Popanyinning, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Popanyinning


caption =
lga = Shire of Cuballing
est = 1889
postcode = 6309
pop = 125
dist1 = 173 | location1 = Perth
dist2 = 17 | location2 = Pingelly
fedgov = Pearce
stategov = Wagin
state = wacoord|-32.659|117.119|type:city(100)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Popanyinning is a small town located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, along Great Southern Highway between Pingelly and Narrogin.

History

The name means "water hole" in the local Noongar Aboriginal language and was first recorded in a survey in 1869 for a pool in the Hotham River, and was previously spelt "Popaning" or "Popanying". The first pioneers arrived in 1893, mainly railway construction workers and their families, and the town became one of the original sidings on the Great Southern Railway. [LandInfo WA|c|P|2007-04-17] In 1903, the State Government had a few lots surveyed at the siding to meet the needs of local settlers, and in 1904 the townsite was gazetted. Within two years, 72 families were living in the district and the town was an agricultural trading post where settlers could buy supplies or conduct business with incoming or outgoing railway traffic. The Popanyinning Hotel was built in April 1906, and many small stores operated nearby.

However, the town did not grow after the 1920s, and on 9 July 1978 the hotel burnt down, never to be rebuilt. [cite web|url=http://www.cuballing.wa.gov.au/administration/history/popanyinning.html|title=History - Popanyinning|author=Shire of Cuballing|accessdate=2006-10-14]

References