Toodyay is a town located in the Avon Valley, 85 km north-east of Perth, Western Australia.
The meaning of the name is uncertain, although it is Noongar Indigenous in origin - maps in 1836 referred to "Duidgee", while some believe it was named for a local woman named Toodyeep who accompanied early explorers in the area.[2] Another source suggests it could mean "place of plenty". The name "Duidgee" is preserved in the riverside recreation area, "Duidgee Park".
In 1861, Western Australia's best known bushranger, Moondyne Joe, was imprisoned in Toodyay for stealing a horse, but escaped. After a series of crimes and jail terms, he was on the run again, returning to Toodyay in 1865 to steal supplies for an attempt to escape overland to South Australia. The annual Moondyne Festival is a light-hearted celebration of this darker side of Toodyay's history.
The Newcastle Gaol, in Clinton Street, was completed in 1864 and in use as a state gaol until 1909. It is now preserved as the Old Gaol Museum; an historic building and tourist attraction.
In 1870, a steam-driven flour mill, Connor's Mill, was built on Stirling Terrace by George Hasell. The mill was also used to generate electricity in the early part of the twentieth century. Saved from demolition in the 1970's, and restored to demonstrate the milling process and machinery, the mill now forms the museum section of the Toodyay Visitors Centre.[3]
The State Register of Heritage Buildings includes the Gaol, Connor's Mill, Toodyay Public Library (built 1874), Toodyay Post Office (designed by George Temple-Poole, built 1897) and the Toodyay Fire Station (designed by Ken Duncan, built 1938), as well as several other historic sites in Toodyay.[3] Some of the historic architecture of shops and residences along Stirling Terrace, the main street, form a distinctive frontage described as the Stirling Terrace Streetscape Group.[4]
[edit] Transport
Toodyay, being an historic township and an hour's distance from Perth, is a venue for daytrippers, tourists and motorcyclists. The circuit - Toodyay Road through Gidgegannup / Toodyay / Chittering Valley and Great Northern Highway - is a favourite with motorcyclists. On most weekends, Toodyay's main street is lined with cruisers and sportsbikes of many models, makes and vintages, their riders relaxing in the increasing number of pavement cafes that are springing up to accommodate the burgeoning tourist trade.
Toodyay also serves as a stop on the Avonlink and Prospector passenger trains from Perth to Northam and Kalgoorlie.
Goomalling
Attractive wheatbelt town
Located 132 km east of Perth, Goomalling is a pretty little wheatbelt town with the mandatory pub, rail head, small service centre for the surrounding region and bulk handling wheat silos. Sheep and wheat created the town and sheep and wheat will sustain it.
The area was first explored by Assistant Government Surveyor Austin in 1854 but there was no great need for a town. The monks at New Norcia, which was about 60 km northeast of the present townsite, often brought their sheep into the area. And George Slater, who had arrived from England with his parents in 1930, owned a huge selection which covered 100 000 acres from Goomalling to Kalguddering. He moved into the area in the 1850s. His house (the ruins are on the Dowerin road outside town) became a regular stopover point for miners who travelled through the area on their way to the goldfields on their way to Kalgoorlie and Southern Cross.
Goomalling didn't really come into existence until 1902 when it was declared a town and the railway from Northam arrived. It is claimed that the town got its name from the Koomal possum which inhabits the area but, like most explanations for town names, there is no really hard evidence for this assertion.
With a tiny population of 600 in the town, and servicing a further 600 in the surrounding wheat and sheep areas, Goomalling is the sort of place which is often driven through without stopping.
DON PUGH CARAVAN TRIP 20008
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TOODYAY: HERITAGE TOWN PAST AND PRESENTby DON4343,061 views
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