Bridge 598, Salt River Tributary, York-Merredin Road, Pantapin

Values

• The place is representative of the type of timber bridges constructed in the Wheatbelt during the 1930s and the subsequent ‘refurbishment’ of most of these in the latter part of the twentieth-century.
• It is probable the place represents an example of the use of sustenance labour for bridge construction in the Wheatbelt in the 1930s.
• It is probable the place represents government support for taking up agricultural land in the Wheatbelt from the 1900s to the 1930s as the gold boom subsided and the State’s population began to resettle in other areas, the key period for the establishment and expansion of the Wheatbelt.
• The place may represent the work of local governments in road bridge construction in the Wheatbelt.

Physical Description

Bridge 598, Salt River Tributary, York-Merredin Road, Pantapin comprises a road bridge with a timber superstructure on concrete abutments. The bridge measures 7 metres in length, and 8 metres in overall width. The bridge was constructed in 1935 and a concrete overlay was applied in 1986. White-painted timber and iron guard rails line both sides.

History

Pantapin is situated in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately 27 kilometres northeast of Quairading. The Wheatbelt region of Western Australia wraps around the north and east side of the metropolitan area, includes the Avon Valley, and extends from Jurien Bay in the northwest, Lake King in the southeast, and the Shire of Yilgarn in the east. The area is predominantly mixed farming, namely wheat and sheep.
Agricultural settlement of the region began in the Avon Valley in 1831 and, although a route from Perth to Albany was surveyed in 1830 it remained a sand track in the 1840s. In 1836 grazier Stephen Parker took up a selection at Dangin, 7 kilometres southwest of Quairading. However, it was not until 1859 that his son began to clear the land and establish the property. The town of Quairading was established in 1907 and the railway built in 1908. The area quickly developed with much of the land being taken up for farming.
Initially called Ulakain, Pantapin originated as a railway siding when the Quairading to Bruce Rock line went through 1913. The site for the town was subsequently surveyed and gazetted in 1914 as Ulakine, being changed to Pantapin in 1921.
After WWI British ex-service personnel were granted free passage to migrate to Australia. The result was almost 6 million hectares of land being set aside for the Soldier Settlement Scheme with the eastern Wheatbelt, and its network of railways, being identified as well-suited to this scheme.
Post-WWI agricultural production in the region continued to increase albeit suffering some setbacks during the Depression as seen elsewhere. In 1935 the Commonwealth Government announced that 1 million pounds would be made available for a national program of works directed at unemployment relief. Sustenance work was subsequently undertaken in the area including the raising of the wall at Toapin Weir.
According to the data held by Main Roads (Wheatbelt) Bridge 598, Salt River Tributary, York-Merredin Road, Pantapin was constructed in 1935.
Following WWII the region saw increased economic growth and stability and both the State and local governments invested in infrastructure. However by the 1970s many families were forced to leave the Quairading district due to the economic downturn.

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