Beacon, Western Australia

Beacon is a town in Western Australia, in the Shire of Mount Marshall. It is 42 km (26 mi) north of Bencubbin and 333 km (207 mi) northeast of Perth by road.

Beacon
Western Australia
Lindsay Street, Beacon, 2014
Beacon
Coordinates30.448°S 117.866°E / -30.448; 117.866
Population160 (2016 census)[1]
Established1931
Postcode(s)6472
Elevation373 m (1,224 ft)
Location
  • 333 km (207 mi) north east of Perth
  • 42 km (26 mi) north of Bencubbin
  • 55 km (34 mi) north east of Koorda
LGA(s)Shire of Mount Marshall
State electorate(s)Central Wheatbelt
Federal Division(s)Durack

It is on the northeast border of the Wheatbelt region with agriculture being one of the major occupations in the area. The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops. The town is a receival site for Cooperative Bulk Handling.[2]

History

The first European to explore the area was John Septimus Roe in 1836.

Shepherds were known to frequent the area in the 1870s to feed on the open grasslands, they were followed by sandalwood cutters in the 1880s.

In 1889 the surveyor H King explored and charted the region and shortly afterward land was opened up for agriculture around Bencubbin.

More surveyors went to work in 1921 making 1,000 acres (405 ha) blocks and the earliest settlers in Beacon acquired farmland in 1922.[3]

The town is named after a local geographical feature called Beacon Rock, the name of the town, in 1929, was supposed to be Beacon Rock. The rock part of the name was dropped some time later and the townsite of Beacon was gazetted in 1931.[4]

Beacon was connected to the narrow gauge railway system on 27 April 1931.[5]

In 1932 the Wheat Pool of Western Australia announced that the town would have two grain elevators, each fitted with an engine, installed at the railway siding.[6]

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References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Beacon (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  2. "CBH receival sites" (PDF). 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  3. "Beacon, Western Australia". 2008. Archived from the original on 29 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  4. Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of country town names – B". Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  5. Milne, Rod (1999) Rails through the Wodjil Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, January, 1999 pp3-9
  6. "Country elevators". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 6 July 1932. p. 10. Retrieved 6 April 2013.

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