Wongan Hills, Western Australia

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Wongan Hills is a town in the Shire of Wongan-Ballidu, in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. It is located at 30°54′S, 116°43′E.[1] It is approximately 182 km north of the State capital Perth, and is at an altitude of 286 metres.

The town is named for a nearby range of hills, also named Wongan Hills, which was first recorded in 1836 by Surveyor General of Western Australia John Septimus Roe. The area was settled by the 1900s, and in 1911 the town was gazetted and named after the range. "Wongan" is derived from the Indigenous Australian name "wangan-katta", "wankan" and "woongan". "Katta" is known to mean "hill", but the meaning of "wongan" is uncertain. It may be related to "kwongan", an indigenous word for sandplain, or "whispering", in which case "wongan katta" would mean "whispering hills" (katta is a word for hill).[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wongan Hills. Gazetteer of Australia online. Geoscience Australia, Australian Government.
  2. ^ Western Australian Land Information Authority. History of country town names - W. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.

[edit] External links