Bonnie Rock, Wheatbelt

Bonnie Rock sounds as if it is one of those huge rocks in the Wheatbelt that seem to be smaller versions of Uluru, however Bonnie Rock is actually an old Wheatbelt townsite.

Our seniors group based ourselves in Mukinbudin for our Wheatbelt trip and it only took us around 40 minutes to travel to Bonnie Rock.

The site was officially surveyed and gazetted in 1932 and named Bonny Rock by a sandalwood cutter. There were two stores, several camps and sheds on-site as well as a rough boarding house, catering for men working in the wheat fields and construction gangs building the railway line and the nearby reservoir.

Fifteen of the available 32 lots were sold at prices ranging from £15-30. I found it interesting that several blocks were bought by women – it seems that feminism was on the rise in the 1930s. However by 1944 no ratepayer blocks were occupied and the only building was the Bonnie Rock Hall.

The hall is still being used for social activities and there is also a large shed that is utilised by the Bonnie Rock Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade.

Bonnie Rock, once envisaged as a thriving township and railway terminus is now mainly a tourist attraction on the Wheatbelt Way.

Visitors can see all the proposed town sites and enjoy the wildflowers. We wandered around the site and walked over to the giant CBH grain receival building and saw many different wildflowers.

This area was in the news in 2016 when Russian adventurer, Fedor Konyukhov landed near Bonnie Rock, completing a circumnavigation of the Earth in a hot air balloon in just over eleven days and setting a new world record.

There is a Telstra mobile hotspot in Bonnie Rock but as with many places in the Wheatbelt, those of us with Optus mobiles had no signal.

As well as soaking in some history in Bonnie Rock, tourists may also be relieved to find a large, clean toilet block behind the hall!

About the Author
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About Hazel Broomhead

My name is Hazel and I am a Perth senior!

Originally from Edinburgh in Scotland, my husband and I moved to New Zealand with our children in 1974. As my husband is in the oil business, we moved to several other countries including the Sultanate of Oman, the Netherlands, Singapore, the Philippines, the USA, Russia and Kazakhstan during the next 36 years before retiring to Perth.

We have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who live in different parts of the globe – New Zealand, Scotland and Colombia - which makes a great excuse for us to travel and visit.

My career background is in radio and print journalism in Scotland and New Zealand as well as public relations in various other countries.

We love to eat out, walk, travel and enjoy the wonderful lifestyle here in Western Australia.