Merredin

Town in the midlands of Western Australia, 260 km/162 mi east of Perth; population (1996) 2,900. Products include cereal crops and sheep, and there is light manufacturing, and transport and agricultural services. Historic buildings include the Old Railway Station (1895), now a museum containing a steam engine built in 1897, and other rail relics from the gold rush days, including the original Merredin signal box. It was the first town in Australia to treat sewerage effluent and use it for watering recreational and park grounds.

The district around Merredin was explored in 1839 and a number of pastoral leases were taken up in the area between 1864 and 1890. A town was proclaimed in 1891, but did not become established until the Perth- Kalgoorlie railway reached Merredin in 1893. Following the construction of the railway, the district around the town developed into one of the most prosperous wheat growing regions in Australia. Employment increased in 1904 with the establishment of a locomotive depot and an agricultural research farm. Between 1905 and 1925, Merredin increased its importance as a railway centre as new lines were constructed into the nearby wheat-growing districts.