| Southern Cross Western Australia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Southern Cross Community Centre | |||||||||
  Southern Cross | |||||||||
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| Coordinates | 31°13′50″S 119°19′40″E / 31.23056°S 119.32778°E | ||||||||
| Population | 523 (UCL 2021)[1] | ||||||||
| Established | 1890 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6426 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 355 m (1,165 ft) | ||||||||
| Area | 555.2 km2 (214.4 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of Yilgarn | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Central Wheatbelt | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||
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Southern Cross is a town in Western Australia, 371 kilometres (230.5 miles) east of state capital Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. It was founded in 1888 after gold prospectors Richard Greaves and Ted Paine during their October 1887 expedition successfully found gold,[2][3] and gazetted in 1890.[4] It is the major town and administrative centre of the Shire of Yilgarn.[5] At the 2016 census, Southern Cross had a population of 680.[6]
The town of Southern Cross is one of the many towns that run along the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme pipeline from Mundaring to Kalgoorlie, engineered by C. Y. O'Connor,[7] and as a consequence is an important location on the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail.
A succession of gold rushes in the Yilgarn region near Southern Cross in 1887, at Coolgardie in 1892, and at Kalgoorlie in 1893 caused a population explosion in the barren and dry desert centre of Western Australia.
It is named after the Southern Cross constellation, and the town's streets are named after constellations and stars.[8][9][10]
The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops. The town is a receival site for Cooperative Bulk Handling.[11]
Southern Cross is in the Federal electorate of O'Connor.[12]
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Southern Cross (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021.
- ^ "WHO DISCOVERED GOLD AT SOUTHERN CROSS?". Western Mail. Vol. XXI, no. 1, 048. Western Australia. 27 January 1906. p. 45. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "A PIONEER PROSPECTOR". The West Australian. Vol. XXXII, no. 4, 356. Western Australia. 18 March 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "History of country town names – S". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
- ^ "Shire of Yilgarn, Western Australia". Shire of Yilgarn. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Southern Cross (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Southern Cross". Heritage Australia. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
- ^ "History of country town names – S". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
- ^ "YAS – Information Southern Cross". yilgarn.com.au. 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- ^ "Southern Cross". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- ^ "CBH receival sites" (PDF). 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ^ "Australian Electoral Commission website". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
