Wheat harvesting near Mukinbudin

Mukinbudin
Typical wheatbelt township
Located 290 km north east of Perth and 310 m above sea level, Mukinbudin is a typical wheatbelt town with the mandatory railway siding, hotel with a few attached motel units, small shopping centre, local Shire Council which was once the Road Board, a sales yard for large wheat harvesting equipment, bulk loading facilities and silos standing out starkly against the flat wheatlands of the surrounding area.

Settlers moved into the area in the 1870s and 1880s and took up large leases in excess of 20 000 acres to run sheep. There were homesteads at Dandanning, Wattoning and Wilgoyne. It was a hard life. The rainfall was low and unreliable (average annual rainfall is only 289 mm) and the major problem was reliable water. By 1910 wheat was being grown and by 1922 the town had been gazetted. Mukinbudin didn't get its own council (Road Board) until 1933. It is the eastern limit of the north eastern railway line and consequently is the node for a large wheatbelt area.

Today the Mukinbudin Shire Council services a town with a population of about 400 people which, in turn, services a rural community of about 400 people. The nature of the agriculture in the area was neatly revealed by the 1981 census which found 931 people were living with 147 000 sheep.

Things to see:  

Typical countryside between Mukinbudin and Bencubbin

Attractions in the Area
There is little for the visitor in the area apart from the granite rock outcrops and the small uncleared areas (there is one on the way into town from Bencubbin) which are home to some spectacular wildflower displays (from May to October) and to some interesting fauna including wedgetail eagles, echidnas, emus, red kangaroos, mallee fowl and wild turkeys.

There is a small mine outside the town mining quartz and felspar.

Jindarra Caravan Park, located 90 km northeast of the town, promotes itself as a 'get away from the city traffic and pollution' holiday destination where picnics, bushwalking and spotting wildlife seem to be the major pastimes.

	Hotels
	Mukinbudin Hotel Shadbolt St Mukinbudin WA 6479 Telephone: (08) 9047 1133
	Caravan Parks
	Mukinbudin Caravan Park Cruikshank St Mukinbudin WA 6479 Telephone: (08) 9047 1103 Rating: **