Southern Cross, Western Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Southern CrossWestern Australia |
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Southern Cross Community Centre
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 Southern Cross
Location in Western Australia
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| Population | 680 (2016 census) | ||||||||
| Established | 1890 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6426 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 355 m (1,165 ft) | ||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of Yilgarn | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Eyre | ||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||
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Southern Cross is a town in Western Australia, 371 kilometres east of state capital Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. It was founded by gold prospectors in 1888, and gazetted in 1890. It is the major town and administrative centre of the Shire of Yilgarn. At the 2016 census, Southern Cross had a population of 680.
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, 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.
The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops. The town is a receival site for Cooperative Bulk Handling.
Southern Cross is in the Federal electorate of O'Connor.
Narrow gauge route
The former narrow gauge route of the Eastern Goldfields Railway reached Southern Cross on 1 July 1894.
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.
