WEST AUSTRALIANA Local History –

pp. 318 Illustrated.

First Edition. SCARCE #010115/110525

Quairading is a Western Australian town located in the Wheatbelt region. It is the seat of government for the Shire of Quairading.

The town was named for Quairading Spring, derived from a local Aboriginal word recorded in 1872 by surveyor Alexander Forrest.^[3] The first European settler in the area is believed to be Stephen Parker, who settled in nearby York.^[2] From 1859 to 1863, his son Edward Parker cleared land east of York towards Dangin, before Edward’s son Jonah took over Dangin and the surrounding area. Jonah Parker subdivided his property and made Dangin a private townsite, surrounded by his land. A Methodist, Jonah Parker banned alcohol in the town and these factors led to residents leaving Dangin.^[2] The Government made available new land in nearby Quairading, and gave settlers a 65-hectare (160-acre) block for free if they cleared the land and lived there for seven years.^[4] Many settlers took up the offer and moved into the area between 1903 and 1908.^[4]

The Greenhills Road Board, established in 1892, decided to build a railway from Greenhills (near York) to Quairading and gazette the townsite at the Quairading terminus.^[4] The townsite was gazetted on 7 August 1907 and the railway completed in 1908.^[4] By 1909, the town had a hotel, general store, blacksmith, baker, carpenter and two banks, and by 1950, most of the land was cleared and being used for farming.^[4]

In 1932 the Wheat Pool of Western Australia announced that the town would have two grain elevators, each fitted with an engine, installed at the railway siding.^[5]