Armadale

Armadale is at the end of the line for the railway, a small farming town inland from Perth. The land was always good for farming, but being heavily wooded it was hard work and expensive to clear. So it wasn’t until the Gold Rush, when money started flowing into the community from the miners buying their supplies, that the clearance really got underway.

Of course we headed to the Museums as being the best source of information about the town’s history. It was interesting to note that the first form of local government established to build roads and improve drainage etc for the community, was a trust with the local land owners being the trustees. In order to pay for the improvements it was necessary to levy a rate, but the only people able to pay it were the land owning Trustees who naturally weren’t very keen, so they didn’t raise very much.
Things didn’t really improve until the state took over and established proper offices with responsibilities for these things.

The Visitor and Information Centre was next to the old Telegraph Office, which of course is on the opposite side of town from the more recent railway station.