Roebourne School

Name Origin: Named in 1866 after WA's first Surveyor, General John Septimus Roe

Roebourne - a Whitefella History

Roebourne is the oldest surviving town between Port Gregory (just north of Geraldton in Western Australia) and Palmerston near Darwin. Roebourne was named after Sir John Septimus Roe, the first Surveyor General in Western Australia way back in 1864. John and Emma Whithnell were the early settlers to our area responsible for originally travelling the 13 kms upstream from Cossack in search of fresh water, discovering Eramuckadoo pool on the Harding River. This was the place that they decided to establish Mt Welcome Station, now the town site of Roebourne. The township itself was gazetted in 1866, the same year the pearling industry of the North West established itself in Cossack. Soon after Roebourne established itself as the main point of supply for the then growing mining, pastoral and Pearling industries. The many fine old stone buildings still standing today are a memorial of the heady days when the town was the administrative centre and capital of the NorthWest. A walk or drive around Roebourne reveals the many historic buildings now restored. These include the old Hospital (1887), Post Office (1887), the Court House, Gaol and Police Barracks, the Holy Trinity Church (1895), the Union Bank (1889) and the infamous Victoria Hotel, which is the last remaining of the town’s original 5 pubs.

The Old Roebourne Gaol is now the home of the Roebourne Tourist Bureau. This heritage-listed building allows visitor to experience what it would have been like to be a prisoner in the days of our colonial past. The Bureau also houses the Roebourne Historical Museum and local arts and crafts displays and stalls. Roebourne is also the turn off point to discover the townships of Cossack, Wickham and Point Samson. For more information on this turn to the drive guide on page 22. The drive or walk to the top of Mt Welcome in Roebourne offers excellent views as does the Dam wall of the mighty Harding Dam, located 27 kms to the South east of the town.