Crossman is a town located in the Wheatbelt 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...

, 125 kilometres (78 mi) south-southeast of the state capital, Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 along Albany Highway

Albany Highway

Albany Highway is a generally northwest-southeast highway in the south of Western Australia which links the state's capital Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany. The highway is approximately in length, is designated State Route 30 and separates Western Australia's Great Southern region from...

, and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) east of Boddington

Boddington, Western Australia

Boddington is a town and shire in the Peel region of Western Australia, located south-east of Perth. The town sits on the road from Pinjarra to Williams on the Hotham River...

.

Origin of the name

The name honours Lt William Crossman of the Royal Engineers, who arrived in Fremantle

Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...

 as a second lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 stationed in Perth in 1852, but was responsible for works in the Albany

Albany, Western Australia

Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....

 district and for roads in the area. In 1853, in company with surveyor A.C. Gregory, he examined and reported on various routes between Perth and Albany, and recommended that the then-current routes via York or Bunbury be replaced by a straight line between Kelmscott (now a Perth suburb near Armadale

Armadale, Western Australia

Armadale is a suburb within the City of Armadale, located on the south-eastern edge of Perth's metropolitan area. The major junction of the South Western and Albany Highways, which connect Perth with the South West and Great Southern regions of Western Australia respectively, is located within the...

) and Albany. After serving as colonial magistrate, he returned to England in 1856 and later was promoted to captain and served as a British Member of Parliament for Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

. The Crossman River, a 42 kilometres (26 mi) tributary of the Hotham River

Hotham River

The Hotham River is one of the major tributaries of the Murray River in Western Australia. It is about 160km long in total with its upper reaches being the Hotham River North, which begins in the Dutarning Range and joins the Hotham at its crossing of the Great Southern Highway near Popanyinning...

, was most likely named by A.C. Gregory in 1853.

Present day

Crossman Village Roadhouse, a 24-hour roadhouse with takeaway and sit-down meals, operates on Albany Highway

Albany Highway

Albany Highway is a generally northwest-southeast highway in the south of Western Australia which links the state's capital Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany. The highway is approximately in length, is designated State Route 30 and separates Western Australia's Great Southern region from...

. Accommodation is available 2 km away, and Crossman Wildflower Reserve, a year-round sanctuary for flora and fauna and home to a wide range of native orchids, and Woolpack Lavender Farm, which opened in January 2003 and showcases lavender

Lavender

The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...

 varieties.

The roadhouse is a stop on the Transwa

Transwa

Transwa is Western Australia's regional public transport provider, linking 275 destinations within Western Australia, from Kalbarri in the north to Augusta in the south to Esperance in the east along with the regional centres of Bunbury, Kalgoorlie, Northam, Geraldton and Albany.Transwa is...

bus services to Albany (GS1) and Esperance (GE1).