Day 185, Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 & Day 186, Thursday, 1 October, 2009

Northampton

We are enjoying two days rest and relaxation in a nice country town called Northampton.

European history of Northampton dates back to 1842  with the discovery of lead and copper deposits and the town lays claim to having the first lead mine in Australia. Originally named 'The Mines' the town was renamed in 1871 to honour Western Australia’s then governor, John Stephen Hampton as well as forging a link with Northampton in England. (We are staying at the Hampton Rose B&B).

At the time mining commenced it cost more to ship the ore by wagon between Northampton and the Port of Geraldton than it did to ship the ore to England. In 1879 this inbalance led to the West Australian government constructing the state’s first public railway between Geraldton and Northampton. It took 5 years to complete the 50 kms of track and the railway continued to run until its closure in 1957.

Northampton now acts as a service town for farms in the surrounding area.

Northampton is a plastic bag free town and we now are the proud owners of a string bag.

Zoom into the map and use the 'Satellite' layer to see our new location.

Northampton Railway Station - but there are no longer any rails!

Hampton Gardens

Look what we found and posted home!

Bicycle parking facilities at Hampton Rose B&B

The Convent now offers Backpackers accomodation

St Mary in Ara Coeli Catholic Church - part of the Monsignor Hawes Historical Trail. More about this in the coming days.

St Mary in Ara Coeli Catholic Church - the church is built from raw natural stone

Inside St Mary in Ara Coeli Catholic Church

Hampton Street, Northampton

Hampton Street, Northampton

Hampton Street, Northampton

Can you spell 'Moter' like this?

Previous Report

Next Report

Top