Bruce Rock, Western Australia

A small service town in the central Wheatbelt.
Location: 243 km east of Perth.
Origin of name: the town was originally called Nunagin (Noonegin) but this name was easily confused with Nungarin and Narrogin. It was changed to Bruce Rock, after the nearby rock. The rock is said to be named after John Rufus Bruce who cut sandalwood near there around 1879.
Brief history: the area was explored in 1836 by John Septimus Roe but like most of the wheatbelt it was not settled until after 1900 with land being released for agriculture in 1908. In the intervening years the only people in the area were pastoralists with large leaseholdings who grazed sheep and the occasional sandalwood cutter such as John Rufus Bruce.
Natural features: Yard Yarding Spring; Yerapin Spring; the granite outcrops Bruce Rock and Kokerbin Rock and associated caves, including Bruce Rock, Kulbullikin Rock, Komitun Rock
Built features: Mrs. Lin Butler Museum
Heritage features: town of Shackleton which contains Australia's smallest bank (measures 3m x 4m)