Map of Badgingarra, WA 6521 - Census Demographics - Melway, Sydway, Brisway, Ausway, Street Smart (original) (raw)

Badgingarra is a small town located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about 205 kilometres (127 mi) north of Perth in the Shire of Dandaragan. It lies on the Brand Highway adjacent to the Badgingarra National Park.

The town was gazetted in 1955 and takes its name from nearby Badgingarra Pool. "Badgingarra" is an Indigenous Australian word said to mean "water by the manna gums ". The district was originally surveyed in the 1880s, however owing to the widespead presence of poison plants in the area and the soil types, the land was not developed for agriculture. Little settlement occurred until the 1950s, when the use of trace elements such as zinc and copper in fertilisers allowed for farming to occur on the sandy soils around Badgingarra. In 1955 sufficient population growth had occurred for the gazettal of a townsite to support the settlers. In 1959 the state government established the Badgingarra Research Station, to assist farmers in the development of their enterprises. In 1965 a primary school was established, initially operated in the community hall before a new school was built and opened in 1968. The planned development of the Brand Highway 7 kilometres (4 mi) west of the Badgingarra townsite spurred the people of Badgingarra to resolve to shift the townsite so as to lie on the Brand Highway. Today Badgingarra boasts a primary school, tavern, general store and post office, roadhouse and other businesses. It has fine recreational faciliies located at its Community Centre including tennis courts, bowling green, football oval, golf course, parks and playgrounds.

Plateau Plain and Coast A History of Dandaragan, published by the Shire of Dandaragan