Pithara
Western Australia
Leahy Street, Pithara, 2018
Pithara is located in Western Australia
Pithara
Pithara
Coordinates30°23′S 116°40′E / 30.383°S 116.667°E / -30.383; 116.667
Population129 (SAL 2021)[1]
Established1914
Postcode(s)6608
Area566.7 km2 (218.8 sq mi)
Location240 km (149 mi) N of Perth
LGA(s)Shire of Dalwallinu
State electorate(s)Moore
Federal division(s)Durack

Pithara is a small town in the wheatbelt region of Western Australia. It is located about 240 km north of Perth, in the Shire of Dalwallinu.[2] At the 2011 census, Pithara had a population of 257, a 25% fall from the previous 2006 census.[3][4]

The name Pithara was originally an Australian Aboriginal name for a nearby well, which first appears on maps of the area in 1907. In April 1913 it was approved as the name of a siding on the Wongan Hills to Mullewa railway line, which was under construction at the time. Shortly afterwards the decision was made to rename the siding to Hettie, after the original owner of the land on which the siding was built. In 1914 the government gazetted a townsite at the siding, also naming it Hettie, but this was objected to by locals, and the name Pithara was reinstated.[5][6]

Pithara primarily serves as a base for the local farming community, and serves large numbers of visitors during the spring when wildflowers bloom in the region.

There is also an active speedway club in town and drivers visit from all over Western Australia to compete in a number of meetings during the year.

Shirley Strickland de la Hunty, Olympic gold medallist in the 80 metres hurdles at the 1948 Games in London and at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, grew up on a farm in Pithara.

The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops. The town is a receival site for Cooperative Bulk Handling. In 1932 the Wheat Pool of Western Australia installed two engine-driven grain elevators at the Pithara railway siding, marking the transition from manual handling of bagged grain to bulk handling.[7][8]

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Pithara (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. ↑ "Pithara". Gazetteer of Australia online. Geoscience Australia, Australian Government.
  3. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Pithara (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Pithara (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "History of country town names – P". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  6. ↑ Higham, G. J; Geoproject Solutions (2004), Where WAS that? : an historical gazetteer of Western Australia (1st ed.), Geoproject Solutions Pty Ltd, ISBN 978-0-646-44186-3
  7. ↑ "Country elevators". The West Australian. Perth, Western Australia. 6 July 1932. p. 10. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "CBH receival sites" (PDF). 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.

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