Meckering, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Meckering is a town 130 km east of Perth, Western Australia
along the Great Eastern Highway
. Meckering is located within the Shire of Cunderdin
.
A railway line was completed in the area in 1895 and Meckering was selected as a station site. The first name chosen for the townsite was Beebering, the Aboriginal name for the hills just north of the town.
The townsite of Beebering was gazetted in 1895.
The name of the town was changed to Meckering in 1897 to agree with the station name and the name for the town that was used locally. Meckering is an Aboriginal word thought to mean "moon on the water" or "good hunting".
measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale
destroyed the town, and had effect on a considerable area in the south western region of Western Australia
. Surface faulting was up to 3 metres high, and almost 40 km long As it was a public holiday, the risk of casualties was reduced. Buildings in the metropolitan area of Perth were damaged as a result of the earthquake, and tremors were felt as far away as Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Esperance, and Albany
. The building code
s and various structural issues for Western Australia were modified as a result of the earthquake and further development of earthquake engineering
. The memory and significance of the event is commemorated by the local and wider community in a number of ways.
A later earthquake at Cadoux
in 1979 was on a par with the Meckering event in some people's memories, although less damage occurred in Perth.
Meckering is a main stopping point for freight trucks on the way to the eastern states.
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 the Great Eastern Highway
Great Eastern Highway
The Great Eastern Highway is a major road between the Western Australian cities of Perth and Kalgoorlie. It is a key route for vehicles accessing the eastern wheatbelt and the eastern goldfields...
. Meckering is located within the Shire of Cunderdin
Shire of Cunderdin
The Shire of Cunderdin is a Local Government Area located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about west of Merredin and about east of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is the town of Cunderdin....
.
A railway line was completed in the area in 1895 and Meckering was selected as a station site. The first name chosen for the townsite was Beebering, the Aboriginal name for the hills just north of the town.
The townsite of Beebering was gazetted in 1895.
The name of the town was changed to Meckering in 1897 to agree with the station name and the name for the town that was used locally. Meckering is an Aboriginal word thought to mean "moon on the water" or "good hunting".
Earthquake
At 10:59 am on 14 October 1968, a 40-second earthquakeEarthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
destroyed the town, and had effect on a considerable area in the south western 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...
. Surface faulting was up to 3 metres high, and almost 40 km long As it was a public holiday, the risk of casualties was reduced. Buildings in the metropolitan area of Perth were damaged as a result of the earthquake, and tremors were felt as far away as Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Esperance, and 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....
. The building code
Building code
A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...
s and various structural issues for Western Australia were modified as a result of the earthquake and further development of earthquake engineering
Earthquake engineering
Earthquake engineering is the scientific field concerned with protecting society, the natural and the man-made environment from earthquakes by limiting the seismic risk to socio-economically acceptable levels...
. The memory and significance of the event is commemorated by the local and wider community in a number of ways.
A later earthquake at Cadoux
Cadoux, Western Australia
Cadoux is a town located in the north eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. It is about northeast of Perth, within the Shire of Wongan-Ballidu.The townsite was gazetted in 1929 and the railway siding was opened in the same year...
in 1979 was on a par with the Meckering event in some people's memories, although less damage occurred in Perth.
Meckering is a main stopping point for freight trucks on the way to the eastern states.
Further reading
- Gordon, F.R and J.D. Lewis (1980) The Meckering and Calingiri earthquakes October 1968 and March 1970 Geological Survey of Western Australia Bulletin 126 ISBN 072448082x