Kellerberrin, Western Australia

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


caption =
lga = Shire of Kellerberrin
postcode = 6410
est = 1901
pop = 866 (2006 Census) [Census 2006 AUS|id=UCL513200|name=Kellerberrin (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)|quick=on|accessdate=2008-10-02]
elevation= 254
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Central Wheatbelt
fedgov = O'Connor
dist1 = 205
dir1 = East
location1= Perth
dist2 = 55
dir2 = West
location2= Merredin
dist3 = 81
dir3 = South East
location3= Dowerincoord|-31.632|117.708|type:city(866)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Kellerberrin is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, convert|205|km|mi|0 east of Perth on the Great Eastern Highway.

The railway line from Northam to Southern Cross was constructed through here in 1893-94, and this section opened for traffic in 1895. Kellerberrin was one of the original stations when the line opened. By 1898 there was a demand for small blocks of land in the area, and the government surveyed a number of 20-acre lots the same year. The area was gazetted as Kellerberrin townsite in 1901, and the government soon made more land available for settlers.

Early settlers from 1890 to 1910 from Ireland settled in the area of Kellerberrin and Wittem. Their family name was English. A road was named after this family.

The name Kellerberrin is Aboriginal, and is derived from the name of a nearby hill. The hill was first recorded as "Killaburing Hill" by an explorer in 1861, but in 1864 the explorer Charles Hunt recorded it as Kellerberrin Hill. One source claims that Kellerberrin is the name for the fierce ants that are found in the area, while another gives it as meaning "camping place near where rainbow birds are found" - "kalla" means camping place or place of, and "berrin berrin" is the rainbow bird. [LandInfo WA|c|K|2007-06-08]

It also serves as a stop on the Prospector and Avonlink rural train services.

References