Pinjarra, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Pinjarra
state = wa


caption = Murray River and Pinjarra Bridge
lga = Shire of Murray
postcode = 6208
pop = 3,295 (2006)
est =
stategov = Murray-Wellington
fedgov = Canning
dist1 = 86
location1= Perth
dist2 = 21
location2= Mandurah
dist3 = 25
location3= Dwellingupcoord|-32.63|115.871|type:city(3295)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Pinjarra is a town in the Peel region of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, convert|86|km|mi|0 from the state capital, Perth and convert|21|km|mi|0 south-east of the coastal city of Mandurah. Its local government area is the Shire of Murray.

It is near the site of the famous Battle of Pinjarra, where between 14 and 40 Aboriginals were killed by British colonists.

History

It is an area rich in history and is the home town of a former State Premier - Sir Ross McLarty.It is located near a ford over the Murray River, and land was reserved for a townsite here in 1831.Surveys were carried out in 1836 and land allocated to settlers in 1837.

The name was often shown spelt "Pinjarrup" on early maps, while the accepted spelling for many years was "Pinjarrah". There are conflicting theories regarding the meaning of this Aboriginal word and is usually said to mean "place of a swamp", but is more likely named after the Pindjarup people who frequented the area. [LandInfo WA|c|P|2007-04-17]

A British child migration scheme run by Kingsley Fairbridge established a farm school in the area in the early 1900s. Hundreds of orphaned children were educated at "Fairbridge Farm" between 1913 and 1981.

The author Kenneth (Seaforth) McKenzie grew up here - and parts of his experiences as a child living near the Murray River are found in his first novel "The Young Desire It".

Famous People

*Sir Ross McLarty
*John Butler

Transport

Pinjarra serves as a stop on the Australind passenger train from Perth to Bunbury.

Tourism

Pinjarra is the operating base for the Hotham Valley Tourist Railway.

References

External links

* [http://www.murray.wa.gov.au Shire of Murray]