Dongara Townsite

Child Places

• 01212 St John the Baptist Anglican Church
• 01229 Priory Lodge and Grounds
• 01229 Priory Lodge and Grounds
• 01228 Brennand's Shop (fmr)
• 01223 Backwater
• 01222 Delmage Cottage
• 01230 Russ Cottage
• 01227 Irwin Roads Board Office (fmr) inc 2 Moreton Bay Fig Trees
• 01222 Delmage Cottage
• 01238 WA Bank & Quarters (fmr)
• 11817 Dongara War Memorial & Memorial Park
• 01224 Pearse House (fmr)
• 01213 Catholic Presbytery (fmr)
• 01231 The White House
• 01225 Dongara Hotel
• 01235 Dongara Police Station, Courthouse & Gaol (fmr)
• 04367 Moreton Terrace & Point Leander Drive Fig Trees
• 01228 Brennand's Shop (fmr)
• 01210 Royal Steam Roller Flour Mill
• 01225 Dongara Hotel
• 01223 Backwater
• 01227 Irwin Roads Board Office (fmr) inc 2 Moreton Bay Fig Trees
• 01236 Dongara Post Office & Quarters (fmr)
• 01230 Russ Cottage

Values

· Dongara Townsite is a relatively intact example of a townsite with extant fabric demonstrating its development from the mid-1850s through to the present (2012).
· The elements throughout the Dongara Townsite, individually and collectively, demonstrate the way of life associated with the establishment and survival of a small regional town centre from the 1850s, and form a significant cultural environment.
· The place is likely to contain substantial archaeological deposits relating to the lengthy occupation and development of the town with the ability to provide information about life in the region during the nineteenth century and more importantly change through time.
· The place is rare as a relatively intact townsite with a lengthy occupation, and which grew and developed organically as opposed to those that grew largely in response to accommodate an influx of workers from a specific industry.
· The elements within the townsite, many of which are in the Victorian Georgian architectural style, form a relatively cohesive and aesthetically pleasing collection of regional dwellings and commercial properties.

History

In 1852, 100-acre agricultural blocks were surveyed in the district of Irwin and the townsite of Dongara was surveyed on the north bank of the lower Irwin River. The first agricultural blocks were taken up in 1859, when there was no more land available in the settled Greenough district twenty miles away. Within a decade, seventy-one surveyed blocks had been occupied. The district was serviced by shipping at nearby Port Denison, at the mouth of the Irwin River. In 1865, John Smith established a flour mill on Location 688, on the south side of the Irwin, opposite the Dongara townsite, and a hotel was built in the town shortly after (P1225 Dongara Hotel). In the 1860s, the Greenough and Irwin districts grew rapidly, having the highest rate of population growth in Western Australia, with the 1870 census showing 1,557 inhabitants. In 1870-71, Dongara acquired a school ([Site of] P12316 Dongara School), police station and courthouse (P1235 Dongara Police Station, Courthouse & Gaol (fmr)), and a post office (P1236 Dongara Post Office & Quarters (fmr)).

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.