Broomehill Council Machinery Shed (fmr)

Values

• The place is a representative example of a large timber and iron storage shed located in a rural area.
• The place is associated with the development and growth of the Broomehill district in the early 1930s.

Physical Description

The place comprises a shed constructed of corrugated iron with a timber frame, 16m x 19.70m, with roof beams of 4 x 2 metres, supported by 3 solid timber tree trunks. It is open to the front which is enclosed with mesh fencing. The shed houses a large collection of farm machinery donated by local farmers to the Broomehill Historical Society. It is the only building occupying a large lot and is not adjacent to any other buildings.

History

The first Europeans settlers in the Broomehill district were sandalwood cutters and pastoralists. A track developed between Perth and Albany, largely as a result of the sandalwood cutters carting their loads to the coast for export to China. In 1841, a mail service was established along this route, and in 1869, the Government took over the mail run. The mail coach made the journey each way twice a month, travelling around 30 miles a day, and carried both passengers and freight.
By 1881, the Colonial Government decided that a railway line would be the most efficient and cost-effective transport solution between Perth and Albany. The Government arranged for the line to be constructed by the West Australian Land Company under the land grant system, and the Great Southern line was officially opened on 1 June 1889. The town of Broomehill was established by the WA Land Company as part of its Great Southern Railway project. It was named after Governor Sir Frederick Napier Broome. The townsite was gazetted in 1890, a year after the railway was officially opened, and it became a stopping point for gold prospectors on their way from Albany to the Coolgardie goldfields. However, the Company experienced difficulties in attracting settlers to take up their land, and in 1897, the Government purchased the line and all the Company lands, for £1,100,000. Between 1900 and 1914, there was great demand for land along the Great Southern Railway route as miners leaving the failing goldfields joined other settlers to take up farming land and the population grew rapidly during this period.

Creation Date

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