Wyalkatchem, Western Australia

Wyalkatchem is an Aboriginal name first recorded for a waterhole, spelt Walkatching in the 1870s. The spelling Walcatching was used in 1881 when the Toodyay Road Board referred to a tank to be built there, and when the road from Northam to the Yilgarn Goldfield was surveyed in 1892 the spelling Wyalcatchem was used for the tank. The Walkatching spelling is probably the most accurate, as Aboriginal names in this region rarely end in em. The change of spelling from Wyalcatchem to Wyalkatchem in 1911 was done by the Department of Lands & Surveys according to rules the department had adopted for spelling Aboriginal names. The meaning of the name is not known.{{LandInfo WA|c|W|25 March 2007}}

In 1932 the Wheat Pool of Western Australia announced that the town would have two grain elevators, each fitted with an engine, installed at the railway siding.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32560140 |title=Country elevators |newspaper=The West Australian|location=Perth|date=6 July 1932|access-date=6 April 2013|page=10|publisher=National Library of Australia}}

When the extension of the railway east from Dowerin was planned in 1908, land was set aside for a future townsite in the area of the Wyalcatchem tank. The route of the railway and site for a station was not fixed until 1910, and action followed to then fix the position of the townsite and survey town lots. Following the survey of the lots the townsite was gazetted spelt Wyalkatchem in 1911.

When the railway from Dowerin opened in February 1911, Wyalkatchem was a minor siding only, but its importance grew when it was selected as the turnout point for a branch line leading north and then east to the Mount Marshall district. Thus a small village quickly blossomed on the town site. The branch line to Bencubbin opened on 1 February 1915 and the line from Dowerin was extended to Merredin in August 1911.All Change at Wyalkatchem Milne, Rod Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, July 1991 pp 155–162

A bioblitz was conducted in 2012 in a bush reserve between Korrelocking and Wyalkatchem. 54 people took part and collected samples of scorpions, pseudoscorpions, isopods, spiders and centipedes, including some new species.{{cite web|url=http://www.bennelongia.com.au/blog/2012-bioblitz-at-korrelocking/|title=2012 BioBlitz at Korrelocking|date=26 September 2012|access-date=16 September 2016|publisher=Bennelongia}}{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2012/09/27/3599360.htm|title=Wheatbelt Bioblitz discovers unique species|date=27 September 2012|access-date=16 September 2016|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}

The extensive railway barracks in town are leased by the shire council from the Western Australian Government Railways Commission. The barracks represent one of the few intact examples of its kind in Australia and are currently used as accommodation during Dowerin Field Days and as the headquarters of a hang-gliding club.{{cite web|url=http://www.heritage.wa.gov.au/assets/files/General_Publications/archive/hu_wb_0306.pdf|title=Wheatbelt – Heritage update|year=2003|access-date=2011-02-05}}

The area is home to a Cooperative Bulk Handling receival point that can hold nearly 120,000 tonnes of grain and crops; the primary industries in the area are wheat and sheep farming. The town also supports a gypsum mine that is situated just outside town at Lake Cowcowing.{{cite web|url=http://www.aglime.com.au/gypsum-minesite.htm|title=Gypsum Industries|year=2010|access-date=5 February 2011}}

In 2013 Wyalkatchem hosted the inaugural Racewars{{cite web |url=http://racewars.com.au |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231143523/http://www.racewars.com.au/ |archive-date=31 December 2012 |title=Antilag Racewars {{!}} 6-7 April 2013 Wyalkatchem Aerodrome}} event, organised by The Racewars Group. The event saw 200 competitors and over 3000 spectators witness some of Western Australia's fastest vehicles race head-to-head and against the clock on the 1500m airstrip at the Wyalkatchem airport. After the success of the inaugural event, Wyalkatchem has agreed to host the event for another five years.

{{Weather box

|location = Wyalkatchem

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 44.0

|Feb record high C = 43.8

|Mar record high C = 41.1

|Apr record high C = 38.2

|May record high C = 33.4

|Jun record high C = 25.4

|Jul record high C = 24.2

|Aug record high C = 25.9

|Sep record high C = 34.4

|Oct record high C = 39.9

|Nov record high C = 41.3

|Dec record high C = 43.6

|year record high C = 44.0

|Jan high C = 33.9

|Feb high C = 33.3

|Mar high C = 29.6

|Apr high C = 24.4

|May high C = 20.2

|Jun high C = 17.0

|Jul high C = 16.0

|Aug high C = 16.7

|Sep high C = 19.7

|Oct high C = 24.3

|Nov high C = 28.3

|Dec high C = 32.4

|year high C = 24.6

|Jan low C = 17.7

|Feb low C = 17.9

|Mar low C = 15.8

|Apr low C = 12.9

|May low C = 9.5

|Jun low C = 8.0

|Jul low C = 6.7

|Aug low C = 6.1

|Sep low C = 7.1

|Oct low C = 9.8

|Nov low C = 12.6

|Dec low C = 15.9

|year low C = 11.7

|Jan record low C = 9.3

|Feb record low C = 9.0

|Mar record low C = 5.9

|Apr record low C = 3.3

|May record low C = 0.9

|Jun record low C = 0.8

|Jul record low C = -1.2

|Aug record low C = -1.1

|Sep record low C = 0.8

|Oct record low C = 0.7

|Nov record low C = 3.6

|Dec record low C = 7.0

|year record low C = -1.2

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 17.2

|Feb precipitation mm = 16.8

|Mar precipitation mm = 18.7

|Apr precipitation mm = 23.1

|May precipitation mm = 41.5

|Jun precipitation mm = 54.1

|Jul precipitation mm = 52.9

|Aug precipitation mm = 40.1

|Sep precipitation mm = 23.9

|Oct precipitation mm = 17.1

|Nov precipitation mm = 11.3

|Dec precipitation mm = 10.3

|year precipitation mm = 327.8

|Jan precipitation days = 2.2

|Feb precipitation days = 2.2

|Mar precipitation days = 2.8

|Apr precipitation days = 4.4

|May precipitation days = 7.9

|Jun precipitation days = 11.1

|Jul precipitation days = 12.1

|Aug precipitation days = 10.7

|Sep precipitation days = 7.5

|Oct precipitation days = 4.9

|Nov precipitation days = 3.0

|Dec precipitation days = 2.0

|year precipitation days =70.8

|source 1 ={{cite web

| url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_010140_All.shtml

| publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |title = Climate statistics for Wyalkatchem |access-date = 12 July 2014}}

|date=July 2014

}}

{{reflist}}

{{commons category-inline}}

• [http://www.wyalkatchem.wa.gov.au/ Shire of Wyalkatchem]

{{Towns Wheatbelt South WA}}

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Category:Towns in Western Australia

Category:Wheatbelt (Western Australia)

Category:Grain receival points of Western Australia