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Katanning Town Hall
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Katanning
Major wheatbelt service centre
Located 277 km south east of Perth and
311 m above sea level, Katanning is one
of the major centres in the Western
Australian wheatbelt. The combination of
a major railway line and a rich
sheep–wheat area surrounding the town
have made Katanning an important and
thriving centre. It now boasts the
largest stockyards in the state outside
of Perth.
There is considerable disagreement as
to just exactly what 'Katanning' means.
Some sources argue that it is derived
from the local Aboriginal word 'kartanup'
meaning a 'clear pool of sweet water'
while others suggest that it comes from
'kartannin' meaning 'meeting place'. A
third suggestion combines these two
interpretations suggesting that a 'clear
pool of sweet water' would be an ideal
'meeting place'. Just to confuse matters
there has been some people who insist
that the town was named after an
Aboriginal woman called Kate Ann or Kate
Anning.
The first Europeans to explore the
Katanning area were Governor James
Stirling and Surveyor General John
Septimus Roe who travelled through the
area in 1835 en route from Perth to
Albany. They both commented on the
richness of the soil and the quality of
the grasses and so by the early 1840s
Elijah Quartermaine was grazing sheep in
the area. He moved his sheep across from
Beverley and then herded them back in
the spring for shearing. By 1852
Quartermaine had a holding of 17 284
acres and by the 1870s he was the
largest landholder in the district.
It was around this time that the
sandalwood cutters moved into the area
but they did not settle. It was not
until the arrival of the Great Southern
Railway from Perth to Albany in 1889
that the township really came into
existence.
The founding father of Katanning was
Frederick Henry Piesse, an
entrepreneurial merchant who, seeing the
potential that the Great Southern
Railway would bring to the area,
designed a mobile store to follow the
railway's construction. It is
wonderfully appropriate that the
railway, which was being constructed
from both Perth and Albany, met only 5.5
km from the present site of Katanning.
The point where the two railways met is
marked by a cairn west of town on the
road which runs from Carew Street.
The beginnings of Katanning can be
described specifically because in May
1888 Piesse had three wagonloads of
goods unloaded near Elijah
Quartermaine's house and a heap of
sandalwood was dumped beside the
railway. This was the beginning of F & C
Piesse's store which eventually became
the town of Katanning. A statue of
Piesse which was erected in 1916 stands
beside the railway line in Austral
Terrace.
Things to see:
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Katanning Flour Mill Museum
In 1891 Frederick Henry Piesse built the
Roller Flour Mill. It had the effect of
encouraging farmers in the area to grow
wheat and was very much at the heart of
the town's early economic success. The
mill, which is located prominently on
the corner of Clive Street and Austral
Terrace, is now the successful and
interesting Katanning Flour Mill Museum.
The machinery is still intact and the
museum has a number of interesting
displays recalling the early history of
the town.
Piesse's Buildings
To appreciate the importance that Piesse
had on the early development of the town
it is worth noting that virtually every
building between the Mill and Piesse's
statue was either built by Piesse or
built using bricks from Piesse's
brickworks. The man's hand is on
everything in the town. The Piesse
Complex in Austral Terrace, now a modern
shopping centre, was built in 1901 as a
kind of department store. The Katanning
Unit Hotel was built in 1889 using
bricks from Piesse's brickworks and the
King George Hostel, on the corner of
Albion Street and Austral Terrace, was
built for Piesse's son in 1913 and
originally used to house mill workers.
Katanning Town Hall
Walking back up Austral Terrace and
crossing Clive Street the visitor is
struck by the huge Katanning Town Hall.
Piesse donated 10 000 bricks to help
with the construction of the building
which was completed in 1896. The ornate
plaster ceilings in the Town Hall are
well worth inspecting.
St Andrews Church
Around the corner in Amabel Street is St
Andrews Church which was opened by Mrs
Piesse in 1898 after her husband had
donated 40 000 bricks. Surprisingly, for
an area where timber is plentiful, the
pews are made from imported New Zealand
kauri.
Kobeelya
It is appropriate to finish a tour of
Piesse's involvement with the town by
visiting the grand family mansion 'Kobeelya'
which F. H. Piesse built in 1902. Given
that Katanning was only 14 years old at
the time it is a remarkably urbane
building. It must have seemed
incongruous in a small country town to
have had a seven bedroom mansion with a
billiard room, hot and cold running
water, a ballroom, tennis courts and a
croquet field. It is a fitting monument
to the man who created the town. It is
now owned by the Baptist Union of WA,
however it is possible to visit this
remarkable mansion by contacting (08)
9821 1922
Katanning Museum
Across the railway line in Amabel Street
is the Katanning Museum which is located
in the town's first Government School.
Open from 2.00 pm - 4.00 pm on Sundays
or by appointment, the Museum houses an
interesting collection of memorabilia
and artifacts relating to the early
history of the town.
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Katanning Mosque
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Katanning's Mosque and Winery
Two of Katanning's most interesting
buildings lie on Andrews Road (turn west
onto Conroy Street from Clive Street and
north into Andrews Road). Here are the
unusual sights of a mosque and the ruins
of a Winery.
The mosque was built in 1980 by the
local Islamic community who arrived in
Katanning in 1974 after moving from
Christmas Island. The community has
continued to grow with relatives from
the Cocos Islands moving to Katanning.
The ruins of the winery are one more
reminder of the domination of the Piesse
family. The Winery was built by A. E.
Piesse in 1904 to process grapes from
the Piesse vineyards. Many of the casks
and wine making tools were subsequently
sold to the monks from the New Norcia
Mission.
An excellent short history of
Katanning, combined with directions to
most of the town's major sights, is
contained in the Katanning-Piesse
Heritage Trail.
