In October 1836, The Surveyor General, John Septimus Roe, led an exploratory party through the district passing through a land of tall trees, scrubby land and thickets.  On October 25th Roe found a spring, probably the Mangowine Spring, which was later to be the focus of the first settlement in the area.

From 1845 onwards the export of sandalwood became an important part of the state's economy, and there was further exploration as the supply of sandalwood trees in the area was discovered.

The area remained undisturbed by Europeans until a further expedition in 1865 passed through the area and marked 'Noongarin Rock' on the map of Western Australia.  It was the first mention of "Nungarin".  No one knows what the word was supposed to mean in the language of the local Aborigines but one plausible explanation is that is derived from 'nungoo' meaning 'to see' and therefore the Nungarin rock was the 'place of seeing'.

The first settler was Charles Adams who took up a grazing lease at Mangowine in 1872.  A wayside inn was established at Mangowine and served as an important stopping place during the Eastern Goldfields rush of the 1880's.

After 1909 the Civil Servants resettlement Scheme led to the general development of the Nungarin agricultural area.  The large leasehold properties, including Mangowine, were subdivided into wheat farms and the timber was cleared from the land.

The railway reached Nungarin on 28 August 1911 as part of the government's commitment to opening the Wheatbelt.  At that time the town was gazetted and a general store and boarding house were built.  The following year a school was constructed and agricultural machinery salesmen and contractors arrived to service the need of the farming community.  The town of Nungarin was now a reality.

After the outbreak of World War II, there arose a strategic need for an Army depot and workshop situated away from the coastal area, but accessible by road and rail from Perth.  Nungarin fulfilled all these requirements and construction began in 1943.  Twelve large storehouses were erected with a combined floor space of almost 400,000 square feet.  Other storage facilities, workshops, roads, railways and a power house were also constructed, and 12,000 troops were stationed in the town, including A.W.A.S.

McCorry's Old Hotel

The Historic McCorry's Old Hotel  opened on New Year's Eve 1912 and is being restored to original condition.  McCorry's offers comfortable and affordable accommodation, with double and twin share rooms.  Also available are powered sites for caravans - with bathrooms and full laundry facilities nearby.

McCorry - the Man

During the early eighteen eighties Herbert Lee Steere took over some of the grazing leases held by Adams (of Mangowine).  After a few years his property was taken over by Bill Leeder who in turn transferred it over to A.C. McCorry who built a house about a mile north of Nungarin, then called Noongarin.  Finally the land had to be relinquished for agricultural purposes in 1909.  McCorry afterwards applied for a hotel licence which was granted and so the first hotel was established in 1912 - McCorry's Old Hotel.

McCorry leased 300,000 acres at Nungarin - during his occupation he erected over a hundred miles of fencing, sank ten wells, constructed eight dams and built stables and necessary sheds at his head station Noongarin.  In 1907 it was reported that McCorry was running 4,000 sheep, 200 head of cattle and about 100 horses.  It was also reported that McCorry had expended over 9,000 pounds in improvements and that he constantly employed ten men.

     Post Office           

In 1897 Jane Adams, from Mangowine, successfully tendered for the fortnightly contract for the delivery of mail from Kellerberrin to Moujakine, Yarragin, Mangowine, Wattoning, Wilgoyne and Dandanning, the journey taking a week to complete.  The mailman was Charles Adams junior, who stayed with relatives en route.

 Nungarin was a fast developing, progressive community in the early days and in 1913 local settlers were awaiting the survey of the townsite which had been previously gazetted .  In March 1913, a sub-committee of the Progress Association met to choose sites for much sought after facilities including  an agricultural hall, a recreation reserve and other needed  public utilities.  At this meeting, it was decided, on the advice of the  secretary of the Merredin Road Board, to draw up a townsite plan to show all amenities – sites were set aside for a post office, state hotel, reserves and roads.

 Although there was an allowance post  office in 1911, a  local Post Office was opened early in 1913 and it was located in a section of the premises of G & W Duggan’s , and later in a section of E.H White’s store.  The mail service, however, was unsatisfactory, without either a permanent building or a postmaster, and requests were made to supply a permanent Post Office. 

 On 7th July 1923 the post office was made official, and the present day building was completed on January 6th , 1925 at a cost of ₤2,284 .

  Nungarin Hotel   

This federation style hotel was built in 1929 at a cost of 24,000 pounds for the Kalgoorlie Brewery and Ice Co. Ltd. The two storey hotel had fourteen rooms and staff accommodation for six.

 CWA   

The women folk of Nungarin first held meeting under the pretext of Women's Branches of the Pastoralists' Associations and letters from these organisations date back to 1916.  Their aims and objectives in those days were to improve conditions for the women of the country and to better educational conditions for the women and the children.  Later a movement was made to form the first branch of the Country Women's Association.  This Association had its formation in the rural districts of Ontario, Canada in 1897 and later spread to all parts of the British Commonwealth.

In 1924, Mrs Francis was elected the first president, Mrs Johnson the first secretary and Mrs Nichols the first treasurer.  Because of family commitments, a foundation member Mrs A. Williams was unable to take office.  Later she was to instigate CWA movements in Mukinbudin, Wilgoyne, Karloning, Wialki, and Bonnie Rock.  A feature of her organising was the Eastern Division Holiday Home established at South Beach. Fremantle.  During depression years Mrs Williams, her husband and helper would take up to sixty children for whom holidays would not normally be provided by the seaside.  Mrs Williams was made State President of the CWA in 1944, and in 1947 she filled the position of State International Officer.  Later Honorary Life Membership of the association was bestowed upon her.

Shire of Nungarin   

In April, 1932 the Nungarin Road District was divided into seven wards with one member to be elected from each ward to fill vacancies on the board.  The wards were Bonnie Rock, Wattoning, Wilgoyne, Lake Brown, Mangowine, Nungarin and Danberrin.  This was only fair as the districts to the north had developed considerably and needed more say in the affairs of the district.  It was a long way for Bonnyie Rock, Wattoning and Wilgoyne members to travel to Nungarin, so they began advocating a shift of the Road Board's Administrative Centre to Mukinbudin.  Dreading the thought of this and almost losing the cause the Nungarin people helped the northerners form a new Road Board in 1933.  On September 1st of that year parts of the Nungarin and Mount Marshall Road District were severed and annexed to form the Mukinbudin Road Board.  As a sequel to this the Nungarin Road District was forced to change  to four wards containing from one to two members each.  They were:  Mangowine Ward to have one member; Campion Ward to have one member; Nungarin Ward to have one member; and, Danberrin Ward to have two members.

The first president of the new Road Board was J Jolly, vice president was W.S. Hodges and secretary at the time was T Brown.  Shortly after formation of the new Board the Administrative building was erected in 1936 - which is now the CWA Building.

In 1961 the Nungarin Road Board changed its title to the Nungarin Shire Council and in 1968 the new Administrative building was completed.

Nungarin Primary School  

The Congregational Hall was the first Nungarin School with the first teacher being Miss Clarice M. Creagh.  Furniture and stock were sent up from the Wyalkatchem School and school work commenced in 1913.  A pavilion school, measuring 20' by 20' and costing 300 pounds was built in August 1918 when the number of children on roll guaranteed the erection of such a building.  By 1927 there were over forty children on the roll and the school was badly overcrowded.  In November of 1928 a two roomed school was erected at a cost of 900 pound, on the site of the present school, and approximately six months later Teachers' Quarters were erected at a cost of 680 pounds.  When numbers continued to increase a further room was added to the school in October 1952.

Anglican Church   

When settlers first desired to attend Church, services were held under shady trees and in bough sheds - the congregation improvising seats from logs or boxes.  Gradually the transition to more modern facilities took place and school buildings were used.  When the settlers were able to raise the money a church hall was erected.  Such halls were built at Nungarin and Burran Rock.

The first priest in Nungarin was the Anglican Minister, the Reverend Wolstenholme, first as a Congregational Minister and later reverting to his former church.  Wolstenholme did this because there were no Church of England parishes available for him when he first arrived here from England for health reasons.

Church services for people of the Church of England denomination were originally held in the little weatherboard hall, erected on the same site as the present church that was erected shortly after the opening of the district which served the needs of the people.  The present church, St Thomas the Apostle, was opened on 16th November,1955, some three years after the original building had been condemned.  Mr Sumpton was the Rector at the time of opening the new church in First Avenue, Nungarin.

Mangowine Homestead

Mangowine is an historic spot, having been noted as early as 1836 by Surveyor General  J.S. Roe when he explored the district in search of a reliable source of potable water.

By the end of the 1840's there were nearly 150,000 head of sheep in the colony as well as other stock.  Shepherds gradually pushed out in search of good pasture that was desperately needed to feed expanding flocks being grazed in the Avon Valley.

In 1869, Charles and Jane Adams moved to Yarragin where they grazed a flock of Henry Twine's sheep on a wool rental basis.  Water was still scarce and unreliable.  The Adams family eventually moved to Mangowine Spring in 1874.  Charles took over the grazing lease himself the following year.

Charles Adams arrived in Australia with his father, Thomas, in 1853.  Thomas came out as a pensioner guard on board the 'Pyrenees', and was later appointed as a special constable in the eastern settlements.  He settled at Barbalin where he used his skill as a smith and stonecutter to deepen and line the well there, and no doubt he also assisted his son in the construction of the nearby Mangowine Homestead.

Mangowine Homestead is made of stone and mud brick, with gimlet rafters and a thatched roof.  The floors were paved with broad smooth flagstones brought from the adjacent granite slopes.  No authentic record of the meaning of 'Mangowine' has been retained.

'Munga' or 'manga' is an Aboriginal word meaning nest, while 'gnow' or ngow' means mallee fowl and 'ine' means the place of.  It could be deduced that 'Mangowine' might mean 'the place of the mallee fowl' or 'place of the nest'.  Roe noted that mallee fowl were numerous in the area, and nearby Mt Grey resembles the shape of a mallee fowl's nest.

Jane Adams was the second daughter of Charles and Mary Glass who had come to the colony on board the 'Ameer' in February in 1849.  Jane and Charles were married in 1862, and had 2 daughters by the time they moved to Mangowine.  Two sons had earlier died in tragic circumstances, and another 8 children were to be born after the move.  Jane's parents and her brother, Alex. had settled at nearby Moujakine, and it was here that they discovered the first nugget of gold that led to the development of the Yilgarn gold fields in 1888. 

As prospecting parties travelled the track through Moujakine, Yarragin and Mangowine, the settlers at these homesteads shared in the activity and excitement of the gold rush.  Mangowine became a stopping place for meals and accommodation, and in 1889 Charles Adams applied for and was granted a Wayside Inn Licence.

In 1893, the rail link between Merredin and Perth was completed, and the Goldfields traffic was diverted from Mangowine.  Charles Adams had time to indulge his own interest in prospecting, and while away from home on one such trip, he suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 49.  His body was returned to Mangowine where he is buried along with one of his granddaughters.

Jane was left a widow with 9 children still at home, the youngest only 4 years of age.  To supplement the family income, Jane gained the contract for the fortnightly delivery of mail through Kellerberrin toMoujakine, Yarragin, Mangowine, Wattoning, Wilgoyne and Dandanning.  The mail run, which paid 135 a year, took a week to complete and was delivered by Jane's son Charles Jnr, who was only 15 years old at the time.

The Adams family was renowned for their riding skills and the annual Mangowine Picnic Races became a weeklong race meeting attracting people throughout the district.  The racecourse was on the flat land behind the homestead, and the race meeting was rounded off by a Ball held in the barn.

On October 6th, 1929, a block of land owned by Jane at Barbalin was resumed for the No. 1 District Water Supply Scheme.  Jane was guest honour at a dinner held in Nungarin that night to celebrate the opening, and the advent of a new era for the district with a reliable supply of water.

Jane died on the 9th of November, 1934, and is buried in the Nungarin Cemetery.

Mangowine Homestead is set in 10 ha of natural flora and has been restored as a monument to the pioneering Adams family, and to the early settlers of the district, to its original condition under the guidance of the National Trust.

Each room has been restored to its original condition and is filled with antiques and memorabilia from this era.  Mangowine is a historical Western Australian Treasure and one of the highlights of your visit to Nungarin.