Karridale, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Karridale is a small township in the south-west of Western Australia
. Its postcode is 6288 and is located just north of Augusta
and south of Margaret River
between Caves Road and Bussell Highway
. A newer township was built a short distance north east of the original Old Karridale following fires which destroyed the town in 1961. At the 2006 census
, Karridale had a population of 285.
It was established as a timber mill in 1884 by M. C. Davies
who saw the potential from large virgin forests of Karri trees (Eucalyptus diversicolor) in the area. At its peak the town was home to 300 men and their families who worked in the forest and at the M.C.Davies Karri and Jarrah Timber Company mill. Timber from the mill was transported by rail to nearby Hamelin Bay
where Davies had built a jetty to support his milling operations. A second jetty at Flinders Bay
to the south supported the shipping operations when the weather was unsuited for loading on the west facing coastline. A major storm in 1900 which destroyed the Hamelin Bay jetty as well as a downturn in demand for timber in the early 1900s meant that the industry went into decline and the last mill was closed in 1913.
Karridale was a stopping place on the Busselton to Flinders Bay Branch Railway
which was government run from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Other timber mills in the area included Kudardup, Boranup
and Jarrahdene. Between 1900 to 1914 approximately 17 million railway sleepers were cut from timber milled in the region.
The Karridale School opened in 1888.
During the 1920s, Premier
Sir James Mitchell
established the Group Settlement Scheme
which brought British settlers out to Western Australia with the aim of settling some of the underdeveloped areas of the state. Group 4 were sent to Karridale and consisted of about 20 families who received a 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) block and a grant of £10 for the purchase of necessities plus an allowance of 10 shillings per day. Like many other areas in which the scheme operated, the participants endured severe hardship and isolation and many walked off the land, particularly after the onset of the 1929 Depression. The scheme was officially abandoned in 1930.
In 1961, the south west of the state suffered from a series of devastating bushfires
which destroyed Dwellingup
and totally destroyed the townsite of Karridale and 100,000 acres of farms, forest and bushland south of Margaret River In Karridale, the historic homestead of M.C. Davies was destroyed also.
Although settled for many years through its milling operations, the townsite was not officially gazetted as a townsite until 1979. The population of the town and the immediate area is around 270.
Karridale now has a FB page http://www.facebook.com/KPAinc
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...
. Its postcode is 6288 and is located just north of Augusta
Augusta, Western Australia
Augusta is a town on the south-west coast of Western Australia, where the Blackwood River emerges into Flinders Bay. It is the nearest town to Cape Leeuwin, on the farthest south-west corner of the Australian continent. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1,694; by 2006 the population of...
and south of Margaret River
Margaret River, Western Australia
Margaret River is a town in the South West of Western Australia, located in the valley of the eponymous Margaret River, south of Perth, the state capital. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River....
between Caves Road and Bussell Highway
Bussell Highway
Bussell Highway is a generally north-south highway in the South West of Western Australia. The highway links the city of Bunbury with the town of Augusta and is approximately 150 km in length...
. A newer township was built a short distance north east of the original Old Karridale following fires which destroyed the town in 1961. 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,...
, Karridale had a population of 285.
It was established as a timber mill in 1884 by M. C. Davies
M. C. Davies
Maurice Coleman Davies was a timber miller in the early history of Western Australia. He created the M.C.Davies Karri and Jarrah Timber Company, a timber empire that employed hundreds of men, laid over a hundred kilometres of private railway, and even built its own private ports for exporting of...
who saw the potential from large virgin forests of Karri trees (Eucalyptus diversicolor) in the area. At its peak the town was home to 300 men and their families who worked in the forest and at the M.C.Davies Karri and Jarrah Timber Company mill. Timber from the mill was transported by rail to nearby Hamelin Bay
Hamelin Bay, Western Australia
Hamelin Bay is a bay and a locality on the south west coast of Western Australia between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste. It is named after French explorer Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin who sailed through the area in about 1801...
where Davies had built a jetty to support his milling operations. A second jetty at Flinders Bay
Flinders Bay
Flinders Bay is a bay and locality that is immediately south of the townsite of Augusta, Western Australia, and close to the mouth of the Blackwood River and lies to the north east of Cape Leeuwin.-Bay:Flinders Bay...
to the south supported the shipping operations when the weather was unsuited for loading on the west facing coastline. A major storm in 1900 which destroyed the Hamelin Bay jetty as well as a downturn in demand for timber in the early 1900s meant that the industry went into decline and the last mill was closed in 1913.
Karridale was a stopping place on the Busselton to Flinders Bay Branch Railway
Flinders Bay Branch Railway
A branch railway from Busselton to Flinders Bay, in South Western Western AustraliaOriginally part of the M.C.Davies Timber railway system, which ran between the two jetties at Hamelin Bay and Flinders Bay...
which was government run from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Other timber mills in the area included Kudardup, Boranup
Boranup, Western Australia
Boranup, Western Australia is the site of a large coastal dune blow out known as the Boranup sand patch as part of the Boranup beach, and the site of a former M.C. Davies timber company mill....
and Jarrahdene. Between 1900 to 1914 approximately 17 million railway sleepers were cut from timber milled in the region.
The Karridale School opened in 1888.
During the 1920s, Premier
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
Sir James Mitchell
James Mitchell (Australian politician)
Sir James Mitchell GCMG was the 13th Premier of Western Australia, serving on two occasions, the Lieutenant-Governor of Western Australia for 15 years and the 22nd Governor of Western Australia....
established the Group Settlement Scheme
Group Settlement Scheme
The Group Settlement Scheme was an assisted migration scheme which operated in Western Australia from the early 1920s. It was engineered by Premier James Mitchell and followed on from the Soldier Settlement Scheme immediately after World War I...
which brought British settlers out to Western Australia with the aim of settling some of the underdeveloped areas of the state. Group 4 were sent to Karridale and consisted of about 20 families who received a 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) block and a grant of £10 for the purchase of necessities plus an allowance of 10 shillings per day. Like many other areas in which the scheme operated, the participants endured severe hardship and isolation and many walked off the land, particularly after the onset of the 1929 Depression. The scheme was officially abandoned in 1930.
In 1961, the south west of the state suffered from a series of devastating bushfires
Dwellingup fires of 1961
In early 1961, a series of bushfires burned in the southwest of Western Australia. The devastating fires burned large areas of forest in and around Dwellingup from 20 to 24 January, at Pemberton and in the Shannon River region between 11 and 15 February, and in the Augusta-Margaret River area in...
which destroyed Dwellingup
Dwellingup, Western Australia
Dwellingup is a town in Western Australia, located in a timber and fruitgrowing area in the Darling Range east-south-east of Pinjarra. At the 2006 census, Dwellingup had a population of 346.-Name:...
and totally destroyed the townsite of Karridale and 100,000 acres of farms, forest and bushland south of Margaret River In Karridale, the historic homestead of M.C. Davies was destroyed also.
Although settled for many years through its milling operations, the townsite was not officially gazetted as a townsite until 1979. The population of the town and the immediate area is around 270.
See also
- Dwellingup fires of 1961Dwellingup fires of 1961In early 1961, a series of bushfires burned in the southwest of Western Australia. The devastating fires burned large areas of forest in and around Dwellingup from 20 to 24 January, at Pemberton and in the Shannon River region between 11 and 15 February, and in the Augusta-Margaret River area in...
- Leeuwin-Naturaliste National ParkLeeuwin-Naturaliste National ParkLeeuwin-Naturaliste National Park is a national park in the South West region of Western Australia , 267 km south of Perth.It is named after the two locations at either end of the park which have lighthouses, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste....