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| The
Presentation Convent, Greenough Village
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Greenough (including Walkaway)
One of the most interesting historic towns in
Australia
Located 24 km south of Geraldton and 400 km
north of Perth (via the Brand Highway),
Greenough is one of the most interesting
historical towns in Australia. Claimed by some
to be the country's best preserved nineteenth
century town, this small settlement has enough
buildings of interest to keep the enthusiast
busy for at least a day.
Today the heart of Greenough - a collection
of eleven buildings including the gaol,
courthouse, police station, churches, and school
- is administered by the National Trust and open
from 9.00 am - 4.45 pm daily (It can be opened
upon application by phoning (08) 9926 1140).
There are guided tours of the village which
depart from the National Trust building almost
constantly throughout the day.
Beyond this National Trust zone lie the ruins
of the Wesley Church (the area was settled by
large numbers of Wesleyans), the gracious old
Grays Store, Clinch's Mill and the Greenough
Hotel. As well, a short distance up the road is
the companion settlement of Walkaway.
The appeal of Greenough lies in its sense of
solidity and certainty. Realistically it is now
a ghost town - only the National Trust guides
are here to haunt the visitor. Yet in the
churches, court house and police station - all
of which are built in stone - there is a
suggestion that this was a town built to last
for eternity.
In his novel The Merry-go-Round in the Sea
Geraldton–born novelist Randolph Stow capture
the contradiction of a solid ghost town when he
observes of Greenough: 'And on the Greenough
Flats were big houses, a two–storied barracks
that had quartered the soldiers who protected
the first settlers against the blacks, a
two–storied corn chandlers', a solid-looking
church which suddenly, startlingly, disgorged a
full congregation of sheep. The Greenough was
full of ruins and history and agreeable
reminders of the world's vanity.'
The valley where Greenough now stands was
first explored by George Grey in 1839. Grey
named the area after his sponsor Sir George
Bellas Greenough, the then president of the
Royal Geographical Society. It was an astute and
political gesture. It has been claimed that Grey
said the area would become 'the granary of
Western Australia'.
In 1851, due to pressure from pastoralists,
the explorer A. C. Gregory surveyed 30 000 acres
of land which was subsequently broken up into 20
and 30 acre lots. At the time it was the
northern-most settlement in Western Australia.
The Greenough Front Flats were first settled
in 1852 and within a few years had developed
into a highly successful wheat growing area. The
people who settled in the area were poor (some
were ex-convicts from the Labour Depot at Port
Gregory) and many of the farms were prepared for
sowing with nothing more than a shovel. Sowing
was commonly done by hand and the wheat was
reaped with a sickle.
That same year Clinch's Mill was built and
houses, usually made from either local limestone
or mud bricks, began to go up. In the next
decade most of the buildings were constructed.
With a population of over 1000 wheat farmers
there was an obvious need for a hotel - the
Hampton Arms was completed in 1863, a general
store - Gray's Store was built in 1861, a police
station - it was built by convicts between
1863-1868, and a school (1860). In the early
years people lived in the simplest of shelters.
It wasn't until the 1870s that residences began
to be built in stone.
But the success of the settlement was
short-lived. A series of disasters conspired to
drive the wheat farmers off the land. A cyclone
caused enormous damage in 1872, the area
experienced bad flooding in 1888, and the wheat
was adversely affected by red rust. These
mishaps were enough to persuade many of the
farmers to try their luck in the newly
discovered goldfields to the east. By 1900 most
of the settlers had either left the area of
given up wheat farming for grazing. The town was
left to fall into disrepair. It wasn't until the
1980s that a concerted effort was made to
revitalise the settlement. Today it is one of
the premier attractions of the Central West.
Things to see:
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| The ruins of
Gray's Store |
Greenough/Walkaway Heritage Trail
The Greenough/Walkaway Heritage Trail identifies
some 36 buildings on interest in the area
including the fascinating Pioneer Cemetery,
Clinch's Mill (built in 1858 it continued to
operate until 1922 and at its peak became an
important supplier of flour to the Murchison
gold fields), the elegant ruins of the Wesley
Church, Gray's Store (constructed with convict
labour in 1861) the Hampton Arms Inn (the first
hotel in the area it was built in 1863 by Robert
Pearson and is now an excellent restaurant - it
has a beautifully decorated ballroom) and the
buildings of the National Trust controlled
Greenough Hamlet.
The Hampton Arms Inn
On 5 September 2001 Dr. Judy Edwards, the
Minister for Environment and Heritage, issued
the following press release:
"The Hampton Arms, the first hotel to be
built in the Mid-West's Greenough district, has
been listed on the State's Register of Heritage
Places. The hotel, which still functions as a
licensed inn and restaurant, has been lovingly
restored for the past 16 years by owners Judy
and Brian Turnock.
Environment and Heritage Minister Dr Judy
Edwards said the Hampton Arms was one of only a
handful of colonial hotels to survive to the
present day.
"What makes it even more rare is that it is
still operating as a hotel," Dr Edwards said.
"It is also important as a surviving remnant of
the town of Hampton, which was established in
1862, not long after the Greenough Front Flats.
As the district's first hotel, it was a focal
point for Greenough settlers for social
gatherings, balls and political meetings. It
also provided shelter during times of flooding
when settlers on the western side of the
Greenough River were cut off from settlement on
the eastern side."
Dr Edwards said the two-storey stone and iron
building, which had single-storey wings each
side of the main section and a stone stable
block, was an excellent example of the Victorian
Regency style.
"Unlike other surviving buildings which once
functioned as inns, the Hampton Arms was a
purpose-built hotel," she said. "Francis
Pearson, who designed the first smelter in
Western Australia and was a key figure in the
early settlement of the Mid-West, built the
hotel in 1863 with his two sons."
The Hampton Arms was officially opened on May
1,1863 and named after John Hampton, Governor of
the day. The district's first ploughing match
was held in 1868, adjacent to the hotel and for
several decades it was a centre of social life.
However, hard times and economic developments
began to affect conditions in the area. By the
1870s a series of droughts, floods and fires had
reduced the cropping capabilities of the region,
which had been important in supplying the colony
with much needed flour supplies. A disastrous
flood in 1888 further reduced the area's
profitability and population and when the
Midland to Walkaway railway line was completed
in 1894, road traffic along the Perth-Geraldton
road decreased. The combination of these events
led to a decline in patronage of the Hampton
Arms and eventually it closed in the 1890s. The
building was used as farmhouse and gradually
deteriorated until it was bought in 1978 by
Alistair and Robin McKechnie, who began
restoration work. They opened a restaurant in
1979 and completed work on the ballroom in 1981,
subsequently being granted the first Historic
Inn licence in WA.
The Hampton Arms was Classified by the
National Trust in 1977 and placed on the
Register of the National Estate in 1978. It was
placed on the Shire of Greenough's historic
buildings list in 1984 and included in its
Municipal Inventory in 1998."
Museums in the Area
Apart from the Hamlet (which is a multi–building
museum) the area also has the Walkaway Station
Museum and the Pioneer Museum. The Walkaway
Station Museum was completed in 1887 and closed
in 1966. It now houses exhibitions which offer
insights into regional transportation and
education. It also has a fine collection of
early weapons and military relics.
The Pioneer Museum, originally known as Home
Cottage and built for the miller John Maley by
convicts from Port Gregory in 1862, is now a
folk museum concentrating on the agricultural
history of the area. It is administered by the
Geraldton Historical Society.
Around Greenough
The region around Greenough and Walkaway is
characterised by river red gums which have given
up defying the prevailing winds and bent
themselves almost parallel to the earth in an
attempt to escape the salt and the wind blowing
off the Indian Ocean. The whole area does lie in
the lee of a range of sand dunes which protect
it from the worst of these winds.
Walkaway
Nearby is the tiny settlement of Walkaway with
its railway station, store, hall, school and
church. The story is told that Walkaway received
its name when an Aborigine reported that one of
the early European settlers, disappointed in his
wheat crop, had 'waggaway'. Known as Wagawa for
many years the name was finally Anglicised to
Walkaway. The story is charming but we must not
forget that the Aboriginal name for the bend in
the Greenough River was 'Wagga Wah'.
In 2001 it was announced that the Walkaway
Railway Station was going to receive some major
repairs. In the press release the Minister
pointed out "the station is one the State's
earliest Government-built railway complexes and
the terminus for Western Australia's only
privately owned passenger carrier," she said.
"The work undertaken will help to ensure ongoing
conservation of the Walkaway Railway Station and
Goods Shed and also importantly, allow continued
community access and use."
Designed by George Temple Poole and built in
1886, Walkaway Station was originally the same
pattern as the Claremont Railway Station also
designed by Poole and built in 1886. Prior to
alterations and additions, the two stations were
almost identical. Both structures derive from
the Federations Arts and Craft style of
architecture.
The buildings are part of a railway precinct,
which includes the station, platform, goods
shed, track levers, ramp, wishing well,
weighbridge, cabin and loading ramp.
Conservation works involved repairs to roof
sheeting and plumbing, stonework, brick
quoining, joinery and stormwater damage.
"Repairs to the station also included several
sash windows, replacing missing fascia
decorative dentils and ten sheets of corrugated
iron on the verandah roof," Dr Edwards said.
The best coverage of the Greenough/Walkaway
area is in the brochure Greenough/Walkaway
Heritage Trail: Settlement of the Greenough
River Flats available from the National Trust
shop at the southern end of the village. When
used in conjunction with the National Trust's
sheet on Greenough, which concentrates on the
hamlet, it provides the visitor with a very
detailed account of all the major buildings in
the area.
Most visitors to Greenough tend to stay in
Geraldton because of its proximity and more
comprehensive services.
