Woodanilling Station, 22nd of January 2004
Opened: 1889
Original Name: Round Pool (1889 - ?)
Yarabin
(also known as Yairibin and Yairabin) ( ? - 1893)
Woodanilling (1893 - Present)
The
Woodanilling District was first explored in the early 1830's and by the
1850's, the Albany to Perth road had been constructed and this gave
settlers a way into the region. Some took up pastoral leases and others
came in search of Sandlewood. Throughout the 1870's more land had been
taken up as farming and grazing land in the Woodanilling area and the
name of "Round Pool" was first used. Round Pool was the name of a pool
of water around 1km south of the current town site and was the social
focal point for the original settlers.
Before the opening of the Great Southern Railway (GSR) in the late
1880's, local businessman had decided to centre their businesses around
the proposed sidings of Katanning, Wagin Lake and Narrogin, due to
their easy acess and close proximity to the old outposts on the Albany
to Perth Coach Road such as, Kojonup, Arthur River and Williams. This
left Woodanilling out of the picture, as the land lying west of
Woodanilling, where the Coach Rd ran through, which was the area known
as the Beaufort, was mainly undeveloped. This was the main reason as to
why Woodanilling became dwarfed by the larger centres of Wagin and
Katanning in the years to come.
The WA Land Co, who owned the Great
Southern Railway (From Beverley to Albany), opened on the 1st of June
1889 and Round Pool was listed as one of the original sidings in the
timetable commencing 3rd of June 1889. However there was some confusion
over the siding name because there was also a siding called Round Swamp
(now known as Tenterden), so the siding name was changed to Yarabin,
which probably came from the name of a Well (Yairabin Well, which was a
few miles east of the siding).
In 1892, a town site around the siding of Yarabin Siding, was Gazetted
and this caused more confusion, as the siding was known as Yarabin, yet
the town site was known as Woodanilling and so in 1893 the siding was
again renamed, this time to Woodanilling. The name Woodanilling
(Woodanilling Spring) was the name given by the Noongar people to the
pool of water known as Round Pool and relates to the many small fish
found in the pools of water at the spring.
The first permanent towns person to Woodanilling was Mr. H Stevens, who
arrived at the siding in 1892, he was employed by the GSR as a fettler
and had previously been working for the GSR at the siding of
Popanyinning. He and he's wife and daughter initially lived in a tin
and hessian humpy, on the western side of the railway, just north of
the site of the old Goods shed. Originally there was no Station Master
at Woodanilling and so the mail and goods were left on the side of the
railway after being dropped off, Mr. Stevens wife, would pick up the
mail and goods and act as the Postmistress for the district. Eventually
when a proper railway house was built, the Stevens moved into it and
Mr. Stevens continued he's work with the railways till he was 65 years
old, he died in 1935.
By the time 1896 rolled around, the WAGR had bought out the Great
Southern Railway, who was having a hard time, making profits from their
railway and land sales.
In 1901, with an increase of settlers using the Woodanilling Siding, a
meeting was held to push for the appointment of a Station Master and on
the 12th of January 1903, Woodanilling became a booking Station for the
WAGR. In 1903 and 1904, Woodanilling was the leading Goods provider for
the GSR Line, with Mallet Bark being the main stay and Wool and Grain
as support traffic. Railway workers, when working in the area lived out
of the old Woodanilling Pub (across the road from the station), which
by then was a boarding house.
It wasn't until 1904 that Woodanilling received its first Station
Master in, a Mr. A Errington and with the further increase in siding
traffic, a Station Masters Office and platform verandah were
constructed in 1907 adding to the already built Parcels Office,
Instrument Room, open station lobby and Ladies Waiting Room, which the
latter was positioned separately from the main station building, to the
north along the station platform. A few years later
in 1909 a cart weighbridge was installed, plus the addition
of an Assistant Station Master, to take some of the load off the Senior
Station Master.
Woodanilling Station Yard, boasted a Goods Shed and platform, directly
across the line from the station, it had a station track, main loop and
goods loop, the Station Masters House, was located on the Station side
(eastern side) of the tracks, in line with the intersection of Robinson
Rd and Burt Rd.
At the height of Woodanilling, the town had 5 General Stores, the old
original pub, later used as a boarding house, the 1908 built, Hotel, a
Hospital, School, Roads Board, 2 Halls, 2 Banks, a Brickworks,
Blacksmith and an average of 800 residents within the Woodanilling
District Road Board Boundaries.
With the tragic loss of many young local men, who went off to fight in
the First World War, Woodanilling's prospects dimmed and on the 31st of
July 1916 the Station Master was withdrawn and the Station reverted
back to the status of Siding only because of a lack of Railway Staff, a
lot whom had joined the AIF and gone off to fight, however the amount
of Goods produced and sent to the siding, had not declined and the
locals of Woodanilling protested to the Railways for the reinstatement
of a Station Master, but it remained unattended.
Railway wise not much changed in Woodanilling from the end of World War
1 through to the 1950's, except for a few derailments north of
Woodanilling, near Boyerine Siding, which claimed the life of one rail
employee, plus a couple of mysterious derailment attempts by
someone unknown, who had jammed a piece of track across the
line within the Woodanilling Yard. The second time this was
attempted, it was noticed by a Railway Worker and the police were
notified, however no one was ever charged over the matter.
In 1957/58, rationalisation of the WAGR network was taking place and
Woodanilling copped it's share, with the replacing of the 1907,
extended station making way for a much simpler Station building, of
what seems to be two out-of-shed's with a common roof, providing a open
waiting area in the middle. The station has remained like this ever
since, however the Goods Shed is long gone, along with the original
Goods platform, making way for a large CBH Grain Bin Facility on the
western side of the tracks. Another goods platform was built on the
eastern side of the line, at the northern end of the yard, however its
goods siding has also long since been removed.
Woodanilling Station, 22nd of January 2004
Woodanilling Station Goods Platform, 5th of September 2004 (left) and Woodanilling Station Sign 22nd of January 2004 (right)
