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Dongara history and historical sites
Nestled on Arunine Bay are the old historical twin towns of Port
Denison and Dongara, the coastal contact for the Shire of Irwin.
In 1839, an expedition led by George Grey left the Swan River Colony
by ship, bound for the area north of the Murchison River. His boats
and supplies destroyed in a cyclone, his only alternative was a
gruelling 700km trek south to the colony.
Captain Grey and his party thus became the first Europeans to
traverse the Irwin District and note the extent of the lush pastoral
country in the Irwin Basin.
The Aboriginal people of this region (the Wattandee) saw the first
permanent European settlement of Irwin in 1850. In 1852, a townsite
was surveyed and named "Dhungarra" - a name given to the area by
local tribal natives to indicate a "meeting place of seals".
From this time on, the area gradually became settled. This progress
was understandably slow because of the distances involved and the
slowness of available means of transport. Unknown dangers played
their part in hindering settlement as in the case of the sailing
ship "Leander". In 1853, she struck the reef which now bears her
name. Commander, Captain Johnson, managed to run in and beach her on
the then uninhabited coast. The Captain and crew managed to reach Mr
Burges' property on the Upper Irwin.
By 1866, the small settlement was beginning to flex its community
muscle and a jetty was built at Port Irwin; at the same time, an Inn
was built, which is still in use today.
Finally, in 1871, the Irwin Road Board was formed. It stretched to
the South Australian border and covered 89,000 square miles. In its
early years, meetings were held in the Courthouse which was built
around the same time, along with a School and Police Station. This
progress continued as surely as the gradual growth of the majestic
trees lining the main street.
Please contact the Irwin District Historical Society for more
information on 99271323 or visit them at 5 Waldeck Street, Dongara.
Historical information courtesy of the Shire of Irwin Council.
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