Hamel, Western Australia
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| Hamel Western Australia |
|
| Established: | 1890s |
| Postcode: | 6215 |
| Location: | |
| LGA: | Shire of Waroona |
| State District: | Collie-Wellington |
| Federal Division: | Canning |
Hamel (; post code: 6215) 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.
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[edit] 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.[1]
[edit] 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 and 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 $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.[2][3]
[edit] References
- ^ Department of Land Information. History of country town names - H. Retrieved on 2006-10-01. - note Lancel misspelt.
- ^ News.com.au (8 September 2006). Hamel, Cookernup and Yarloop in the firing line. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
- ^ News.com.au (15 September 2006). Alcoa to be biggest in world. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
[edit] External links
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- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
- Alcoa Australia website
- Something In The Air (ABC Four Corners presentation, 3 October 2005)
- Alcoa's troubled history (Sunday Times investigative report including maps, 10 September 2006)
| Towns in the Shire of Harvey | |
|---|---|
|
Australind | Benger | Binningup | Brunswick Jn. | Cookernup | Harvey | Kemerton | Leschenault | Myalup | Roelands | Wokalup | Yarloop |
|
| Towns in the Shire of Waroona | |
|
Hamel | Lake Clifton | Nanga Brook | Preston Beach | Wagerup | Waroona |
