Benger, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Benger
state = wa


caption =
lga = Shire of Harvey
postcode = 6223
pop =
est = 1885
stategov = Murray-Wellington
fedgov = Forrest
dist1 = 153
location1= Perth
dist2 = 13
location2= Harveycoord|-33.178|115.862|type:city(100)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Benger is a locality just north of Brunswick Junction in the South West of Western Australia.

The South Western Highway runs through the region. It is also a crossing loop on the south-west railway between Armadale and Bunbury.

History

Before European settlement, the region was inhabited by the Pindjarup people, in whose language "Benger" may have meant "swamp" according to some sources (the word Pijar was also used). [LandInfo WA|c|B|2007-05-25] The explorers Thomas Peel and Stephen Henty travelled through the district in 1835. The area was known as the "flats of Mornington", and some years later, Mornington Siding was established with a hall, school and shop/post office. Sandalwood from the area was used in the Swan River Colony. In 1887, John Partridge founded a dairy in the area, which is still open today as the White Rocks Museum and Dairy. The town was renamed from Mornington to Benger in 1902, although many geographic names in the area (including the creek near the school) bear the original name. [cite web|url=http://www.harvey.wa.gov.au/benger|title=Local Towns - Benger|accessdate=2006-10-01|author=Shire of Harvey] [ [http://www.harveytourism.com/brunswick/index.html Harvey Tourism - Brunswick Junction] . Accessed 2006-10-02.]

References