volcanic stones found near Meekatharra in Western Australia
A LITTLE ABOUT MEEKATHARRA (from Wikipedia)
- Meekatharra is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Meekatharra is an Australian Aboriginal, the Yamatji peoples’ word meaning ‘place of little water’. At the 2011 census, Meekatharra had a population of 812, with 47.0% being of Aboriginal descent.
- Meekatharra is a major supply centre for the pastoral and mining area in the Murchison region of Western Australia. It is located 764 km north-east of Perth and may be reached by the Great Northern Highway. It is a centre for sheep and cattle transshipment, initially by rail but now by road trains. It is also a regional home to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the School of the Air. It is connected by public transport to Geraldton with connections to Perth via Transwa coach service N4. No viable horticultural industry exists in the area, although extensive but poor cattle stations in the Murchison and Gascoyne exist.
From 1993 onwards I worked for the West Australian Department of Training. My job often took me to remote parts of the state. My role was to encourage and coordinate employment and training programs by working with the Local Government authorities. The Shire of Meekatharra just completed a training program for their young people and I presented the students with their graduation certificates.
The course tutor had a lot of local knowledge and invited me to see an area near town with these unusual rock formations. He told me they were the result of volcanic activity in the distant past. I took some home with me and I still marvel at their shape and texture.
Because Meeka was a long drive from home, I often stayed overnight. The photos below suggest to me that things have picked up a lot since the early 1990’s.They weren’t very inviting when I stayed there but there wasn’t much option. It was fun though 🙂
