Caron is a small town located on the Mullewa-Wubin Road in the Mid West region of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. It is situated between the towns of Perenjori

Perenjori, Western Australia

Perenjori is a townsite in the northern agricultural region, 348 km north of Perth and 39 km south-east of Morawa. It is located on the Wongan Hills to Mullewa railway line which was opened in 1915. Perenjori was approved as the name of a siding in April 1913, and later that year the...

 and Dalwallinu

Dalwallinu, Western Australia

Dalwallinu is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, located 248 km from Perth via the Great Northern Highway. Agriculture and supporting industries are the town's primary economic activities. The town is also the first town on The Wildflower Way, a world-famous Western...

.

The town is named after the nearby Caron Spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

 which is located about 26 kilometres (16 mi) to the west. Originating as a railway station along the Wongan

Wongan Hills, Western Australia

Wongan Hills is a town in the Shire of Wongan-Ballidu, in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The town is approximately 182 km north of the State capital Perth, at an altitude of 286 metres....

 to Mullewa

Mullewa, Western Australia

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 line, the townsite was gazetted in 1921.

The name is Aboriginal in origin, being a word for hail or hailstone.

The heritage

Heritage Council of Western Australia

The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state.It was created under the Heritage of Western Australia Act...

-listed Caron Coal Stage, built in the golden age of steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s, and the associated railway dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 are located close to the town. The stage is a simple example of an elevated concrete coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 bin, constructed in 1930 or 1931 to provide fuel to the trains of the era, and is the only remaining trace of the Caron siding.

The state's steam rail system often had to counteract drought

Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...

and, in 1948, special trains had to haul in 200000 gallons (909,218 l) of water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

to Caron, Perenjori and Buntine.