Mingenew, Western Australia

Mingenew was named after Mingenew Spring, an Aboriginal word recorded by European settlers in 1856,{{LandInfo WA|c|M|2008-05-03}} possibly deriving from either the words Minga nu "the place of many ants and flies" or Mininoo "the place of many waters".Shire of Mingenew [http://www.mingenew.wa.gov.au/] 15 January 2011 Mingenew and the surrounding Irwin District were first explored by the brothers Augustus Charles and Francis Thomas Gregory in August 1847, looking for suitable grazing land. Settlement of the district then occurred in the 1850s because it was ideal country for cattle. The Midland railway line opened in August 1891, and private land was subdivided, followed in 1906 by subdivision of government land. In 1906, the town of Mingenew was gazetted.File:Mingenew 1920s panorama.jpg

File:Mingenew Panorama.png

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Today, the town's economy is based on the farming of sheep, wheat and lupins.{{cite news |title=Mingenew |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/Western-Australia/Mingenew/2005/02/17/1108500208299.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=6 November 2007 |access-date=2008-05-03}}

Mingenew is known as The Grain Centre. The Mingenew grain facility (CBH, Co-operative Bulk Handling) is recognised as the largest inland grower fed receival site{{cite web|url=https://www.cbh.com.au/media/120302/cbh%20receival%20sites%20-%20contact%20details.pdf |title=CBH receival sites |year=2011 |access-date=1 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318082458/https://www.cbh.com.au/media/120302/cbh%20receival%20sites%20-%20contact%20details.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2012 }} facility in the Southern Hemisphere, with a holding capacity of 403,000 tons.{{Cite web |url=http://www.wildflowercountry.com.au/default.asp?documentid=34 |title=Western Australia's Wildflower Country Mingenew |access-date=16 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706113445/http://www.wildflowercountry.com.au/default.asp?documentid=34 |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status=dead }} There is a giant wheat stalk sculpture, affectionately known as "Big Ears" by the locals, at Cecil Newton Park in the main street of the town, emphasising the importance of wheat farming in the area.

File:Rhodanthe chlorocephala rosea 02.jpg

Mingenew has many spectacular displays of wildflowers between late July and early October. Varieties include everlastings, hakeas, banksias and grevilleas.[http://www.wildflowercountry.com.au/ Western Australia's Wildflower Country Mingenew]

Mingenew's floral emblem is the bird beak hakea (Hakea orthorrhyncha).

Located 33 km north east of Mingenew, the Coalseam Conservation Park is a renowned site for its carpets of native pink and white everlastings (Rhodanthe chlorocephala ss. rosea{{Cite web |url=http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/13241 |title=Rhodanthe chlorocephala subsp. Rosea (Hook.) Paul G.Wilson: FloraBase: Flora of Western Australia |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-date=22 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322220038/http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/13241 |url-status=dead }}) and yellow pom pom (Cephalipterum drummondii{{Cite web |url=http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/7922 |title=Cephalipterum drummondii A.Gray: FloraBase: Flora of Western Australia |access-date=16 January 2011 |archive-date=22 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322173543/http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/7922 |url-status=dead }}) wildflowers. The area was named the Coalseam after the Gregory brothers discovered coal exposed within the sedimentary layers of the banks of the Irwin River in 1846. This marked the first discovery of coal in Western Australia, however, after a number of shafts were dug, only narrow seams of poor quality coal were found, so the site was abandoned. The park is now a popular picnic place, where remnants of its mining history are still present. Also present are many marine fossils embedded in the riverbank and the magnificent limestone cliffs from the Permian Ice Age, 250 million years ago – the oldest geological era.Department of Environmental Conservation, Coalseam Conservation Park [http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/component/option,com_hotproperty/task,view/id,60/Itemid,755/]

Sport is an integral part of the fabric to the community of Mingenew.

• Mingenew Football Club
• Mingenew Hockey Club
• Mingenew Netball Club
• Mingenew Tennis Club
• Mingenew Cricket Club
• Mingenew Turf Club{{Cite web |url=http://www.mingenewturfclub.com/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202170634/http://www.mingenewturfclub.com/ |archive-date=2 February 2011 |url-status=dead }}
• Mingenew Karate Club
• Mingenew Bowls Club
• Mingenew Golf Club

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• {{cite book |author1=Mingenew Historical Society |title=Mingenew, 1846–1986 |date=1988 |publisher=Hesperian Press |location=Carlisle, WA |isbn=0859051099}}

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• [http://www.mingenew.wa.gov.au/ Shire of Mingenew]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fd7uRPg2T0 Youtube Video about Mingenew]
• [http://www.carnamah.com.au/mingenewcemetery.html Mingenew Cemetery]

{{Towns Mid West WA}}

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Category:Towns in Western Australia

Category:Mid West (Western Australia)

Category:Grain receival points of Western Australia