The town of
Broomehill was developed after the completion of the Great Southern Railway in 1889. Prior to this, Eticup a coaching stop on the old
Albany Rd 8km west of
Broomehill was the only town in the area.
Hard to imagine that this once was a thriving community with stores, an Inn, Blacksmith's and dwellings packed up and moved 8km east to establish the new town site of
Broomehill.
"The gold find at
Coolgardie by Bayley and Ford generated excitement throughout the country when it was made public in September 1892. As the news spread, the rush grew.
Albany was soon crowded with fortune seekers who came by steamer from the eastern states. Many of these travelled on the recently constructed Great Southern Railway to
York and
Northam where they purchased supplies and equipment before tackling the long trail east to the diggings.
There were obvious advantages for a railway town further south in being the starting point for an overland trail.
Not only would departing diggers spend their money there, local producers would have direct access to the fast growing goldfields market.
Several attempts to open up such a route failed. All were forced back by the waterless and seemingly impenetrable nature of the country.
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Then
John Holland took up the challenge. Born in the colony, 37 year old Holland was an experienced bushman. His idea was not to only find a feasible route, but to actually cut a track that could be used immediately by horse drawn conveyances. Joined by three other local men, the party set out from
Broomehill on 26 April 1893 and arrived in
Coolgardie on 3 July 1893. They had completed the cutting of a cart track over 500km in length in just two months and four days, a remarkable achievement. As anticipated, the track was immediately adopted by hundreds of eager diggers joining the rush. It was regularly used by horse and camel teams transporting goods and supplies to the goldfields. Travelling time between
Broomehill and
Coolgardie was usually about two weeks. However, the extension of the railway to
Coolgardie just three years later put an end to regular goldfields traffic on the
Holland Track.
As the expansion of the wheatbelt overtook the southern half of the track during the 1920s, that part of the route played an important part in opening up a number of wheat growing regions. Some of the track was incorporated in the growing rural road network. Low rainfall out beyond the
Rabbit Proof Fence discouraged further settlement and the northern half of the
Holland Track gradually returned to the wild. The historic route became overgrown and all but lost in a tangle of sand plain scrub and mallee thickets.
The Henry Jones Building is one of the social hubs of the
Broomehill built in 1911 as a
General Store, Bank and
Bakery. The owners have been restoring this old building to it's former glory. Now
home to a Cafe, Restaurant, Winery, Art& Craft Gallery and Bed & Breakfast.
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.