Southern Cross, Western Australia

Southern Cross is a town in Western Australia, 371 kilometres east of state capital Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. It was founded by gold prospectors in 1888, and gazetted in 1890.[2] It is the major town and administrative centre of the Shire of Yilgarn.[3] At the 2016 census, Southern Cross had a population of 680.[1]

Southern Cross
Western Australia
Southern Cross Community Centre
Southern Cross
Coordinates31°13′50″S 119°19′40″E
Population680 (2016 census)[1]
Established1890
Postcode(s)6426
Elevation355 m (1,165 ft)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Yilgarn
State electorate(s)Eyre
Federal Division(s)O'Connor
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
25.5 °C
78 °F		 10.7 °C
51 °F		 294.9 mm
11.6 in

The town of Southern Cross is one of the many towns that run along the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme pipeline from Mundaring to Kalgoorlie, engineered by C. Y. O'Connor,[4] and as a consequence is an important location on the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail.

A succession of gold rushes in the Yilgarn region near Southern Cross in 1887, at Coolgardie in 1892, and at Kalgoorlie in 1893 caused a population explosion in the barren and dry desert centre of Western Australia.

It is named after the Southern Cross constellation, and the town's streets are named after constellations and stars.[5][6][7]

The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops. The town is a receival site for Cooperative Bulk Handling.[8]

Southern Cross is in the Federal electorate of O'Connor.[9]

Railway station

Southern Cross railway station is on the standard gauge railway from Perth to Kalgoorlie. The construction and opening of the line from Perth was completed on 1 May 1967, and the connection to Kalgoorlie via Koolyanobbing was completed by 4 November 1968.[10]

The Prospector and Indian Pacific passenger trains service the town.

Narrow gauge route

The former narrow gauge route of the Eastern Goldfields Railway reached Southern Cross on 1 July 1894,[11][12][13] and the Southern Cross to Coolgardie narrow gauge railway (via Boorabbin) was closed 29 November 1971.[14]

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.[15]

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See also

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Southern Cross (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  2. Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of country town names – S". Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  3. "Shire of Yilgarn, Western Australia". Shire of Yilgarn. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  4. "Southern Cross". Heritage Australia. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  5. Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of country town names – S". Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  6. "YAS – Information Southern Cross". yilgarn.com.au. 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  7. "Southern Cross". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  8. "CBH receival sites" (PDF). 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  9. "Australian Electoral Commission website". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  10. Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John R; Australian Railway Historical Society. New South Wales Division (2000). Australian railway routes 1854 to 2000. Australian Railway Historical Society – New South Wales Division. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-909650-49-0.
  11. Milne, Rod Wheat, Gold and Humming Birds: Southern Cross in Diesel Days Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December, 2001 pp443-449
  12. Searle, M. J (January 1983). "The Eastern and Eastern Goldfields Railways [Series of parts] Part 1: construction and opening". RIM: Western Australian Railways Institute Magazine. 80 (Jan 1983): 3–8. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  13. Searle, M. J (February 1983). "The Eastern and Eastern Goldfields Railways [Series of parts] Part 2. – Constructions of extensions-". RIM: Western Australian Railways Institute Magazine. 80 (Feb 1983): 2–3, 5–6. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  14. page 67 Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John R; Australian Railway Historical Society. New South Wales Division (2000). Australian railway routes 1854 to 2000. Australian Railway Historical Society – New South Wales Division. ISBN 978-0-909650-49-0.
  15. "Country elevators". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 6 July 1932. p. 10. Retrieved 6 April 2013.

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