| Eneabba Western Australia |
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Eneabba
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| Population: | 250 (2006 Census)[1] |
| Established: | 1961 |
| Postcode: | 6518 |
| Elevation: | 99 m (325 ft) |
| Location: | |
| LGA: | Shire of Carnamah |
| State District: | Moore |
| Federal Division: | Durack |
Eneabba is a town on the Brand Highway located 278 km north of Perth, Western Australia.
The area is famous for its spectacular display of wildflowers in the spring. It is also home to the Iluka Resources mineral sands facility.[2]
The first European visit to the area was in 1839 by the second George Grey expedition along the west coast. Grey and his party were forced to walk through the area after their boats were lost. During his time in the area Grey named the Arrowsmith River.
In 1870 the first settler, William Rowland, arrived from Greenough. He took up a 3,000 acre lease at Eneabba Springs and survived by shepherding, trapping horses and pigs and living on wild game.[3]
The area around Eneabba was opened up for agricultural purposes in the 1950s. This in turn initiated the need for a town to be developed. The town was gazetted in 1961.[4]
The name of the town comes from the aboriginal name of the nearby Eneabba Springs. The meaning of the word is "small water". Early settlers called the same spring "pocket knife spring" from a story of the amazing powers of a knife that was dropped in the spring.[5]