|
Ravensthorpe is a town 541 km south-east of Perth, 40 km inland from the south coast of Western Australia. It is the seat of government of the Shire of Ravensthorpe. At the , Ravensthorpe had a population of 438. == Overview == In 1848, the area was surveyed by Surveyor General John Septimus Roe who named many of the geographical features nearby, including the nearby Ravensthorpe Range that the town is named after. The area was first settled by the Dunn brothers during 1868.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Welcome to the Shire of Ravensthorpe )〕 The Dunn brothers brought sheep farming to the area in 1871 when George and John Dunn drove a herd from Albany to the area they had established earlier. They were awarded a land grant in 1873 of . Another of the Dunn brothers, James Dunn discovered gold at Annabel Creek and was awarded a claim by the government. More profitable discoveries followed in 1900 that resulted in a boom. The population climbed to over 1000 and by 1901 the government gazetted the town of Ravensthorpe.〔''Western Australian Government Gazette'', file 6158/00, 9 January 1901, p.195.〕 The government completed construction of a copper and gold smelter about 2 km south east of the town in 1906, used to cast copper and gold ingots. At its peak of production the smelter employed over 120 men, the now disused smelter is still there and is surrounded by massive piles of tailings waste. The area continued to prosper and the population grew accordingly, by 1909 the population was over 3000. The prosperity was short-lived; World War I took its toll on the town and by 1918 the local copper smelter had closed and many of the copper and gold mines had closed. There was also one of the Western Australian Government Railways isolated branch lines between Hopetoun and Ravensthorpe, the line opened in 1909. After the war Ravensthorpe survived servicing the farming in the district. Agriculture in the area began to grow following the great depression and pastoral land releases occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops. The town is a receival site for Cooperative Bulk Handling.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=CBH receival sites )〕 A bulk wheat bin was constructed in the town in 1947 capable of holding over 30,000 bushels. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ravensthorpe, Western Australia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|