Rawlinna, Western Australia
| Rawlinna Western Australia | |
|---|---|
 The former Rawlinna post office | |
  Rawlinna | |
| Coordinates | 31°00′00″S 125°20′00″E / 31.00000°S 125.33333°ECoordinates: 31°00′00″S 125°20′00″E / 31.00000°S 125.33333°E |
| Postcode(s) | 6434 |
| Elevation | 183 m (600 ft) |
| Location |
|
| LGA(s) | City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder |
| State electorate(s) | Eyre |
| Federal division(s) | O'Connor |
Rawlinna is an isolated locality on the Trans-Australian Railway in Western Australia, about 900 kilometres (560 miles) east of Perth and 350 kilometres (220 miles) west of the Western Australia / South Australia border. It is on the Nullarbor Plain, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from its western fringe; the topography is flat and well grassed, with saltbush and bluebush, with small belts of myall and myoporum trees.[1] Annual rainfall is 288 millimetres (11.3 inches). Maximum daytime temperatures are typically 38 °C (100 °F) through summer and 19 °C (66 °F) during winter.[2] In 2016, the population in the area was recorded as 30 people.[3]
Rawlinna is the southernmost end of the Connie Sue Highway, a 4-wheel drive track that extends 650 km (400 mi) north to the Aboriginal community of Warburton.[4]
Australia’s largest operating sheep station, Rawlinna Station, covering an area of 1,011,714 hectares (2,500,000 acres) – about the area of the Sydney conurbation – adjoins the railway line. It runs up to 65,000 Merino sheep in a good season. Mustering and droving is done on motorbikes and in aircraft to locate them, beginning in January for a 10-week shearing program. A muster can take up to 100 kilometres (62 miles) to get the sheep into the shearing shed at Jumbuck's "Depot" outstation.[2]
A small, open-cut limestone mine is 2 km (1.2 mi) north of the settlement, from which lime is extracted for gold production at Kalgoorlie.
Visitors come from far and wide each year to the popular gymkhana known as the "Nullarbor Muster", which benefits a number of charities.[5]
Trans-Australian Railway[]
Rawlinna is a "pitstop" for the Indian Pacific, the experiential tourism train that operates between Perth and Sydney, where passengers enjoy a fine meal under the stars, experiencing the vastness of the Nullarbor Plain.[2]
The train is the successsor to The Trans-Australian, which was inaugurated in 1917, when the line was opened. Before 1951, when diesel locomotives were introduced, steam locomotives required frequent servicing because of poor water quality; Rawlinna was one of four major stations that had workshops and facilities such as a food store and bakery operated by the Commonwealth Railways,[6]: 117 and a school.[7] However, all Commonwealth Railways operational buildings have been demolished; a total of only about a dozen buildings remains.[8]
References[]
- ^ "TAR map booklet". Chris's Commonwealth railways information (ComRails). Chris Drymalik. 1960. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "Rawlinna". Jumbuck. Jumbuck Pastoral. 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "2016 census QuickStats: Rawlinna". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ Beadell, Len (1971). Bush Bashers. New Holland Publishers (Australia). ISBN 1864367342.
- ^ "Outback Australia Rawlinna". Nullabor Muster. Nullabor Muster Club. 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Fitch, Ronald J. (2006). Australian Railwayman: from cadet engineer to railways commissioner. Dural, New South Wales: Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1877058483.
- ^ Gable, Walter (1993). Rawlinna School. Perth: W. Gable.
- ^ Google Earth -31.0086 125.3320
External links[]
Media related to Rawlinna, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceding station | Journey Beyond | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalgoorlie towards East Perth
|
Indian Pacific | Cook towards Sydney
| ||
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- Towns in Western Australia
- Goldfields-Esperance
- Trans-Australian Railway
- Western Australia geography stubs