Youndegin

Visit the ruins of the early settlement of Youndegin, 19 kilometres south of Cunderdin.

You can walk through the old police outpost, which was built in 1865, from stone and mud with a thatched roof, the outpost’s answer to the modern-day ‘lock-up’ was a nearby York Gum. Constable Allerly was the first police officer in charge of the post and the building represented the first settlement in the area.

It was the death of an early settler, E.J. Clarkson at the hands of Traditional Owners that originally led to the establishment of the police outpost. In 1880 Constable Alfred Eaton arrived to take over its running and he and his eventual wife, Mary later made the building their home. Constable Eaton was quite the entrepreneur and during the gold rush of 1888 saw an opportunity to make the most of the passing trade by building the Youndegin Arms. The story told is that his popular local delicacy was parrot pie.

Although once very busy, things changed with the building of the railway, which bypassed Youndegin to the north. This put to rest any ideas that it would become the major centre for the area and by 1894 the pub had closed. Mr Eaton left the police force and changed careers becoming the first farmer in Cunderdin District.

Cunderdin is a two-hour drive east of Perth.