Dowerin, Western Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dowerin Western Australia |
|
 Photo of Dowerin from the air looking north-east, during the 2007 Dowerin GWN Field Days |
|
| Established: | 1907 |
| Postcode: | 6461 |
| Location: | 156 km (97 mi) north-east of Perth |
| LGA: | Shire of Dowerin |
| State District: | Merridin |
| Federal Division: | Division of O'Connor |
Dowerin is a town and shire located 156 kilometres (97 mi) north-east of Perth in the central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
Contents |
[edit] History
In 1906 the government extended the railway from Goomalling to the developing Dowerin Agricultural Area and decided to develop a townsite at the terminus. The Aboriginal name of the site chosen was "Wuguni", but "Dowerin", also an Aboriginal name, was already in local use for the place, and was the name gazetted in 1907. The name is derived from nearby Lake Dowerin, first recorded on maps around 1879. One source suggests Dowerin is the Aboriginal word for the twenty eight parrot (Dow-arn), and another suggests it means "place of the throwing stick" (dower).[1]
[edit] Field Day
Dowerin is home to the Dowerin GWN Field Days, currently a two day annual event showcasing agricultural and associated equipment, as well as providing information and services to people from rural areas. It is held each year towards the end of August, and attracts on average in excess of 600 exhibitors as well as several thousand local and national visitors.[citation needed]
The event was first held as the Dowerin Machinery Field Day on 3 September 1965, and was the result of meetings by the Dowerin Progress Association the previous year which looked at ideas to prevent the town of Dowerin from becoming a ghost town. Some twenty exhibitors and two thousand visitors attended the first field day, with funds raised from the first event going towards funding the construction of a dam and a grassed tennis court.[citation needed] The event continues to be run and managed by the local community, with three full time staff and 400 volunteers involved in the event's running each year.
Since 1992, regional television broadcaster Golden West Network (GWN) has been the event's naming rights sponsor.
[edit] Theo's run
Between 1927 and 1939, the town hosted one of the major racetracks in the state. The Second World War brought an end to the racing and when it started again afterwards, racers moved to a track at Caversham. Later, they moved from Caversham to Wannneroo, which today is known as Barbagallo Raceway.
In May 2007, a vintage car motoring event was run to commemorate the town's history and its association with motor racing in Western Australia. Known as Theo's run, the event is named after a local who raced on the Dowerin track in its heyday in the 1930s and is expected to become an annual event. The 2007 event included a vintage car run from Perth with Jaguar and Riley cars participating.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Western Australian Land Information Authority. History of country town names - D. Retrieved on 2007-06-08.
- ^ "Dowerin gets up to speed", thewest.com.au, 20th May 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
[edit] External links
 |
This Western Australia geography article is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
