Woodanilling, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place
type = town
name = Woodanilling
state = wa


caption =
lga = Shire of Woodanilling
postcode = 6316
est = 1892
pop = 399 (2006 Census) [Census 2006 AUS|id=SSC56046|name=Woodanilling (State Suburb)|accessdate=2008-09-12]
elevation= 311
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Wagin
fedgov = O'Connor
dist1 = 254
dir1 = South East
location1= Perth
dist2 = 24
dir2 = North West
location2= Katanning
dist3 = 30
dir3 = South
location3= Wagincoord|-33.564|117.432|type:city(100)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Woodanilling is a small town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, 254 km south of Perth on the Great Southern Highway, 24 km from Katanning and 30 km from Wagin.

The town is in a sheep and grain producing area and was named after a spring in the Boyerine Creek, 1 km south of town.

The area was first explored by Europeans in 1830-31 in expeditions by Captain Thomas Bannister. The construction of the Albany Highway in the early 1850s and the Great Southern Railway in 1889 brought settlers to the area and helped to establish the town, which was gazetted in 1892.The townsite is located on an old railway siding that was initially known as Round Pool; in 1895 this was renamed to Yarabin and finally changed to Woodanilling in 1896. [LandInfo WA|w|W|2007-06-08]

By 1906 the Woodanilling Road Board was formed and the population of the shire swelled to 800 during its most prosperous period from 1905 to 1920. [cite web|url=http://www.woodanilling.wa.gov.au|title=Shire of Woondanilling|year=2008|accessdate=2008-09-12]

The name Woodanilling is Aboriginal in origin and means either "lots of minnows" or "place where the bronzewing pigeon nests".

References