DESCRIPTION
Bencubbin is a small town in the north eastern wheatbelt region of W.A.
The main industries in the area are grain, cattle and sheep production.
The town's name originated with the Aboriginal name of a nearby rock, "Gnylbencubbing", now known as Mt. Marshall.
The area by the rock is a popular picnic area and campsite and facilities include seats, tables, BBQs, shelters and toilets.
Take a few sausages out with you to cook on the barbecues provided at Marshall Rock
and enjoy the spectacular views of the surrounding district. The picnic area provides a lovely relaxed atmosphere with a wide variety of native flora and fauna.
Bencubbin is a traveller friendly town and offers some great camping opportunities for travellers.
FREE campsites with good facilities are available at Gabbin, Marshall Rock, Lake McDermott and
Waddouring Dam.
The poor old hotel was looking rather battered and un-loved last time we were out there. Apparently this was the result of a storm and strong winds
and we can only hope that it will get the care and attention it deserves at some stage in the future.
We are losing far too many of our old historic buildings.
Pergandes Sheep yards
.
The sheep yards are on private property but visitors are welcome.
Early settlers (Edward and Annie Pergande) constructed the yards in the 1920s.
They are a very unusual feature and were constructed of slabs of granite. The rocks has been used to construct the fences in place
of what would usually be the fence posts and wire.
HISTORY
John S. Roe
(you'll see this name a lot on this website) explored the area in 1836 after passing through the Avon Valley. He named a granite outcrop south of
town after a friend (Marshall McDermott) who was something of an adventurer and explorer in his own right.
Sandalwood cutters originally visited the area in the 1860s. A sheep station was established in 1867 and the town site was gazetted in 1917. The area
is now primarily concerned with wheat and sheep production.
The Aboriginal name for the area was 'Gnylburngobbing' or 'Gnylbencubbing' and it is thought that it may mean 'place of snakes'.
Some sources suggest that this was the name for what is now called Mt. Marshall but others suggest it applied to a rocky outcrop closer to the trown.
The name 'Bencubbin' may have been suggested by J. Hope (Chief draftsman) and it was the terminus for the Wyalkatchem-Mt Marshall railway. The townsite
was gazetted in 1917.
Waddouring Rock catchment dam was opened in 1929 to provide water for Bencubbin and Gabbin. At that time there were over 2,000 people living in the area.
In ten years the population dropped by 50% from the effects of the Great Depression and a series of droughts.
As farms have been amalgamated and farming has become more automated, fewer people are needed and the population (as in many rural areas) has decreased.
The 1960s was a period of development and growth but droughts and climbing interest rates in the 1980s saw another drop in the population of the shire.
Pieces of a large meteorite were found in the area and the three largest fragments weighed in at 542 kilograms, 64.6 kilograms and 16 kilograms.
These pieces are now housed at the Western Australian Museum.
Marshall Rock is eight kilometres from the town of Bencubbin, it was discovered in 1836.
In 2006 the general store burned down with damage being estimated at $100,000.
TALL TALES AND TRUE
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OTHER INFORMATION
ATTRACTIONS
Meteorite Area at North Mandiga, Welbungin Hill Well,
Marshall Rock, Mouroubra Rd to Payne's Find Road,
Kaolin Deposit, Historic Sheep Yards Pergandes,
Tampu Well, Crimpy's Tank, Tampu Bin, Vermin Proof Fence,
Museum, North Cleary gemstone area, Bates Farm Museum, Biliburning Rock.
BUILDINGS OF NOTE
Unknown.
ELECTORAL ZONES
State : Central Wheatbelt
Federal : Durack
OTHER INFO.
Postcode : 6477
Local Government : Shire of Mount Marshall
PHOTOS
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