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Hines Hill is a small hamlet located 240 kilometres east of Perth along the Great Eastern Highway
on the way to Kalgoorlie.
Originally established as a siding on the railway line from Perth to Kalgoorlie, the small settlement was a wheat collections
centre for the area. The name may come from a Sandalwood cutter who worked in the area.
C.B.H. established a bulk wheat bin in 1966 but that was pre-dated by a smaller
collection facility that incorporated one of the first privately owned weighbridges in the state. The old wheat collection
centre has long gone but the weighbridge still remains.
The Hines Hill cemetry is located near Hines Hill Rock off Feineler Road and has graves dating back to 1902. It is possible
to walk to the top of the rock and get a view of the surrounding area.
The townsite was officially gazetted in 1910.
The settlement is on the edge of Baandee Lake that most of the time is nothing more than a large dry salt flat. The lake has flooded in the
past with one notable event occuring in 1953.
The lake's name is an Aboriginal word referring to light shimmering off the large salt flats.
One of the lakes was used for water skiing when rainfall allowed and the ski club was located at the end of Ski Lakes Road. There are toilet facilities
available here and it could be a possible overnight stop for travellers.
On the 14th of January 1996 a freight train comming from the east was travelling down the main line while a second freight train was entering
a loop in the line in order to clear the main line for the train coming from the east.
Unfortunately the train moving off the main line did not manage to get clear in time and the first train slammed in to the rear carriages
that were filled with diesel fuel.
Two people in the train on the main line died in the resulting fireball and a third man was pulled clear but suffered severe burns.
As a reult of this accident, the loop line sections were extended to give a greater safety margin when two trains have to pass each other in this manner.
To the best of our knowledge, there has never been an explanation of why the west bound train ignored a red signal light and contined to
move forward at speed which resulted in the devastating collision.
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