Kukerin, Western Australia

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Kukerin Western Australia
Population:	60
Established:	1907
Postcode:	6352
Location:	308 km from Perth 80 km from Wagin
LGA:	Shire of Dumbleyung
State District:	Wagin
Federal Division:	O'Connor

Kukerin (33°11′S 118°05′E; post code: 6352) is a small town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately 300km 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 part of the Dumbleyung Shire.

Contents 1 History 2 Present day 3 References 4 External links

[edit] History

Kukerin's name is possibly of Aboriginal origin, was first recorded in 1908 and has also been spelled "Cookerin", but the meaning is not known. (Another theory is that it is named after two sandalwood cutters, Cooke and Ring, but the prevalence of "-in" in local Aboriginal names meaning "place of" points to the first possibility being more likely).

Until 1912, the area was known as Merilup. In the 1870s, John Holland had taken up a pastoral lease of 9,000 acres 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.^[1] The primary school and hall were built in 1914, and Kukerin Hotel began trading in 1928 - all are still open to this day.

[edit] 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.^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Coordinates: -33.187° 118.085°

• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
• Shire of Dumbleyung