly used for hunting and gathering. The Badima people lived in the northern areas of the shire and the Galamaia peoples inhabited the southern areas.
The site of the town was originally a station on the train line between Wongan Hills
and Mullewa
and was later officially gazetted in 1914.
The first Europeans to arrive were Benedictine
monks who came from New Norcia to graze their sheep on the pastoral leases that they had taken up. The first settler
s arrived, hoping to develop the lands for wheat
, in 1907.
The region was surveyed in 1909 and then opened for selection
in 1910 with crops being planted shortly afterward.
Two brothers, Albert and Frederick Ellison, built a well
on the southern end of the township in 1909. The well acted as a permanent source of water to the settlers. The well, named Billum Billum well, was built from locally occurring timber such as Gimlet
and Salmon Gum.
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...
, located 248 km from Perth via the Great Northern Highway
Great Northern Highway
The Great Northern Highway is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the state's capital Perth with its most northern port, Wyndham. It is in length, with being National Highway...
. Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and supporting industries are the town's primary economic activities. The town is also the first town on The Wildflower Way, a world-famous Western Australian tourist route which stretches north to Mullewa
Mullewa, Western Australia
- External links :* *...
. The town has an elevation of 335 m. 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,...
, Dalwallinu had a population of 593.
The name of the town comes from the Aboriginal word that means "place to wait a while" or possible "goodlands". The first inhabitants of the area were nomadic and had no set boundaries and the area was mostly used for hunting and gathering. The Badima people lived in the northern areas of the shire and the Galamaia peoples inhabited the southern areas.
The site of the town was originally a station on the train line between Wongan Hills
Wongan Hills, Western Australia
Wongan Hills is a town in the Shire of Wongan-Ballidu, in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The town is approximately 182 km north of the State capital Perth, at an altitude of 286 metres....
and Mullewa
Mullewa, Western Australia
- External links :* *...
and was later officially gazetted in 1914.
The first Europeans to arrive were Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monks who came from New Norcia to graze their sheep on the pastoral leases that they had taken up. The first settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s arrived, hoping to develop the lands for wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, in 1907.
The region was surveyed in 1909 and then opened for selection
Selection
In the context of evolution, certain traits or alleles of genes segregating within a population may be subject to selection. Under selection, individuals with advantageous or "adaptive" traits tend to be more successful than their peers reproductively—meaning they contribute more offspring to the...
in 1910 with crops being planted shortly afterward.
Two brothers, Albert and Frederick Ellison, built a well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
on the southern end of the township in 1909. The well acted as a permanent source of water to the settlers. The well, named Billum Billum well, was built from locally occurring timber such as Gimlet
Eucalyptus salubris
Eucalyptus salubris, commonly known as Gimlet, Fluted Gum Tree, Gimlet Gum and Silver-topped Gimlet, is a gum tree endemic to low-rainfall areas of the wheatbelt and goldfields regions of Western Australia.-Description:...
and Salmon Gum.