Town in Western Australia
| Watheroo Western Australia | |
|---|---|
 Watheroo Hall, 2013. | |
  Watheroo | |
| Coordinates | 30°17′52.4702″S 116°03′31.4046″E / 30.297908389°S 116.058723500°E / -30.297908389; 116.058723500 |
| Population | 137 (SAL 2021) |
| Established | 1907 |
| Postcode(s) | 6513 |
| Elevation | 263 m (863 ft) |
| Area | 783.4 km (302.5 sq mi) |
| Location |
|
| LGA(s) | Shire of Moora |
| State electorate(s) | Moore |
| Federal division(s) | Durack |
Watheroo is a small town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. There are 137 residents, according to the 2021 census.
History
Land in the area was settled by James Oliver in 1851, the area was surveyed in 1871 and the name Watheroo was charted for the first time. Watheroo is a thriving farming Wheatbelt town, farming livestock and grain. The town was an original station on the Midland Railway Company railway line to Walkaway. The townsite was gazetted in 1907.
Railway
Following flooding along the Moore River in 1907, the railway lines between Watheroo and Moora were closed for some time when parts of the track were washed away. Rail services were again affected in 1917 when 1.7 inches (43 mm) of rain fell in three hours causing more flooding, washways and the railyard in town to be submerged.
Etymology
The name is Indigenous Australian in origin and was the name of a nearby spring. The word Watheroo is derived from the word wardo which means little bird or more specifically the willy wagtail or from the word wardoro which means water.
Climate
| Climate data for Watheroo (1918–1959) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 33.9 (93.0) |
33.8 (92.8) |
31.0 (87.8) |
26.5 (79.7) |
21.3 (70.3) |
18.1 (64.6) |
17.2 (63.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
21.1 (70.0) |
23.7 (74.7) |
28.1 (82.6) |
31.5 (88.7) |
25.4 (77.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 15.9 (60.6) |
16.3 (61.3) |
14.8 (58.6) |
11.4 (52.5) |
8.0 (46.4) |
6.2 (43.2) |
5.0 (41.0) |
5.4 (41.7) |
6.5 (43.7) |
8.0 (46.4) |
11.2 (52.2) |
13.8 (56.8) |
10.2 (50.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 9.4 (0.37) |
16.9 (0.67) |
22.1 (0.87) |
23.4 (0.92) |
58.8 (2.31) |
84.6 (3.33) |
78.4 (3.09) |
54.6 (2.15) |
30.1 (1.19) |
20.8 (0.82) |
9.4 (0.37) |
9.3 (0.37) |
417.2 (16.43) |
| Source: | |||||||||||||
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Watheroo (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- "History of country town names – W". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
- "A town under water". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 August 1907. p. 10. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- "The Midland Line". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 6 August 1917. p. 6. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- "Shire of Moora – Watheroo". 2006. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
- "Climate statistics for Watheroo". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
External links
Media related to Watheroo, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons