Ongerup, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Ongerup is a town located 410 km south-east of Perth
and 54 km east of Gnowangerup in the Great Southern region of Western Australia
.
language.
The area around Ongerup was first explored by Surveyor General John Septimus Roe
who passed through in 1848. In the 1870s the Moir family moved to the area and began grazing sheep along the Warperup Creek. In 1910 the land was surveyed into 1000 acres (4 km²) blocks priced at 10 shillings per acre before the townsite was gazetted in 1912.
A 94 km branch line to Ongerup
from Tambellup
on the Great Southern Railway
main line between Perth and Albany was opened on 6 January 1913 to serve the growing agriculture industry and closed on 13 October 1957. A timetable from 1937 shows 2 trains per week leaving Ongerup on Tuesdays at 06:55 and Fridays at 04:00. Lengthy connections of around 12 hours were available at Katanning for Perth, arriving approximately 30 hours after leaving Ongerup.. In 1918 a barracks was constructed on Eldridge Street for railway workers based in Ongerup. The building survived the closure of the railway and now houses the Ongerup / Needilup District Museum that was opened in 1978.
A local newspaper, The Gnowangerup Star and Tambellup-Ongerup Gazette, was launched on 21 August 1915 with the final edition being printed in 2003.
The first Ongerup Public Hall was built in 1927 but was replaced by the current building in 1953.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, kangaroo
hunters and mallee
bark strippers came to the area. The bark was sent to Germany
for use in tanning
.
The town was flooded when 119.4mm of rain, almost a third of the annual average, fell in one day on the 17th of February 1955.
In June 1983 the Ongerup Cemetery received its first burial.
In 1983 the Ongerup Shears event was held for the first time. This was a shearing competition that was held on the Queen's Birthday long weekend with international and national shearers competing in the run up to the Perth Royal Show
. The event was discontinued in the 1990s.
On 13 September 1986, two children were killed by a boiler explosion at the Ongerup sports oval.
, general store, tyre service, primary school, kindergarten
, telecentre
, caravan park, ambulance service, 18-hole golf course, sports oval and pavilion and roadhouse
.
There was a police station but the closure of it was announced in July 2007 and executed in 2010.
A war memorial commemorates the 63 Ongerup lives lost in World War I
, World War II
, the Korean War
and the Vietnam War
.
At the sports oval Australian Rules football
, hockey
and netball
are played in winter and cricket
, tennis
and basketball
are played in summer.
Mark L. Williams
, current AFL player with Hawthorn played for Ongerup Football Club as a junior player.
, barley
, canola
and wool
, while lesser quantities of lupins, oats
, alfalfa
and other crops are also grown. Beef
cattle
, fat lamb
s, and pig
s are sideline industries.
Grain silos belonging to Cooperative Bulk Handling are located at Ongerup and during harvest time these silos store grain from surrounding farms before it is transported to Albany
by road for export.
Preservation Group and in 2007 the Yongergnow Australian Malleefowl Centre was opened.
The Ongerup Wildflower Show is held in September and October each year. The Ongerup district is known to be home to over 1,300 species of wildflowers.
Ongerup is a stop on the Transwa
bus service between Perth and Esperance
.
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....
and 54 km east of Gnowangerup in the Great Southern 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...
.
History
The name Ongerup means Place of the male kangaroo in the local NoongarNoongar
The Noongar are an indigenous Australian people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast...
language.
The area around Ongerup was first explored by Surveyor General John Septimus Roe
John Septimus Roe
John Septimus Roe was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, and a Member of Western Australia's Legislative and Executive Councils for nearly 40 years.-Early life:...
who passed through in 1848. In the 1870s the Moir family moved to the area and began grazing sheep along the Warperup Creek. In 1910 the land was surveyed into 1000 acres (4 km²) blocks priced at 10 shillings per acre before the townsite was gazetted in 1912.
A 94 km branch line to Ongerup
Ongerup Branch Railway
A 94 km branch line to Ongerup from Tambellup on the Great Southern Railway main line between Perth and Albany was opened on 6 January 1913 to serve the growing agriculture industry and closed on 13 October 1957. It was authorised for construction under the Tambellup-Ongerup Railway Act 1911...
from Tambellup
Tambellup, Western Australia
The townsite of Tambellup is located in Western Australia's Great Southern Agricultural region, 317 km south-east of Perth on the Great Southern Highway where it crosses the Gordon River...
on the Great Southern Railway
Great Southern Railway (Western Australia)
The Great Southern Railway was the name of a railway company that operated from Beverley to Albany in Western Australia between 1886 and 1896. In 1896 the Western Australian Government Railways took over this company and the railway route also kept the name.- Construction :The first sods for the...
main line between Perth and Albany was opened on 6 January 1913 to serve the growing agriculture industry and closed on 13 October 1957. A timetable from 1937 shows 2 trains per week leaving Ongerup on Tuesdays at 06:55 and Fridays at 04:00. Lengthy connections of around 12 hours were available at Katanning for Perth, arriving approximately 30 hours after leaving Ongerup.. In 1918 a barracks was constructed on Eldridge Street for railway workers based in Ongerup. The building survived the closure of the railway and now houses the Ongerup / Needilup District Museum that was opened in 1978.
A local newspaper, The Gnowangerup Star and Tambellup-Ongerup Gazette, was launched on 21 August 1915 with the final edition being printed in 2003.
The first Ongerup Public Hall was built in 1927 but was replaced by the current building in 1953.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
hunters and mallee
Mallee (habit)
Mallee is the growth habit of certain eucalypt species that grow with multiple stems springing from an underground lignotuber, usually to a height of no more than ten metres...
bark strippers came to the area. The bark was sent to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for use in tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
.
The town was flooded when 119.4mm of rain, almost a third of the annual average, fell in one day on the 17th of February 1955.
In June 1983 the Ongerup Cemetery received its first burial.
In 1983 the Ongerup Shears event was held for the first time. This was a shearing competition that was held on the Queen's Birthday long weekend with international and national shearers competing in the run up to the Perth Royal Show
Perth Royal Show
The Perth Royal Show is an annual show held in Perth, Western Australia at the Claremont Showgrounds. It features informational exhibits, agricultural competitions and display animals, a fairground and rides, and showbags. It has been held for over 100 years and is organised by the Royal...
. The event was discontinued in the 1990s.
On 13 September 1986, two children were killed by a boiler explosion at the Ongerup sports oval.
Ongerup today
The 2006 census shows a population of 119 people living in Ongerup. The town is home to a pubPublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, general store, tyre service, primary school, kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
, telecentre
Telecentre
A telecentre is a public place where people can access computers, the Internet, and other digital technologies that enable them to gather information, create, learn, and communicate with others while they develop essential digital skills...
, caravan park, ambulance service, 18-hole golf course, sports oval and pavilion and roadhouse
Roadhouse (facility)
A roadhouse is a commercial establishment typically built on a major road or highway, to service passing travellers. Its meaning varies slightly by country.-USA:...
.
There was a police station but the closure of it was announced in July 2007 and executed in 2010.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
At the sports oval Australian Rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
, hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
and netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
are played in winter and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
are played in summer.
Mark L. Williams
Mark L. Williams
Mark Williams is a former indigenous Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn and Essendon in the Australian Football League...
, current AFL player with Hawthorn played for Ongerup Football Club as a junior player.
Economy
The town exists to service the local agricultural community. Surrounding farms mainly produce wheatWheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, canola
Canola
Canola refers to a cultivar of either Rapeseed or Field Mustard . Its seeds are used to produce edible oil suitable for consumption by humans and livestock. The oil is also suitable for use as biodiesel.Originally, Canola was bred naturally from rapeseed in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur R...
and wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
, while lesser quantities of lupins, oats
OATS
OATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...
, alfalfa
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
and other crops are also grown. Beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, fat lamb
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
s, and pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s are sideline industries.
Grain silos belonging to Cooperative Bulk Handling are located at Ongerup and during harvest time these silos store grain from surrounding farms before it is transported to 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....
by road for export.
Attractions
The town is home to the MalleefowlMalleefowl
The Malleefowl is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken...
Preservation Group and in 2007 the Yongergnow Australian Malleefowl Centre was opened.
The Ongerup Wildflower Show is held in September and October each year. The Ongerup district is known to be home to over 1,300 species of wildflowers.
Ongerup 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 service between Perth and Esperance
Esperance, Western Australia
Esperance is a large town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The shire of Esperance is home to 9,536 people as of the 2006 census, its major industries are tourism, agriculture,...
.