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| Merredin Latitude : 31 29 S Longitude : 118 17 E The townsite of Merredin is located in the central agricultural area, 260 km east of Perth. The townsite is located on the Great Eastern Highway, and a little south of the original road to the eastern goldfields. When the Yilgarn Goldfield around Southern Cross was declared in 1888, the road to the goldfield passed just to the north of "Merreden Rock". A well at the rock made it an important stopping place, and in 1890 the Lands Department surveyed 20 lots there, and the following year, 1891, gazetted the townsite of Merriden. None of the lots ever sold, although a hotel was built just to the south of them. In 1895 the railway to Southern Cross was opened, and a station named Merredin was established a short distance south west of the original townsite. In 1903 a decision was made to establish a locomotive barracks at this station, and it was felt there would be demand for land. Lots were surveyed in 1904, and in 1906 the area around the railway station was added to the townsite of Merriden, and lots made available for sale. In 1906 the Chief Draftsman in the Lands Department commented that Merriden was now spelt 3 ways - Merreden for the nearby state forest, Merredin for the railway station and Merriden for the townsite. It was decided to adopt the railway spelling for all names, and all plans were corrected, but it was not until 1907 that official gazettals were using the Merredin spelling. Merredin is an Aboriginal name which means "the place of merritt's", a locally abundant tree, the trunks of which were used for making spears. The name was first recorded in 1889 for Merredin Rock. Harvesting the Net
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