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Statistics
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Km from Perth |
309 |
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Population |
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Rainfall |
405mm |
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Max Temp |
C |
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Min Temp |
C |
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Autogas |
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Telecentre |
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Caravan
Park
Caravan
Park 08 9863 4021
Services
Attractions
Duggan Dam, Tarin Rock.
Buildings of note
Unknown
Calendar of events
September: Tracmach
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Description
An expedition
by Lefroy and Landor was the first
to travel through this area in 1843. Their comments were not encouraging:
‘the desert has a most repelling appearance, but would be interesting to
cross in the proper season which might be done following the river Lefroy in
the month of August.’
In 1848 J.S. Roe explored the area to
the south near where Nyabing stands today. He was followed in 1850 by W.H.
Graham.
By the 1870s there were sandalwood cutters in the area but little had been
achieved in the way of permanent settlement.
When Marshall Fox explored the area in 1906 he reported more favourably on
the land than Lefroy had done and soon afterwards there was a slow but
steady stream of applications to take up land.
In 1912 the railway to Dumbleyung was extended to
Lake Grace with Merilup
and Kukerin Sidings placed along the line between the two towns.
The name was originally spelled Cookering locally but appeared as Kukerin on
maps of the area so Kukerin was the name officially adopted.
A story was told about two sandalwood cutters (Cooke and Ring) who
discovered a soak in the area but this does seem a little far fetched.
The town site was gazetted in 1912 and the original meaning of the name is
not known. The name first suggested for the town was Merilup but this was
already the name of a settlement some 8 miles away so Marshall Fox suggested
Kukerin.
Things being the way they are this wasn’t the end of the matter as an area
called Kukerin already existed to the north of the new town site. The matter
was eventually resolved by the original area being referred to as North
Kukerin.
Once the town site had been declared progress was swift. By the end of the
following year a small but flourishing town had been built on what was
nothing but bush by the side of the railway. In 1914 a school with 16
students was opened. A year later the town hall opened but not without some
controversy.
Sydney Stubbs was a local politician who also had business interests
including timber sales. He had agreed to supply timber for the hall at cost
price but when the bill for the timber arrived it was for full price. Isaac
Smith (one of the hall committee members) was outraged and waited for the
official opening to have his say.
Meanwhile Stubbs had discovered the error in the bill and instructed his
accountant to correct it. Smith was unaware of this when at the opening he
stood up and declared:
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s all a fake. It is just an electioneering dodge.’
Stubbs responded: ‘You’re a liar. If you were outside I would pull your
nose!’
After the two ‘combatants’ were suitably restrained and the situation
explained to them, to their credit, they shook hands and the official
opening proceeded.
A wheat & sheep town, Kukerin is a major grain depot for the surrounding
region. The Tracmach Vintage Fair is held each September and attracts
working vintage machinery some of which dates from 1915.
Tall tales & true: Bike Ride
In 1937 a local pushbike rider made a wager that he could ride the 193 miles
to Perth in just 16 hours. A number of bets were taken but when it came time
to ‘put up’ the rider backed out. Three other riders (Jim Grant, Roy Matson
and Mick Edwards) took up the challenge. All but the last 70 miles of road
was rough unsealed track but the trio made it in to Perth with just two
minutes to spare.
The following year the small cycling club was flush with new members but
that was as far as it went and the club membership rapidly declined
thereafter.
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