KATANNING KOJONUP RAILWAY

Katanning Kojonup Railway

With the Great Southern Railway having been completed and a town established at Katanning, rural development started to expand between Katanning and Kojonup and further westward. Agitation started with the government to have a branch line built between the two towns with a view to having it extended to Bunbury at a later date.

Following are a number of newspaper reports leading to the opening of the branch line on 10 April, 1907 during the Moore Ministry.

Kojonup Railway Station

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PROPOSED KATANNING KOJONUP RAILWAY.

West Australian
17 June, 1903

Katanning, June 15.
A meeting was held in the Katanning Agricultural Hall. of the delegates appointed by Katanning, Kojonup, and Carrolup (three separate districts) Railway Progress Leagues. The avowed object of each is to urge upon the Government the construction of a light line of railway from Katanning to Kojonup.

The delegates present were Messrs. A. E. Piesse, T. Garstone, W. J. Rogers, and Mark King for Katanning; Messrs. J. M. Flanagan F. Watts, and J. Delaney for Kojonup; Messrs. D. McDonald. and William Longmire, for Carrolup.

Mr. Piesse, who presided, explained that the meeting was called for the purpose of suggesting a route for the proposed railway and of marking the same on a plan at the suggestion of the Lands Department.

Mr. King proposed that the Lands Department be informed, “That this meeting of delegates is of opinion that the proposed line should keep in the direct line of the existing Katanning-Kojonup Road, as near as possible, and that where deviations from that route were necessitated by engineering difficulties, preference should be given to the south side of the road.” Mr. Delaney seconded the motion, which was unanimously carried.

Mr. Flanagan proposed that all owners along the suggested route be asked to give what land was required for the purpose of constructing the railway, and to sign a document to that effect: the committees of the Leagues to be responsible for the collection of signatures in their respective districts. Mr. Watts seconded the motion, which was carried.

Mr. Delaney proposed that two delegates from each League should accompany the members for the district, and Province, as a deputation to the Premier, for the purpose of urging the construction of the line, the deputation to go to Perth at a date in the immediate future. Mr. McDonald seconded the motion, which was agreed to.

A resolution was carried, that upon the occasion of the visit of Mr. Hopkins. the Minister for Lands, to the Katanning and Kojonup districts at an early date, it was believed probably within the next fortnight or three weeks, a deputation from each of the three Leagues should wait upon the Minister in furtherance of its object.

Mr. A. E. Piesse. J.P. was elected chairman of the united Leagues and Mr. J. M. Flanagan, J.P., secretary.

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Justifying the Katanning-Kojonup Spur Line

SPUR RAILWAYS.
KATANNING-KOJONUP SETTLEMENT.
SOME SPLENDID HOLDINGS.
THE NEED FOR STOCK.

Western Mail – Perth
3rd February, 1906

(By “Investigator.”)
Along the line from Katanning to Kojonup are evidences of the success which the intelligent and energetic settler can achieve. At Messrs Holly’s splendid farm, a short distance westward from Katanning, is to be seen some of the best of the wheat-growing country. With the exception of Messrs. Piesse Bros., the Holly Bros. are the largest land-holders in the Katanning district.

At Carrolup, with its slightly heavier rainfall, we see that the successful farmer has turned his attention more to mixed farming. Flourishing crops of wheat are to be seen there are also fields of grass amongst the ringbarked timber dotted with sheep and cattle, and orchards that look to be well-nigh perfection. One cannot help being struck with the possibilities which this country presents as a dairying district. In its natural state, before the timber is torched, the soil looks bare and sterile.

The agriculturist whose experience had been confined to the dairying districts of Victoria would laugh at the idea of grazing dairy cattle upon this land. But what a change comes over the scene when the timber has been rung. Grass at once springs, up in profusion, water breaks out in places that have hitherto been dry, and the land becomes a grazing area with immense capabilities. It is difficult to realise that while possessing this fine grazing country Western Australia continues to import from the Eastern States tens of thousands of pounds worth of dairy produce. Surely there could be produced in this Great Southern country butter and cheese sufficient to supply the needs of the whole State.

Passing from Katanning to Kojonup one traverses through thousands of acres of ring-barked timber, where between the trees the grass is growing knee-high. But where are the stock? As between Wagin and Dumbleyung, there are thousands of acres of grass and there are sheep or cattle to eat it. It is not the fault of the farmer that this feed is being wasted. In nine cases out of ten the settler has not the capital to stock his land as he clears it. The men who are the largest holders of land who have the most money at their command are rapidly stocking their holdings.

At the Kojonup end of the line, for instance, Mr. W. T. Jones is running 2,400 sheep, in addition to 65 head of cattle, 60 horses, and 20 pigs, Mr. Jones, however, is the holder of 6,640 acres of first-class and 5,200 acres of second-class land.

This aspect of the settlement between Katanning and Kojonup brings to mind the principal difference between the settlement which is likely to be promoted by a railway between the two places mentioned, and the settlement that will surely follow the construction of a line east of Wagin. The settler in the eastern country will receive a quick return for his labour. In a previous article has been given not one but several instances in which a man within a couple of years has cleared from 150 to 250 acres and has reaped a return over that area of from four to six bags of wheat per acre. These examples are not isolated. It is safe to say that within a few years they will be repeated over a vast area of the land to the east of the Great Southern line – land which is the natural granary of the State. But to the westward, and especially as far south as Kojonup, the conditions are different. The land is not so uniform in quality throughout.

It may be richer in places; in other places it may be poorer; but even this apparently poor land produces the best fruit in the State. As a land in which to make a home, the western country presents infinitely more attractions than that to the eastward. It would be a strange fancy, indeed, that would turn to the comparatively dry and un-picturesque land towards the rabbit-proof fence rather than to the green and undulating country that lies between the Southern railway and Bridgetown.

But the average Western Australian settler is not so much concerned about the geographical position of his selection, provided that it promises him a speedy monetary return for the time and labour which he devotes to it.

Kataning-Kojonup Railway
From this latter point of view the eastern country presents ideal opportunities. In a very short space of time, the energetic selector finds himself with his land cleared and money in his pocket. The same result is to be achieved in the country which the Katanning-Kojonup railway will open up, but not so speedily. The settler here has to be content with small beginnings.

The land is not so easily cleared, and mixed farming and fruit-growing, profitable as they prove in a very few years in this fertile district, do not offer such immediate returns for the farmer’s outlay. Besides, it requires capital, a commodity which most of the settlers who are now coming to Western Australia have to only a limited extent.

The success of the Kojonup line will depend very largely upon the initial cost, of construction. An expensive line would not pay for some years, for the reason already mentioned, that the area through which it would pass is more suited to mixed farming and fruit growing, than for the almost immediate production of freight in the shape of heavy crops of cereals.

I have succeeded in obtaining some figures regarding the settlement which has already taken place in the district which the line will serve. The line will be only 24 miles long, so that a radius of 15 miles from Kojonup may be regarded as the area that will receive the benefits of the railway. The people within nine miles of Katanning are already served by the Great Southern line. There are at present within a radius of 15 miles from Kojonup 142 settlers, of whom 102 have families.

Among them they hold 130,981 acres of freehold first-class land and 61,624 acres of second and third class. Of this area of nearly 200,000 acres only 6,792 acres are cleared and 7,030 are ring-barked. There are within the district 2,358 acres tinder wheat, 705 under oats, and 200 acres under barley. In addition, there are no less than 121 acres of orchards. The stock within this 15-mile radius of Kojonup consists of 10,495 sheep, 1,130 horses, 514 head of cattle and 266 pigs.

Kojonup station in its heyday – c1970
From the Kojonup Shire website

Between Katanning and Kojonup, the holdings vary in size from 500 acres to 2,000, but there are some very much larger holdings immediately surrounding Kojonup.

For example, Mr. Cornwall’s land, leased by Mr Hewlett, consists of 6,450 acres of first-class and 4,000 acres of second-class, of which 160 acres are cleared. Mr Foulkes holds 15,000 acres of first-class land. Mr. Jones’s holding of 10,845 acres has already been mentioned. In addition to the stock upon it Mr. Jones has 60 acres under wheat and 60 acres under oats. A total of 360 acres has been cleared. These figures referring to cleared land do not, of course, include the number of acres of ring-barked country upon which the stock are run.

Another settler with a fine holding near Kojonup is Mr. L. M. Vanzuilicom, who has 3,600 acres of first and 900 acres of second-class land. Of this area 240 acres have been cleared; 80 acres are under wheat and 60 acres under oats. Mr. Vanzuilicom runs 260 sheep, 40 horses, 21 head of cattle, and 15 pigs.

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KATANNING-KOJONUP RAILWAY
OPENING CELEBRATIONS.

SPEECH BY MR. C. A. PIESSE – WHY HE LEFT THE MINISTRY.

Western Mail
13 April, 1907

Katanning, April 10.
A banquet to celebrate the opening of the Katanning-Kojonup railway was held this afternoon in the Kojonup Agricultural Hall. A train in charge of Traffic Inspector Browne, with a fair number of visitors, left Katanning at 11 o’clock, arriving at Kojonup at 1 p.m., and the visitors were conveyed in waggonette to the hall.

The building had been tastefully decorated, and about 100 guests sat down to the repast provided. Mr. McHenry Clark occupied the chair, and had on his right Mr. F. H. Piesse, M.L.A., and on his left Mr. C. A. Piesse, M.L.C. After the toast of “The King,” the Chairman proposed “Th Ministry.” He regretted that not a single Minister had replied to the committee’s invitations to be present. “But that neglect of theirs must not affect their esteem for the governing powers, nor lessen their gratitude to the Moore Ministry for having constructed their railway.

Mr. F. H. Piesse said that, as all the Ministers had been unavoidably detained by engagements elsewhere, he had been requested to respond on their behalf and convey their congratulations to the people of Kojonup.

Mr. C. P. Reilly proposed the toast of “Parliament.” Mr. C. A. Piesse, in responding, said that as that was his first public speech since his retirement from the Moore Ministry, he desired to say that he still had the highest regard for his former colleagues. Their personal friendships had not been affected, and the Premier had written, asking him to convey his warmest congratulations to the people of Kojonup.

He desired, also to state that his apparent haste to explain the reason of his resignation before the announcement of its acceptance was solely due to an oversight in a city newspaper office, which that office had acknowledged. The chairman and proposer of the toast were right in expressing gratitude for the granting of railway communication. It had not been won without considerable effort.

He and his brother had strenuously supported Kojonup’s claims. At one stage in connection with the agricultural railway scheme, the goldfields members had practically decided to bar either the Dumbleyung or the Kojonup line, and he had placed the Kojonup line first.

Ultimately the goldfields representatives had assented to both lines and the people of the agricultural districts must give them credit for such broadminded action. When joining the Moore Government he had in his conscience concluded that a land tax was inevitable, and his utmost hope in the matter was to minimise the burden, but when he found that on top of this proposed burden the Minister for Works was straining his powers to increase the Roads Board rates, so was compelled to look more seriously on the whole question. He held that Mr. Price’s boast that he had raised the roads assessment by some £17,000 was a monstrous thing, for that money would accomplish much more for the progress of the country if used by the settlers than if paid away in taxes.

As a result of his close study of the situation, he had arrived at the conclusion that an increase of taxation was unnecessary, and that no deficit existed. The appearance of a deficit was owing to the fact that this State was promiscuously losing out of its revenue some £225,000 a year, and putting it aside as a sinking-fund, when such money could be much more profitably devoted to public works.

He rejoiced with the people of Kojonup over the opening of their railway but regretted that its usefulness was lessened by the extortionate rates charged. The administration was repeating the blunder over the Dumbleyung trunk line, when many people were debarred of utilising the line. The people must agitate for reasonable rates, and when told that lower rates would not pay, they might cite what the Department was doing in the matter of Albany rates. The people of Kojonup must agitate for such a reduction of rates as would make their railway a success.

Mr. F. H. Piesse said he had great pleasure in assisting at that celebration, but the time was too limited for a lengthy speech. He hoped to visit the district again in the spring, when it would be looking its best, and he hoped then to see such enlarged areas under crop as would still further justify the construction of the line. The work had already led to largely increased settlement. In due course the line would be carried through to connect, with the South-Western railway.

There was room and need for several improvements. The location of the sidings had not been selected with due regard to the convenience of traffic, and the necessary platform accommodation for loading the traffic would have to be provided.

The freights and fares would also have to be lowered. He would urge these necessary improvements upon the Government, and would he glad if the residents would strengthen his hands in the matter by discussing these things amongst themselves. They could not do better than organise on the lines of the Katanning Farmers and Producers’ League, so that the people of the district could act unitedly.

The other toasts included “Success to the Katanning-Kojonup Railway” and “The Commercial and Agricultural Interests.”

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