WONGAN HILLS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

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A service town in the northern agricultural region.
Location: 182 km north east of Perth and 39 km north east of Calingiri.
Origin of name: derived from a nearby range of hills, first recorded by Surveyor General John Septimus Roe in 1836. Wongan is an Aboriginal name, the name being variously recorded as "wangan-katta", "wankan" and "woongan". It may be derived from "Kwongan", an Aboriginal word meaning sand plain, although one source describes wongan as meaning "whispering".
Brief history: following a request from local settlers, land in this area was first set aside for a townsite in 1907, although it was located near Lake Hinds about 16 km west north west of the present townsite. In 1910 a further request from settlers sought a townsite at the terminus of the proposed railway from Goomalling. The proposed townsite was referred to as Wongan Hills by the settlers. Following the survey of lots the townsite was gazetted in 1911, the year the railway line opened.
Natural features: Mount O'Brien, Reynoldson's Flora Reserve, Dingo Rock, Lake Ninan, Lake Hinds; Mortlock River; Wongan Hills.
Built features: Wongan Hills Museum.