Northam

Seaside resort in north Devon, England, incorporating Westward Ho! and Appledore; population (2001) 5,000. The parish church dates from 1261. Northam Burrows is a sandy area stretching north into the Torridge estuary.

Northam

Town in the midlands of Western Australia, 97 km/60 mi east of Perth; population (1996) 6,300. Current industries include cereal crops, sheep, cattle, light manufacturing, and agricultural services. Northam is the major government service centre in the midlands region of Western Australia. The town is the focus for the annual Avon Descent, a 133 km/83 mi white-water boat race to Perth along the Avon and Swan rivers.

Located on the Avon River, it was named after a village in Devon, England. Early pastoralists arrived in the district in 1830. Following the emergence of wheat farming in the district, a steam-driven flour mill was opened in 1867. A telegraph to Perth opened in 1871 and railway between Perth and Northam was opened in 1886. Following the discovery of gold in the Kalgoorlie region to the east during the 1890s, Northam became an important stopover point for prospectors. The railway was extended to Kalgoorlie in 1894 and Northam became an important railway town. The town benefited from an expansion of government offices and the extension of wheat growing districts to the east between 1900 and 1933. In 1946, 4,000 Italian prisoners of war were gathered in Northam for repatriation. In the 1950s, the town became an important migrant reception centre.