Gascoyne Junction, Western Australia

File:Upper Gascoyne Road Board Office, July 2020 04.jpg

The town is named for its position at the junction of the Gascoyne and Lyons Rivers. The Gascoyne River was named by the explorer Lieutenant George Grey in 1839 after his friend, Captain J. Gascoyne (RN).

A police station was built in about 1897, and settlers asked the Government to declare a townsite. By 1909, a general store and other buildings had been erected on private land, and in 1912, the Government finally acceded to the request, naming the town "Killili" after a local Aboriginal word meaning "bullrush" following the Surveyor General's request for a "euphonious native name". For many years, the police station, road board (1912) and hotel were the only buildings in the area, and in 1938, the Roads Board complained about the name, saying that "Gascoyne Junction" and "The Junction" were the names in common use, and asking the Lands Department to "expunge" the name of Killili. The name was changed and gazetted in 1939.{{LandInfo WA|c|G|2007-01-17}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article76078744 |title=Gascoyne Junction townsite |newspaper=Northern Times |volume=XXXI |issue=1852 |location=Western Australia |date=21 April 1939 |accessdate=30 September 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}

The local road board office, now a heritage-listed site, was used as a meeting place for local associations, and later as the first school in the area (1960–1965) and, since the late 1990s, as a museum.{{cite web|url=http://www.heritage.wa.gov.au/register/PDF_Files/U-Z%20-%20A-D/Upper%20Gas%20Rd%20Bd%20Off%20(I-AD).PDF |title=Register of Heritage Places - Upper Gascoyne Road Board Office (fmr) |author=Heritage Council of WA |accessdate=2006-11-15 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823182914/http://heritage.wa.gov.au/register/PDF_Files/U-Z+-+A-D/Upper+Gas+Rd+Bd+Off+(I-AD).PDF |archivedate=2006-08-23 |url-status=dead }} The town's population has been stable since the 1950s.

Gascoyne Junction is now a centre for mining, pastoral and desert merino fine wool industries, and serves as a gateway to nearby attractions such as Mount Augustus National Park and Kennedy Range National Park. The town contains the Shire of Upper Gascoyne Council Office, the Junction Pub and Tourist Park, Gascoyne Junction Community Resource Centre & Visitor Information Centre. The Community Resource Centre is an agency for Australia Post, the Western Australia Department of Transport, Services Australia and local library. The Junction Pub & Tourist Park provides a variety of accommodation, a pub and roadhouse with both diesel and unleaded fuel. Picnic and playground facilities with BBQ are available in Federation Park surrounding the Town Pavilion. In late 2021 a Visitor Stop {{update after |2021 |text=will be finished welcoming visitors to the town, creating an outdoor museum and amphitheatre.}}{{cite web|url=https://www.uppergascoyne.wa.gov.au/news/the-gascoyne-junction-visitor-stop-construction-commences/7|title=The Gascoyne Junction Visitor Stop Construction Commences|publisher=Shire of Upper Gascoyne|date=17 February 2021|access-date=21 September 2021}}

It was reported to be the least religious place in Australia, with 66.5 per cent of the population stating that they had no religion in the 2016 Census.{{cite news|url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/australias-most-religious-and-nonreligious-postcodes-based-on-who-answered-the-census-question-regarding-religion/news-story/042c449215ccb62dbb549a3905ca123e |title=Australia's most religious and non-religious postcodes based on who answered the Census question regarding religion |author1=Matt Young |author2=Charis Chang |date=7 July 2017|newspaper=News.com.au |publisher=News Pty Limited |access-date= 31 August 2019}}

Power is supplied by Horizon Power, who run a diesel power station in the town. The town supplies its own water from bores, which is treated by the Water Corporation. The Carnarvon–Mullewa Road, which passes through the town, is sealed between Carnarvon and Gascoyne Junction; a ceremony to mark the reconstruction of the last section was held on 20 May 2011. Australia Post services the region with private contractors, who also deliver petroleum and cargo.{{cite web|url=http://www.gdc.wa.gov.au/uploaddocs/2006%20gascoyne%20economic%20perspective.pdf|title=Gascoyne Economic Perspective (2006)|author=Gascoyne Development Commission|accessdate=2006-11-15|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017161027/http://www.gdc.wa.gov.au/uploaddocs/2006%20gascoyne%20economic%20perspective.pdf|archivedate=2006-10-17}}{{cite web|url=https://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/BuildingRoads/Projects/CompletedProjects/2013/Pages/Carnarvon-MullewaRoad.aspx|title=Carnarvon–Mullewa Road|publisher=Main Roads Western Australia|date=3 September 2014|accessdate=1 October 2015}}

A new Remote Community School was opened in 2005 for kindergarten through year 12, with high school and some TAFE classes being provided through the School of Isolated and Distance Education. It replaces an earlier school going back to 1960, and its students have historically used the Carnarvon School of the Air program. Many of the students are of Indigenous origin.Information sourced from [http://www2.eddept.wa.edu.au/schoolprofile/home.do Education Department portal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028070438/http://www2.eddept.wa.edu.au/schoolprofile/home.do |date=2007-10-28 }}, accessed 2006-11-15 The nearest TAFE facility is in Carnarvon, and the nearest university courses are offered at Carnarvon High School through Open Universities Australia, and through Pilbara TAFE in Karratha and Port Hedland, which offer some Curtin University courses through the Centre for Regional Education.

{{see also|December 2010 Gascoyne River flood}}

Evacuation was required due to the Gascoyne River floods of late December 2010.{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/22/3099473.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224094643/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/22/3099473.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 December 2010|title=Carnarvon residents still unable to return home|newspaper=ABC News|date=22 December 2010}} This significant flood event saw the destruction of the town's original pub The Junction Hotel. It was originally constructed in 1906 as the general store.

Gascoyne Junction has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWh), with very hot summers and mild winters. It holds the Australian record for the hottest Christmas day of {{convert|48.3|C}}, set in 1997.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2003/s1015670.htm|title=Queensland to bake on Christmas Day|work=AM|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=24 December 2003|accessdate=11 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104034004/http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2003/s1015670.htm|archive-date=4 November 2009}}

{{Weather box

| location = Gascoyne Junction

| open = yes

| metric first = yes

| single line = yes

| Jan record high C = 48.6

| Feb record high C = 49.2

| Mar record high C = 46.9

| Apr record high C = 44.2

| May record high C = 38.5

| Jun record high C = 32.5

| Jul record high C = 32.1

| Aug record high C = 36.2

| Sep record high C = 39.6

| Oct record high C = 44.0

| Nov record high C = 45.0

| Dec record high C = 48.3

| year record high C =

| Jan high C = 40.7

| Feb high C = 39.7

| Mar high C = 37.4

| Apr high C = 32.8

| May high C = 27.7

| Jun high C = 23.8

| Jul high C = 23.0

| Aug high C = 24.9

| Sep high C = 28.3

| Oct high C = 32.2

| Nov high C = 35.2

| Dec high C = 38.7

| year high C =

| Jan low C = 23.8

| Feb low C = 24.4

| Mar low C = 22.5

| Apr low C = 18.6

| May low C = 13.8

| Jun low C = 10.5

| Jul low C = 9.3

| Aug low C = 10.0

| Sep low C = 12.0

| Oct low C = 15.3

| Nov low C = 18.1

| Dec low C = 21.3

| year low C =

| Jan record low C = 15.5

| Feb record low C = 15.6

| Mar record low C = 13.0

| Apr record low C = 8.3

| May record low C = 3.9

| Jun record low C = 2.4

| Jul record low C = 1.4

| Aug record low C = 1.3

| Sep record low C = 4.4

| Oct record low C = 6.1

| Nov record low C = 8.9

| Dec record low C = 14.0

| year record low C =

| Jan rain mm = 23.0

| Feb rain mm = 30.9

| Mar rain mm = 29.5

| Apr rain mm = 13.9

| May rain mm = 27.6

| Jun rain mm = 31.1

| Jul rain mm = 26.4

| Aug rain mm = 11.7

| Sep rain mm = 2.9

| Oct rain mm = 4.5

| Nov rain mm = 3.4

| Dec rain mm = 4.4

| year rain mm =

| Jan rain days = 2.9

| Feb rain days = 3.6

| Mar rain days = 2.7

| Apr rain days = 2.2

| May rain days = 3.7

| Jun rain days = 4.7

| Jul rain days = 4.3

| Aug rain days = 2.7

| Sep rain days = 1.1

| Oct rain days = 1.0

| Nov rain days = 0.9

| Dec rain days = 0.9

| year rain days =

| time day = 3pm

| Jan humidity = 20

| Feb humidity = 24

| Mar humidity = 24

| Apr humidity = 29

| May humidity = 34

| Jun humidity = 42

| Jul humidity = 40

| Aug humidity = 33

| Sep humidity = 25

| Oct humidity = 21

| Nov humidity = 20

| Dec humidity = 18

| year humidity =

| source = Bureau of Meteorology{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_006022_All|site_name=Gascoyne Junction|accessdate=7 February 2025}}

}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/search/product.htm?ID=9004467 Gascoyne Junction] (WA Tourism)
• [http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_006022.shtml Gascoyne Junction - Climate] (Bureau of Meteorology)

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{{Towns Gascoyne WA}}

Category:Towns in Western Australia

Category:Shire of Upper Gascoyne