Rawlinna, Western Australia
| Rawlinna Western Australia | |
|---|---|
,_Trans_Access_Road,_Haus_--_2019_--_0586.jpg){kind=spacer} Employee house of the former Commonwealth Railways at Rawlinna | |
  Rawlinna | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 31°0.538′S 125°19.915′E / 31.008967°S 125.331917°E |
| Population | 33 (SAL 2021)[1] |
| Postcode(s) | 6434 |
| Elevation | 183 m (600 ft) |
| Area | 22,776.9 km2 (8,794.2 sq mi) |
| Location |
|
| LGA(s) | City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder |
| State electorate(s) | Eyre |
| Federal division(s) | O'Connor |
Rawlinna is an isolated locality on the Trans-Australian Railway in Western Australia, about 900 kilometres (560 miles) east of Perth, 380 kilometres (240 mi) east of Kalgoorlie and 350 kilometres (220 miles) west of the Western Australia / South Australia border. It is on the Nullarbor Plain, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from its western fringe; the topography is flat and well grassed, with saltbush and bluebush, with small belts of myall and myoporum trees.[2] Annual rainfall is 288 millimetres (11.3 inches). Maximum daytime temperatures are typically 38 °C (100 °F) through summer and 19 °C (66 °F) during winter.[3] The population in the area was recorded as 33 people in the 2021 Australian census.[4]
Rawlinna is the southernmost end of the Connie Sue Highway, a 4-wheel drive track that extends 650 km (400 mi) north to the Aboriginal community of Warburton.[5] Rawlinna comes under the jurisdiction of the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, despite being situated 380 km (240 mi) to the east.
Australia's largest operating sheep station, Rawlinna Station, covering an area of 1,011,714 hectares (2,500,000 acres) – about the area of the Sydney conurbation – adjoins the railway line. It runs up to 65,000 Merino sheep in a good season. Mustering and droving are done on motorbikes and in aircraft to locate them, beginning in January for a 10-week shearing program. A muster can take up to 100 kilometres (62 miles) to get the sheep into the shearing shed at Jumbuck's "Depot" outstation.[3]
A small, open-cut limestone mine is 2 km (1.2 mi) north of the settlement, from which lime is extracted for gold production at Kalgoorlie.
Visitors come from far and wide each year to the popular gymkhana known as the "Nullarbor Muster", which benefits a number of charities.[6]
Trans-Australian Railway
[edit]
Rawlinna was a replenishment stop for freight trains and the Commonwealth Railways passenger train, the Great Western Express, which was inaugurated in 1917 (when the line was opened) and its successor, the Trans-Australian. Before 1951, when diesel locomotives were introduced, steam locomotives needed frequent replenishment with water. On the Trans-Australian Railway, frequent servicing was also required because of poor water quality; Rawlinna was one of four major stations that had workshops and facilities such as a food store and bakery operated by the Commonwealth Railways,[7]: 117 and a school which took part in an annual inter-school sports day alongside students from Cook and Tarcoola.[8] Diesel-hauled passenger trains only need to stop to refill water in the passenger cars. That factor, combined with changed technologies – such as concrete sleepers, modern rail fastenings, continuous welded rail and mechanised track maintenance by contractors – eliminated the need for local employees. With trains travelling faster – 125 kilometres per hour (78 miles per hour) passenger, 110 kilometres per hour (68 miles per hour) freight – train crews no longer rested at Rawlinna, staying instead at Parkeston and Cook.[9] About 10 buildings remain.[10]
When the entire Sydney–Perth line was converted to 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge in 1970, the passenger train service was re-named theIndian Pacific. The later experiential tourism train of that name does not stop at Rawlinna.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Rawlinna (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ "TAR map booklet". Chris's Commonwealth railways information (ComRails). Chris Drymalik. 1960. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "Rawlinna". Jumbuck. Jumbuck Pastoral. 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "2016 census QuickStats: Rawlinna". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ Beadell, Len (1971). Bush Bashers. New Holland Publishers (Australia). ISBN 1864367342.
- ^ "Gymkhana - Nullabor Muster Club". Nullabor Muster. Nullabor Muster Club. 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Fitch, Ronald J. (2006). Australian Railwayman: from cadet engineer to railways commissioner. Dural, New South Wales: Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1877058483.
- ^ Gable, Walter (1993). Rawlinna School. Perth: W. Gable.
- ^ Anchen, Nick (2017). Iron roads in the outback — the legendary Commonwealth Railways. Ferntree Gully, Victoria: Sierra Publishing. pp. 172, 188. ISBN 9780992538828.
- ^ "Rawlinna" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Rawlinna, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceding station | Journey Beyond | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalgoorlie One-way operation
|
Indian Pacific | Cook towards Sydney
| ||
| Perth Terminus
|
Cook One-way operation
| |||