Westonia, Western Australia

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


caption =
lga = Shire of Westonia
postcode = 6423
pop = ~100
est = 1910
stategov = Central Wheatbelt
fedgov = Kalgoorlie
dist1 = 314 | dir1 = E | location1= Perth
dist2 = 52 | dir2 = E | location2= Merredin
dist3 = 77 | dir2 = W | location3= Southern Crosscoord|-31.303|118.699|type:city(100)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Westonia is a small town located in the Eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of the Great Eastern Highway. It is the main town in the Shire of Westonia.

History

Westonia came into existence with the discovery in 1910 of gold in the area, by a sandalwood cutter named Alfred Weston. Initially the area was known as "Weston's Reward" and later as "Westons". By 1915 there were two major mines in the area, and the population was in excess of 500. By 1917 the area, by then known as "Westonia", had a population of more than 2,000. In 1919, low gold prices forced the closure of the mines, and many people left the area. Westonia was gazetted as a town in February 1926. In 1935 one of the mines reopened, but closed again in 1948, only to be reopened in 1985. [LandInfo WA|c|W|2007-03-25] The mine officially closed in 1991. However, recent projects have indicated that the mine may be reopened in late 2007.

References

External links

* [http://www.westonia.wa.gov.au Shire of Westonia]