Hamel, Western Australia

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


caption =
lga = Shire of Waroona
postcode = 6215
pop =
est = 1890s
stategov = Murray-Wellington
fedgov = Canning
dist1 = 117
location1= Perth
dist2 = 4
location2= Waroonacoord|-32.874|115.927|type:city(100)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Hamel is a town located in the Peel region of Western Australia just off the South Western Highway, between Waroona (4 km to the north) and Harvey.

History

The town owes its name to solicitor and politician Lancel Victor de Hamel (1849-1894), the former owner of the land where the town is situated. Over the period 1890-1894, de Hamel was the MLA for Albany and Western Australia's first Opposition Leader (facing John Forrest, Bunbury MLA and later member of Federal Parliament), who also had a hand in the creation of Albany's local newspaper in 1888, the "Albany Advertiser", which exists to this day. He died while visiting Coolgardie on 26 November 1894.

The land for the townsite was purchased from de Hamel's estate in 1898 and subdivided by the Department of Lands and Surveys. [LandInfo WA|c|H|2007-04-17 - note Lancel misspelt.]

Present day

Hamel is a small agricultural town with services offered from nearby Waroona. Hamel's hall was constructed in the 1890s as a prison; its last convicts served here in 1907, and three locally-crafted heritage bush poles nearby depict life in the town.

A 5 km buffer zone around the Alcoa Wagerup alumina refinery has been proposed by the Health Department following the approval of a AU$1.5 billion expansion to the refinery in September 2006. This may result in the closure of the town and compensation and relocation of its residents. Alcoa has already offered to buy several local properties. [cite news|title=Housing plan tied to $1.5b Alcoa expansion|last=Taylor|first=Robert|work=The West Australian|date=15 September 2006]

References

External links

* [http://www.alcoa.com/australia/en/home.asp Alcoa Australia website]
* " [http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2005/s1471209.htm Something In The Air] " (ABC "Four Corners" presentation, 3 October 2005)
* " [http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,20391437-5005369,00.html Alcoa's troubled history] " (Sunday Times investigative report including maps, 10 September 2006)