Wubin, Western Australia

Wubin is a small town located in the northern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, 272 kilometres (169 mi) north-northeast of Perth and 21 kilometres (13 mi) north of Dalwallinu.

Bagging wheat at Wubin, 1922

Train loaded with bagged wheat, Wubin 1922

Wubin Western Australia
Great Northern Highway, Wubin, 2018
Wubin
Coordinates	30°06′24″S 116°37′54″E
Population	90 (SAL 2021)[1]
Established	1913
Postcode(s)	6612
Elevation	326 m (1,070 ft)
Area	498 km2 (192 sq mi)
Location	272 km (169 mi) NNE of Perth 21 km (13 mi) N of Dalwallinu
LGA(s)	Shire of Dalwallinu
State electorate(s)	Moore
Federal division(s)	Durack

Wubin was originally approved as a siding name on the proposed Wongan Hills to Mullewa railway line in April 1913, land also being set aside and a townsite gazetted the same year. The first lots in the townsite were sold in June 1914, and the railway line opened in 1915. Wubin derives its name from the Aboriginal name for a nearby water source, Woobin Well, first recorded by a surveyor in 1907. The spelling Wubin was adopted to conform with spelling rules for Aboriginal names adopted by the Lands & Surveys Department.^[2]

In 1936 Co-operative Bulk Handling Ltd converted the siding to grain bulk handling, installing diesel powered bucket elevators to replace the system of manhandling grain onto rail wagons in hessian sacks.^[3][4][5]

Wubin flourished like most farming towns during the post World War II era; during that time an all-weather road was constructed across Lake Moore to Paynes Find substantially reducing travel times north to the mining areas in the Murchison and Pilbara regions. It is this road, part of the Great Northern Highway, that is now the economic heart of the town.

In 2007 the Wubin Primary School, established 18 August 1919, was closed by the Department of Education as a result of falling enrolments.^[6][7]

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Wubin (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. "History of country town names – W". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
3. "The start of bulk wheat handling and CBH". Wesfarmers. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
4. "Country elevators". The West Australian. Perth, WA. 6 July 1932. p. 10. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
5. "Bulk Handling Progressing". Sunday Times. Perth, WA. 14 June 1936. p. 22. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
6. "AU WA A1096 - Wubin Primary School". State Records Office of Western Australia. Government of Western Australia, Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
7. "Doors close on Wubin school". Australia: ABC News. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2008.

Further reading

• Cail, Bert; Reudavey, Judith; Wornes, Joy; Wubin Progress Incorporated (2005), A history of Wubin, 1908 to 1939, Wubin Progress Incorporated, retrieved 5 March 2012
• Country Women's Association of Western Australia. Wubin Branch (1984), Country Women's Association of W.A. Inc., Wubin Branch history, 1974–1984, retrieved 5 March 2012

External links

Media related to Wubin, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons