Karridale, Western Australia
Karridale Federal division(s) | Forrest |
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Karridale is a small township in the south-west of Western Australia. It is located just north of Augusta and south of Margaret River between Caves Road and Bussell Highway. A newer township was built a short distance north east of the original Old Karridale following fires that destroyed the town in 1961. At the 2006 census, Karridale had a population of 285.[2]
Although settled for many years through its milling operations, the townsite was not officially gazetted until 1979.
History
Karridale was established as a timber mill in 1884 by M. C. Davies who saw the potential from large virgin forests of Karri trees (Eucalyptus diversicolor) in the area.[3] The Karridale School opened in 1888.[4] At its peak the town was home to 300 men and their families who worked in the forest and at the M.C.Davies Karri and Jarrah Timber Company mill.
Timber from the mill was transported by rail to nearby Hamelin Bay where Davies had built a jetty to support his milling operations. A second jetty at Flinders Bay to the south supported the shipping operations when the weather was unsuited for loading on the west facing coastline. A major storm in 1900 which destroyed the Hamelin Bay jetty as well as a downturn in demand for timber in the early 1900s meant that the industry went into decline and the last mill was closed in 1913.
Karridale was a stopping place on the Busselton to Flinders Bay Branch Railway, which was government run from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Other timber mills in the area included Kudardup, Boranup and Jarrahdene. Between 1900 and 1914 approximately 17 million railway sleepers were cut from timber milled in the region.[5]
During the 1920s, Premier
In 1961, the south west of the state suffered from a series of devastating bushfires that destroyed Dwellingup and totally destroyed the townsite of Karridale and 100,000 acres of farms, forest and bushland south of Margaret River.[6] In Karridale, the historic homestead of M.C. Davies was destroyed also.
See also
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Karridale (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Karridale (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ^ "History of country town names – K". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
- ^ Karridale Primary School (1983), A Brief history of Karridale and the Karridale School, 1883-1983, The School, retrieved 15 December 2016
- ^ "Local history". Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-9871467-0-0