Built on the banks of the Moore River in the central agricultural wheatbelt, Moora is the largest town between Perth metropolitan area and Geraldton on the inland route.

The largest town between Geraldton and Perth, Moora has a population of 1400. This indicates the smallness of most of the towns in the area. Although Moora is a pleasant little town its major attractions exist outside the town boundaries - it has spectacular wildflower displays in season and historic Berkshire Valley is a major tourist attraction.

Moora Heritage Trail

The excellent Moora Heritage Trail brochure (it can be obtained from the local shire office) encompassed Berkshire Village as well as a number of interesting local historical locations including the local Court House, three Gothic churches and the Drovers Inn, all of which were built in the period immediately before World War 1.

Wildflowers

The district is well known for its spectacular wildflower displays. In its virgin state the region was a covered by a large salmon gum forest and many of the attractive trees from it still remain. Moora is home to the Western Wildflower Farm. There is an interesting Moora Wildflower Drive brochure available at the local shire office, which suggests a route from Moora to Watheroo National Park and identifies the flowers the visitor is likely to see.

Watheroo

(40 km north): this small town was an original station on the Midland Railway Company railway line to Walkaway (1907). The name is Indigenous Australian in origin and was the name of a nearby spring. The word Watheroo is derived from the word Wardo which means little bird or more specifically the Willy Wagtail or from the word Wardoro which means water.

Watheroo National Park

Lying on a sandy plain, the park is home to the extraordinary Bush Cauliflower and Scarlet Feather Flower. Explore the park for regular sightings of kangaroos and native birds. Visit Jingamia Cave, its surrounding outcrop standing in stark contrast to the flat scrubby nature of the surrounding area. It is advisable to bring your own water supply as the park does not provide any.

Berkshire Valley Folk Museum

Berkshire Valley Folk Museum (1847 onwards) was an attempt to reproduce a Berkshire farm complex down to the finest detail in the middle of the nineteenth century in the dry wheat lands of Western Australia. It is the English equivalent of New Norcia. Well worth visiting, the complex consists of a homestead (1847), stables (1867), a shearing shed (1869), barn, manager's cottage (1856) and bridge (1869).

The elaborate buildings were made from adobe, pise, hand made bricks and unworked stone. The builder, James Clinch, was himself a poor Berkshire farm hand who had made good in Western Australia and who, obviously since childhood, had harboured deep desires to own the kind of farm that he had only ever worked on. It is built to fulfill a fantasy rather than to sensibly use the local materials. Visits and special group arrangements can be made by contacting (08) 9654 9040 or (08) 9651 1644.

Brief history