BROOMEHILL

HEMA Map reference 74/G6

33° 50' 6' S 117° 38' 4' E

Statistics

Caravan Park

Broomehill          08 9824 1245   

Services

Attractions

St. Elizabeth's church, Wadjekanup Bridge, Hayfield Reserve, Boot Rock.

Buildings of note

Unknown

Calendar of events

January 26: Australia Day breakfast.

Old store

Description

Settlement began in the 1860s but the arrival of the railway in 1889 ensured that the tiny settlement had a bright future. When the railway arrived the original settlement of Eticup was abandoned and the development of Broomehill began.

Broomehill is the second town in W.A. named after Sir Frederick Napier Broome. Originally the name was separated, Broome Hill, but changed in 1959 to become Broomehill.

The road board district was excised from Kojonup in 1892 and the town was gazetted in 1897 (another source says 1894) but 1889 is still celebrated as the founding date by local residents.

In 1893 following the discovery of gold at Coolgardie, John Holland blazed a trail that became known as Holland's Track (what imagination!). Prospectors travelled to Broomehill by train and then began the arduous 450km trek to the goldfields on foot.

The Holland Track has today been mainly overtaken by farmland but several now unconnected parts of the original track can still be followed via wheat belt roads through the area. The eastern part of the Holland Track still passes  through virgin bushland out past the Rabbit Proof Fence. This route can be covered by the following strip maps - part of a heritage trail opened to travellers in 1993.

No fuel or water is available between Hyden and Coolgardie, so you must carry enough to safely travel at least 360km.  To have enough time to explore the attractions along the track, allow at least three days. The trip is probably best done in spring when the wildflowers are at their best and temperatures are still low. Rain can make the track almost impassable so it is best tackled in dry weather.

For further information contact the Shire of Broomehill on 08 9824 1245 or Email shirebh@katel.net.au

Although there is a well maintained caravan park in town we are a little surprised that a shire park is charging as much as $25 a night (2007) for a powered site when other shires offer sites for between $12 and $17.