Watheroo, Western Australia Explained

Type:town
Watheroo
State:wa
Lga:Shire of Moora
Local Map:yes
Zoom:9
Coordinates:-30.2979°N 116.0587°W
Postcode:6513
Est:1907
Elevation:263
Stategov:Moore
Fedgov:Durack
Dist1:214
Dir1:north
Location1:Perth
Dist2:38
Dir2:north
Location2:Moora
Dist3:98
Dir3:east
Location3:Jurien Bay

Watheroo is a small town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. There are 137 residents, according to the .

History

Land in the area was settled by James Oliver in 1851, the area was surveyed in 1871 and the name Watheroo was charted for the first time. Watheroo is a thriving farming Wheatbelt town, farming livestock and grain. The town was an original station on the Midland Railway Company railway line to Walkaway. The townsite was gazetted in 1907.

Railway

Following flooding along the Moore River in 1907, the railway lines between Watheroo and Moora were closed for some time when parts of the track were washed away.[1] Rail services were again affected in 1917 when 1.7inches of rain fell in three hours causing more flooding, washways and the railyard in town to be submerged.[2]

Etymology

The name is Indigenous Australian in origin and was the name of a nearby spring. The word Watheroo is derived from the word wardo which means little bird or more specifically the willy wagtail or from the word wardoro which means water.[3]

Notes and References

  1. News: A town under water. The Advertiser. Adelaide. 3 August 1907. 8 April 2013. 10. National Library of Australia.
  2. News: The Midland Line. The West Australian. Perth. 6 August 1917. 8 April 2013. 6. National Library of Australia.
  3. Web site: Shire of Moora – Watheroo. 2006. 17 October 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080719234655/http://www.moora.wa.gov.au/about_us/our_towns/watheroo . 2008-07-19.