Popanyinning is a small town located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, along Great Southern Highway

Great Southern Highway

Great Southern Highway is a highway in the Southern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, starting from Great Eastern Highway at The Lakes, 50 km from Perth, and ending at Albany Highway near Cranbrook. It is the primary thoroughfare for this part of Western Australia and runs parallel with the...

 between Pingelly

Pingelly, Western Australia

Pingelly is a town and shire located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, from Perth via the Brookton Highway and Great Southern Highway. The town is also located on the Great Southern railway line...

 and Narrogin

Narrogin, Western Australia

Narrogin is a large town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth on the Great Southern Highway between Pingelly and Wagin...

. At the 2006 census

Census in Australia

The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...

, Popanyinning had a population of 87.

History

The name means "water hole" in the local Noongar

Noongar

The Noongar are an indigenous Australian people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast...

 Aboriginal

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

 language and was first recorded in a survey in 1869 for a pool in the Hotham River, and was previously spelt "Popaning" or "Popanying". The first pioneers arrived in 1893, mainly railway construction workers and their families, and the town became one of the original siding

Rail siding

A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...

s on the Great Southern Railway

Great Southern Railway (Western Australia)

The Great Southern Railway was the name of a railway company that operated from Beverley to Albany in Western Australia between 1886 and 1896. In 1896 the Western Australian Government Railways took over this company and the railway route also kept the name.- Construction :The first sods for the...

. In 1903, the State Government had a few lots surveyed at the siding to meet the needs of local settlers, and in 1904 the townsite was gazetted. Within two years, 72 families were living in the district and the town was an agricultural trading post where settlers could buy supplies or conduct business with incoming or outgoing railway traffic. The Popanyinning Hotel was built in April 1906, and many small stores operated nearby.

However, the town did not grow after the 1920s, and on 9 July 1978 the hotel burnt down, never to be rebuilt.