Pinjarra, a country town on the banks of the Murray River, is 82km (51 miles) from Perth. It is one of the earliest settlements in Western Australia. The name Pinjarra is thought to be a corruption of the Aboriginal word beenjarrup, meaning place of the swamp.
Early settlers met with resistance from the local Aboriginal people. In 1834 this resulted in the Battle of Pinjarra, one of Australia’s worst recorded massacres.
In 1974 Alcoa established a major alumina refinery in the area greatly increasing the population of Pinjarra and nearby Mandurah on the coast.
We’d often pass through the town heading south but hadn’t stopped to explore for many years. It was an easy drive from Perth to Pinjarra on the Forrest Highway.
the evandale complex
Arrived at the well sign posted Evandale Complex, a group of buildings once belonging to the McLarty family. We parked and headed off to the first building. The garden above faces the main road into the town and is in front of the old school master’s house and the school. The school master’s house is now the home of the Murray Districts Historical Society.
The garden at the front of the School Master’s house is mainly planted with roses, including this stunner. Unfortunately, there’s no labels or site maps identifying the names of the roses. A site map for the entire complex would have been so useful! The lady in the shop thought they had one, but couldn’t find it.
Beautiful, well established roses and no signs of chili thrip!
Classic country school, designed by George Temple Poole (1856 -1934). He was responsible for designing many public buildings in Western Australia including Post Offices, Courthouses, Police Stations, Hospitals, the original Art Gallery in Perth, the original Museum, the Swan Brewery (now offices, apartments and a restaurant.) There are schools just like this one all over the state.
There’s more information about Temple Poole’s public buildings on this blog about Beverley, another old settlement in Western Australia. https://www.makecookgrow.com/2019/08/visiting-beverley-western-australia/
This spacious and fully restored four room school building is now the home of a group of patchworkers. Many of their beautiful works are for sale. There’s also interesting photos on the wall showing groups of former school children.
Autumn began eight weeks ago in the southern hemisphere, but this was the first real sign for me! Bulbs germinating in a garden bed near the carpark. Lovely.
The Art Gallery featuring works by local artists. This building, Liveringa, was built in the 1860s and is one of two homesteads on the property.
I did as directed: I drank coffee! Did I do stupid things? Not saying.
The museum is absolutely full of fascinating relics from another era when so many things were made at home. This is an Aladdin’s cave of treasures. Much of the machinery on display is still in working order. Most of the collection originated in the local district. We were accompanied throughout the workshop by a guide. She was so well informed and interesting.
Onto the shop featuring arts and crafts made by locals. Lots of treasures.
The shop and on the right, the end of the meeting room adjoining a big pottery area. So many areas for craft men and women to work, store their materials and display their products. So many interesting crafts people working at this site.
The original homestead built in 1888 and featuring wide verandas to protect the rooms from the harsh sunlight. It is now set up as tearooms. The rest of the building seemed to be storage and more meeting rooms. There are more tables at the back of the house, too.
This is the tearooms. It is where we had lunch, sitting outdoors overlooking a beautifully maintained garden leading up to the main road. There was a light breeze and it was pretty and peaceful.
I enjoyed a very good traditional quiche with not traditional chili dipping sauce.
My husband settled for a pot of tea and a scone with jam and cream which he really enjoyed. There is a limited menu with salad rolls and sandwiches, pies, cakes, hot chips and the wonderful quiche.
Then we set off to look around the town. I enjoyed visiting the new shopping centre. My husband sat in the car and read the paper.
Other buildings of interest include the old post office, on the main street, another Poole designed building. There’s several cafes offering lunch and snacks, some of the usual fast food places and some interesting shops along the main street.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Australian Alps get more snow than the Swiss Alps.
Eighty percent of Australians live on the coast of Australia.
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