York

York was settled in 1831, two years after the Swan River Colony itself, making it the oldest inland town in Western Australia, and the wheat and wool money of the nineteenth century built a main street that survives largely intact: the town hall of 1911, the Castle Hotel, the courthouse complex, banks and shopfronts in stone and brick with iron verandahs, the whole street classified by the National Trust. The Residency Museum and the courthouse complex, which includes cells and a gaol, are open to visitors. Mount Brown above town gives a view over the Avon Valley, and the river runs through with a suspension bridge and parkland alongside.

History

The Ballardong, a group of the Noongar, held this land before Europeans came. In the winter of 1830 Ensign Robert Dale, a 20-year-old officer of the 63rd Regiment, led the first party over the Darling Range into what became the Avon Valley, Governor Stirling judged the country the finest imaginable sheep land and opened it for selection on 11 November 1830, and the name was suggested in October 1830 by J. S. Clarkson for its likeness to his native Yorkshire. Dale brought the first settlers into the valley on 16 September 1831, a garrison of eight soldiers came in 1833, town lots went on sale from July 1835, and in July 1836 York had two houses, a barn, a barracks and some outhouses; later in the century it boomed as one of the last rail stops before the walk to the goldfields (Wikipedia, York, Western Australia).

What to look for

• The main street - a classified streetscape of 1850s to 1900s buildings.
• The courthouse complex - court, police station and cells open as a museum.
• The town hall - the 1911 building at the street's centre.
• Mount Brown - the lookout over the Avon Valley above town.

When to go

April to November; the wheatbelt is very hot from December to March. Wildflowers appear in the surrounding country from August to October. The York Motorcycle Festival and jazz festival fill particular weekends.

Practical notes

The town is small and quiet, and midweek many businesses are shut. Museums keep limited hours. Summer heat is severe and the valley offers little shade. It is an hour and a half from Perth on a road busy with trucks.

Nearby

Northam lies north; the Avon Valley and Toodyay are close.

Key facts