Northam is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, situated at the confluence of the Avon and Mortlock Rivers. It is the largest town and regional centre in the Avon Valley region of the Central Wheatbelt. It is located approximately 97 kilometres (60 miles) north east of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. At the time of the 2021 census, Northam had a population of 6,679.
History The area around Northam was first explored in 1830 by a party of colonists led by Ensign Robert Dale, and subsequently founded in 1833. It was named by Governor Stirling, probably after a village of the same name in Devon, England. Almost immediately it became a point of departure for explorers and settlers who were interested in the lands which lay to the east.
This initial importance declined with the growing importance of the nearby towns of York and Beverley, but the arrival of the railway made Northam the major departure point for prospectors and miners heading east towards the goldfields.
The town has had three newspapers over the years, all now defunct, namely The Northam Advertiser, Northam Courier, and the Northam News.
A number of older buildings have heritage significance and still serve the community.
Camps and centres
Northam Migrant Accommodation Centre During the 1940s and 1950s in Northam there were extensive camps for displaced persons and immigrants from continental Europe.
The Northam Migrant Accommodation Centre closed in September 1951. It had been the first place of residence in Western Australia for approximately 15,000 immigrants from the Baltic states, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Belarus and Bulgaria.See for example, a biographical account of a migrant at the Northam Accommodation Centre During the peak immigration period, Northam had the largest immigrant receiving facilities within the State and the third largest in Australia. By 1950, the camp housed 4,000 people and two new blocks of huts were built to accommodate them all. By May 1954, 23,000 migrants had passed through the Northam Camp once the Accommodation Centre had closed. A significant number of these post-war arrivals eventually settled in the Northam area.
Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre On 18 October 2010 the Yongah Hill (YHIDC) centre was announced as being established at the former Northam Army Training Camp. It was not opened until early 2012, however, and, after it was downsized from the original 1500 expected occupancy, talk of expansion has been happening.
It is run by Serco for the Department of Home Affairs.
Australian Border Force officers are also present at the centre.
In September 2018 a riot broke out at the centre and some buildings were set on fire, after a detainee was reportedly found in his cell injured after a suicide attempt. The detainee, who was a refugee, later died.
Also in September 2018, a guard was alleged to have sexually assaulted a detainee.
Geography The town and hinterland of Northam are located in the Avon Valley - so named after the Avon River. It has periodically flooded, and man-made banks protect the town from flooding. The Avon is a name commonly used by organisations, newspapers and sporting groups.
The river is spanned by a pedestrian suspension bridge; long, it is the longest such bridge in Australia.
Burlong Pool a pool just south of the town was known as the Burlong swimming pool, and in the 1890s the location of the source of water for the Goldfields water trains.
Climate Northam has a hot-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters.
Significant weather events A severe thunderstorm lashed the town and surrounding areas on 27 January 2011 resulting in roofs being ripped off, trees being uprooted and power lines being brought down. About 50 houses were damaged in the town as a result of the storm but no injuries were reported.
A flash flood occurred in the town and surrounding areas on 2 March 2021, with 40 millimetres of rainfall occurring in just half an hour. This resulted in many houses being damaged, as well as the Jubilee oval flooding, leaving silt all over the busy road of Peel Terrace.
Government Originally, the town and surrounding area was split into two municipalities, the Town of Northam handling the affairs of the town, and the Shire of Northam which also manages other towns, such as Bakers Hill and Wundowie. After 53 years of debates and failed attempts, the two councils finally merged as of 1 July 2007 to form a conglomerate council, simply known as the Shire of Northam.
The public sector is a large employer for residents of Northam and surrounding areas. The town of Northam is the main regional centre for the Central Wheatbelt region, and as such many local and state government departments operate out of the town.
Services Australia operates a Centrelink office in the town.
Tourism Northam has a number of tourist attractions, including hot air ballooning, wineries, cafes and restaurants, museums, hotels and motels.
Transport Northam railway station is served by Transwa's AvonLink, MerredinLink and Prospector rural train services.Timetables Transwa Northam is connected to Perth via coach services N3 and N5.
Railways
Northam is a major railway junction, and serves as the commercial centre for much of the western Wheatbelt. The dual gauge Eastern Railway terminates here and becomes the standard gauge Eastern Goldfields Railway. Narrow gauge radiates both south of the town to York and beyond (Great Southern Railway), and north to Goomalling, another rural railway junction.
Original railway station The original station on Fitzgerald Street was opened in 1900 and closed in 1966 when the new Eastern Railway route became operational.Breath of life for old railway station Avon Valley Advocate 11 September 2006
The layout of the pre-1966 narrow gauge railway also had a busy junction at East Northam; this was removed on the completion of the new standard gauge railway.
Avon Yard The Western Australian Government Railways originally created it as the Avon Marshalling Yard, and more recent operators in the yards such as Australian Railroad Group have named it the Avon Yard.
Airport and roads
Education
Northam has three public primary schools, a public high school, and a TAFE campus. It also has a private Catholic school, St Josephs which conducts classes from Kindergarten to Year 12, across two campuses.
Primary School The original Northam Primary School was established in 1890, making it one of the states oldest primary schools. The current school opened in 1978 replacing the original structure, it is located on Duke Street. It was the first primary school of the area and has approximately over 300 students. West Northam Primary School is located on Habgood Street and has approximately 140 students. Avon Vale Primary School opened in 1954. It is located on Hutt Street and has approximately 140 students.
High School Northam Senior High School is the public high school for the area. It is one of the oldest high schools in the state, opening in 1921. The main building is heritage listed, though the campus has had renovations and further additions added to it in 1986, 1996 and 2015 It has approximately 715 students. In Semester 2, 2020 the school became an Independent Public School. It has several specialized programs to meet the diverse needs of its students, such as the Big Picture Program, Clontarf Foundation, Wirrpanda Foundation, Deadly Sista Girlz and others. The school not only intakes students from the town of Northam, but also Year 10-12 students from the surrounding District High Schools, including the surrounding towns of Toodyay, York, Beverley, Goomalling and others. It also has a college for students that board that are from remote communities, Northam Residential College.
Private Education Saint Josephs is a private Catholic school, with two campuses in Northam. It has approximately 600 students and teaches from Kindergarten to Year 12. The primary school campus, located on Lance Street, teaches students Kindergarten to Year 6. The high school campus, located on Wellington Street East, teaches students Year 7 to Year 12. This campus was opened in 1889 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition, while the Marist Brothers opened the Saint Pauls school in 1948 and 1971 before merging the schools together.
Tertiary Education Northam has a TAFE campus, previously known as the C. Y. O'Connor Institute. It has since been merged with other regional TAFEs and trades under Central Regional TAFE.
Northam is also home to the Muresk Institute, one of Western Australia's leading tertiary educators for agriculture.
Sport Association Football (Soccer) has been played in Northam since just after World War Two. Due to the many European immigrants living at the Holden Camp a league was formed comprising nine teams from Northam and one from Wundowie. Many of the teams were based on ethnicity such as: Italian; Dutch; Polish; Hungarian; Romanian; Yugoslav; Austrian; German and Bulgarian. In recent years, Northam United FC was a men's team whilst Northam Springfield FC is a children's football club in its tenth season (2021). Springfield play in the winter against their rivals Toodyay Junior Soccer Club.
Northam has some very committed sporting teams. Australian rules football is an obsession with many of the people of Western Australia. Northam has two teams that play in the Avon Football Association competition, Federals and Railways.
Field and indoor hockey, cricket, and netball also attract significant numbers of players and spectators. Individual sports such as tennis and cycling including BMX are also popular.
The BMX State Championships were held in Northam in 2003 with 3,000 competitors and spectators attending the event for over a week with Northam competitors showing their dominance in the sport in the state. Three local riders who participated in this event (Dale Reynolds – then ranked 3WA for 18 Men's, Chris Marris – then ranked 1WA for 18 Men's, and Kyle Martin – then ranked 4WA for 18 Men's) have subsequently completed cross country rides from Adelaide to Perth demonstrating the interest in cycling in Northam.
Steve Fossett became the first person to fly around the world alone, non-stop, in a hot air balloon when he launched from Northam on 19 June 2002, and returned to Australia on 3 July, landing in Queensland.
In July 2016 Russian adventurer and balloon pilot Fedor Konyukhov took off from Northam airfield to attempt a solo nonstop round the world balloon flight. He completed his circumnavigation, covering , in 11 days, 4 hours and 20 minutes, beating Fossett's record by 52 hours.
Between 1952 and 1956 several motor racing events were held using streets within the town. The first circuit used was on the south side of the Avon River, but this was considered too dangerous, so a new circuit was built in 1956 on the north side of the river.
Thoroughbred horse racing is held at Northam Racecourse by the Northam Race Club.Northam Race Club Website Northam Race Club Inc The track held its first race in 1863 and has about 22 race meetings during the year.
The town is also home to harness racing and greyhound racing.
Events The town of Northam is home to several iconic Western Australian events and activities.
The Avon Descent is an annual, two-day white water river race that begins in Northam, and travels 124 km down the Avon River, into the Swan River before finishing in Bayswater. It occurs each year in August, and allows both power craft and paddle craft.