The main street of Quairading with the Shire Office at the far end

Quairading
A typical wheatbelt town
Located 163 km east of Perth and 249 m above sea level, Quairading is a very typical wheatbelt town with the mandatory wheat silos, railway siding, large old hotel and small number of shops servicing the surrounding farmers.

It is likely that the first European settler into the area was Stephen Parker (see York) who used a selection near Dangin Springs (to the west of the town) to graze sheep. However it wasn¹t until 1859 that Edward Parker, Stephen¹s son, moved into the area to clear land and try and wrest a living from the soil. By 1863 Parker had a track from York to Dangin and was progressively clearing the land in the area.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans Dangin Springs (the name is probably the local Aboriginal word for a needle bush which grows in the area) was a meeting ground for the local Aborigines. It was common for up to 800 Aborigines to camp at the springs.

Like so much of the wheatbelt very little happened between the 1860s and the 1890s when the government¹s Homestead Act encouraged the acquisition of small plots of land. This was later followed by the Conditional Purchase scheme of 1898 which encouraged farmers to take up small holdings on the understanding that they would clear and fence the property they acquired.

Around this time Jonah Parker (son of Edward) decided to subdivide his property and make Dangin a kind of private townsite. The town was gazetted in 1902 but it was totally surrounded by Parker land and residents had to enter through a gate. Parker was a good teetotal Methodist and Dangin became one of the few towns in Australia to have a Temperance Hotel. Surely a contradiction in terms.

The town of Quairading didn¹t come into existence until 1905 when a man named Jim Caldow opened a store in the bush. The tiny settlement was gazetted in 1907 and when the rail arrived in 1908 it was ensured the position of the major centre in the region. Its success may also have had something to do with the fact that Œdry¹ Dangin was hardly attracting people to its teetotal environment.

The name Quairading is probably a corruption of the Aboriginal word ŒKwirading¹ which supposedly meant Œthe home of the small bush kangaroo¹.

Things to see:  

The Home of Natural Wood Sculpture
The major attraction in the area is ŒThe Home of Natural Wood Sculpture¹ located 22 km northeast of Quairading and founded by the late Ian Wills who had the idea of creating sculptures from unusual shapes of wood emphasising the grain and knottiness of the wood.

Cubbine
Of the town¹s historical attractions (all of which are presented in great detail on the Quairading District Heritage Trail brochure) the most interesting are Toapin Weir (12 km northwest of the town) and the old homestead ŒCubbine¹ (17 km north of the town).

Toapin Weir was developed to catch the rainwater runoff from Toapin Rock and then reticulate it to the nearby farms. Constructed in 1912 it is an interesting variation of the water gathering techniques used throughout the wheatbelt. See the entries on Merredin and Hyden.

ŒCubbine¹, located on the western side of Cubbine Road which runs off the Cunderdin Road was originally owned by Alexander Forrest and although he never lived there his son Kimberley Forrest moved to the old property in 1910.

Mount Stirling
The most popular natural attraction is Mount Stirling, 35 km northeast on the Kellerberrin Road, which is a large granite outcrop providing panoramic views over the surrounding countryside and with good picnic facilities for the visitor.

There is an excellent book available on the history of the area titled The Big Q: a history of Quairading & its surrounding district by Juliet Ludbrook.

	Motels
	Quairading Motel 55 Jennaberring Rd Quairading WA 6383 Telephone: (08) 9645 1054 Rating: **
	Hotels
	Quairading Hotel 43 Heal St Quairading WA 6383 Telephone: (08) 9645 1220
	Caravan Parks
	Quairading Caravan Park McLennan St Quairading WA 6383 Telephone: (08) 9645 1001 Rating: **
	Restaurants
	Lesley's Deli & Diner 3 Heal St Quairading WA 6383 Telephone: (08) 9645 1237
	Quairading Hotel Restaurant 43 Heal St Quairading WA 6383 Telephone: (08) 9645 1220
	Quairading Motel Restaurant 55 Jennaberring Rd Quairading WA 6383 Telephone: (08) 9645 1054