Gingin, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Gingin is an agricultural town in Western Australia
. The town is located 92 kilometres (57 mi) north of Perth
along the Brand Highway
.
The town is well suited for agriculture
with a mild climate and available water sources. The area supports many forms of farming including beef cattle
, cereal
crops, olive
s and orange
s.
The first Europe
an to visit the area was the explorer George Fletcher Moore; he arrived in 1836 and recorded the Aboriginal
name "Jinjin" on his charts.
The first property to be established in the area by W. L. Brockman in 1841 was named Gingin station.
The meaning of the word Gingin is uncertain but is thought to mean "footprint" or "place of many streams".
A townsite, Granville, was established close-by in 1839 but once Gingin was gazetted in 1871 Granville was never developed.
By 1853 an area along Gingin Brook was fenced for horses to rest on the way from Perth
to Geraldton
and a police station was built nearby.
Construction of the telegraph line between Gingin and Perth was completed in 1886, and the railway line was completed in 1891. Gingin was declared a town in 1883.
In 2003, plans were unveiled to build the Gravity Discovery Centre
near Gingin next to the existing Australian International Gravitational Observatory. A.I.G.O. is part of a worldwide array of observatories, completing the southern arm of the array to obtain three-dimensional measurements of gravitational wave
s. The public arm of A.I.G.O - The Gravity Discovery Centre includes a 45 m tower that leans at an angle of 15 degrees that allows students to complete free fall
experiment
s.
Located just next door to the Gravity Discovery Centre is the Southern Cross Cosmos Centre, which houses Australia's biggest public Observatory, the Gingin Observatory that boasts of having the largest telescope for public access. The Gingin Observatory runs in conjunction with the Gravity Discovery Centre to give the public and students a chance to view the sun and also experience stargazing evenings. In 2006 a new million dollar robotic optical telescope, the Zadko telescope was installed into the 'Zadko Dome' just North of the SSCC building. The Zadko telescope is being used for research on a worldwide scale and can be accessed by remote via the internet. The Gingin Observatory have 'Zadko' evenings to allow the general public a chance to see the Zadko telescope and educate the public about its importance to science and astronomy.
The town of Gingin is host to the annual British car rally, which is held on the third Sunday of May.
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 92 kilometres (57 mi) north of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
along the Brand Highway
Brand Highway
Brand Highway is a 362 kilometre main highway linking the northern outskirts of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, to the port city of Geraldton in Western Australia's Mid West region. Together with North West Coastal Highway, it forms part of the Western Australian coastal link to the...
.
The town is well suited for 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...
with a mild climate and available water sources. The area supports many forms of farming including beef cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
crops, olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s and orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
s.
The first Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an to visit the area was the explorer George Fletcher Moore; he arrived in 1836 and recorded the Aboriginal
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
name "Jinjin" on his charts.
The first property to be established in the area by W. L. Brockman in 1841 was named Gingin station.
The meaning of the word Gingin is uncertain but is thought to mean "footprint" or "place of many streams".
A townsite, Granville, was established close-by in 1839 but once Gingin was gazetted in 1871 Granville was never developed.
By 1853 an area along Gingin Brook was fenced for horses to rest on the way from Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
to Geraldton
Geraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958...
and a police station was built nearby.
Construction of the telegraph line between Gingin and Perth was completed in 1886, and the railway line was completed in 1891. Gingin was declared a town in 1883.
In 2003, plans were unveiled to build the Gravity Discovery Centre
Gravity Discovery Centre
The Gravity Discovery Centre is a "hands-on" science education centre, situated on the site of the Australian International Gravitational Observatory, near Gingin, north of Perth, Western Australia....
near Gingin next to the existing Australian International Gravitational Observatory. A.I.G.O. is part of a worldwide array of observatories, completing the southern arm of the array to obtain three-dimensional measurements of gravitational wave
Gravitational wave
In physics, gravitational waves are theoretical ripples in the curvature of spacetime which propagates as a wave, traveling outward from the source. Predicted to exist by Albert Einstein in 1916 on the basis of his theory of general relativity, gravitational waves theoretically transport energy as...
s. The public arm of A.I.G.O - The Gravity Discovery Centre includes a 45 m tower that leans at an angle of 15 degrees that allows students to complete free fall
Free fall
Free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it, at least initially. These conditions produce an inertial trajectory so long as gravity remains the only force. Since this definition does not specify velocity, it also applies to objects initially moving upward...
experiment
Experiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
s.
Located just next door to the Gravity Discovery Centre is the Southern Cross Cosmos Centre, which houses Australia's biggest public Observatory, the Gingin Observatory that boasts of having the largest telescope for public access. The Gingin Observatory runs in conjunction with the Gravity Discovery Centre to give the public and students a chance to view the sun and also experience stargazing evenings. In 2006 a new million dollar robotic optical telescope, the Zadko telescope was installed into the 'Zadko Dome' just North of the SSCC building. The Zadko telescope is being used for research on a worldwide scale and can be accessed by remote via the internet. The Gingin Observatory have 'Zadko' evenings to allow the general public a chance to see the Zadko telescope and educate the public about its importance to science and astronomy.
The town of Gingin is host to the annual British car rally, which is held on the third Sunday of May.