Shire of Wiluna Canning-Gunbarrel Discovery Centre Overview

Shire of Wiluna Canning-Gunbarrel Discovery Centre

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A stop on the edge of the desert

Wiluna is the southern gateway to the Canning Stock Route and the western gateway to the Gunbarrel Highway. The Canning-Gunbarrel Discovery Centre is housed inside the old Wiluna District Hospital and each room unpacks an historical element of the region. There is opportunity to learn about the homelands of Martu people and the survival skills they use in the harsh desert environment. Look out for the forbidden love story! Early explorers trekked through this region looking for water and opening the land for the cattle industry. The 1,850km Canning Stock Route is represented with the water holes along the route, labelled in English and Martu languages. The map also incorporates images of significant artworks of waterholes and other important places by Martu artists. The Centre is co-located with the Tjukurba Art Gallery at the back of the main building, where you can view and purchase beautiful artworks by Birriliburu artists.

Visit website

Address:

28 Scotia St
Wiluna WA 6646
Australia

Tel:

(08) 9981 8009

Email:

reception@wiluna.wa.gov.au

Opening Hours

Mon to Fri 9am - 4:00pm; Weekends by prior appointment.

Warri's spear thrower

Star crossed lovers

This is the spear thrower owned by Warri, which was used up until he and Yatungka were brought in from the desert in the 1970s. In the 1930s Warri and Yatungka (both Martu) fell in love and eloped...

Canning Stock Route signage

A stock route with a dark past

In the early 1900s the WA Government was looking for a new inland means of moving cattle between the Kimberley region and the south of the state. Alfred Canning was hired to survey the route, and...

Wati Kutjarra (two men of the dreamtime) by multiple artists

Follow the footsteps

This painting tells the story of Wadi Katjurra - of two dreamtime men walking through Country, depicted as two sets of footprints. The work was first started on the red dust of Ululla Station (an...

Northam Heritage Centre: Northam and Districts Historical Society and Northam Army Camp Heritage Association

Historic railway station captures Northam’s history

Northam’s old railway station remains in such good condition that it’s easy to imagine it as it was from its earliest days in 1900. The station formed part of the Eastern Goldfields Railway which, at...

Lake Grace Australian Inland Mission Hospital Museum

One of only three Australian Inland Mission Hospitals left in Australia.

Hospitals and medical staff were a rarity in the early 1900s. Hospitals were often funded by communities and religious organisations, such as the Australian Inland Mission (AIM), or champions like...

Esperance Museum

The largest museum collection outside Perth

You will need more than one visit to take in this impressive collection. The museum is a short stroll from the foreshore, in a historic railway building. Get lost in the large collection of items...

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A local museum with many a story to tell.

This intimate collection in the original Agricultural Hall, beautifully unpacks the local history of Kellerberrin. The hall opened in 1897, and up until 1972 it was used as a school, courthouse and...