Parkeston, Western Australia
Parkeston is a suburb of the city of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of the city centre. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 60,[1] down from 69 in 2006.[2]
Parkeston was gazetted as a townsite in 1904. It was almost certainly named after Sir Henry Parkes, the "father of Australian Federation".[note 1][3]
Railway
Parkeston is located near the western end of the Trans-Australian Railway. From 1917, the town was the interchange between the Western Australian Government Railways narrow gauge railway from Perth and the Commonwealth Railways' standard gauge railway to Port Augusta – a break of gauge that was not eliminated until 1970.[4]
The elevation at the railway sidings is 375 metres.[5]
Military history
During and after World War II, Parkeston was the location of a small prisoner-of-war transit and detention camp. It operated between June 1940 and March 1947 as a transit place for prisoners transiting across the country by rail, having a capacity of 20 internees in small cells.[6]
Notes
- The name was suggested in February 1901, a month after the federation of the Australian states. The Goldfields region was a strong supporter of federation, whereas much of the rest of Western Australia opposed it.
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Parkeston (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Parkeston (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- "Town names". Landgate. Western Australian Land Information Authority. 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- "Indian Pacific train turns 40". WA Today. theage.com.au. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- "Kalgoorlie". Topographic-map.com. 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- http://www.ozatwar.com/pow/parkestonpow.htm