A railway junction town on the Great Eastern Highway, 261km from Perth, Merredin derived great benefit from the influx of cashed-up miners who decided to resettle in the town after striking it rich on the productive goldfields around Kalgoorlie after the rush which began in 1892. Many stayed and invested their money in farming properties, and today Merredin is at the heart of WA’s wheat belt. But they haven’t forgotten the debt they owe to the railway built in the late 1800s to Kalgoorlie and beyond. Merredin is a major junction town with lines converging from north, south, east and west. Visitors should take a look at the Old Railway Station, now a museum, which was built from bricks salvaged from three original Kalgoorlie loop line stations in 1920. The locals claim these clay bricks contain traces of gold, but few have been 'requisitioned.' The museum plays host to G117, the steam engine built in 1897 for the Kalgoorlie Express service, and other railway relics from the gold rush days, including Merredin's original signal box.
A railway junction town on the Great Eastern Highway, 261km from Perth, Merredin derived great benefit from the influx of cashed-up miners who decided to resettle in the town after striking it rich on the productive goldfields around Kalgoorlie after the rush which began in 1892. Many stayed and invested their money in farming properties, and today Merredin is at the heart of WA’s wheat belt. But they haven’t forgotten the debt they owe to the railway built in the late 1800s to Kalgoorlie and beyond. Merredin is a major junction town with lines converging from north, south, east and west. Visitors should take a look at the Old Railway Station, now a museum, which was built from bricks salvaged from three original Kalgoorlie loop line stations in 1920. The locals claim these clay bricks contain traces of gold, but few have been 'requisitioned.' The museum plays host to G117, the steam engine built in 1897 for the Kalgoorlie Express service, and other railway relics from the gold rush days, including Merredin's original signal box.