Kukerin, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Kukerin


caption =
lga = Shire of Dumbleyung
est = 1907
postcode = 6352
pop = 60
dist1 = 308 | location1 = Perth
dist2 = 80 | location2 = Wagin
fedgov = O'Connor
stategov = Wagin
state = wacoord|-33.187|118.085|type:city(100)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Kukerin is a small town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, convert|308|km|mi south-east of Perth between Wagin and Lake Grace just off State Route 107. The town itself is small but services a considerable agricultural region in the eastern Shire of Dumbleyung.

History

According to an official source, Kukerin's name is of Aboriginal origin, was first recorded as the name of a local soak and gully in 1908 and has also been spelled "Cookerin", but the precise meaning is not known. [LandInfo WA|c|K|2007-04-17] There is no hard evidence for a theory that the area was named after sandalwood cutters named "Cooke" and "Ring".

Until 1912, the area was known as Merilup (a name that now refers to an area to the south). In the 1870s, John Holland took up a pastoral lease of convert|9000|acre|km2|0 in the area and established a sandalwood depot. Sandalwood cutters opened up much of the surrounding area, and in 1904 the Rabbit-Proof Fence was built near the town.

In 1912, the town was gazetted when it became the terminus of an extension of the Wagin to Dumbleyung train line in 1912. [LandInfo WA|c|K|2007-04-17] The primary school and hall were built in 1914, and Kukerin Hotel began trading in 1928 — all are still open to this day.

Present day

Kukerin is largely an agricultural town, with wheat and sheep farming being the main occupations. It functions as a service town for the surrounding agricultural area, and contains a general store, primary school, hotel, newsagency/post office and sports fields amongst other facilities. Each year a TrachMach Fair is held in the last weekend in September, with various vintage and modern vehicles on display, not to mention a megascreen where the AFL Grand Final can be viewed. [Information available from Shire of Dumbleyung, contacted 27 October 2006.]

References

External links

* [http://www.dumbleyung.wa.gov.au/ Shire of Dumbleyung]