Ravensthorpe, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place
type = town
name = Ravensthorpe
state = wa


caption = Location of Ravensthorpe in Western Australia (red)
lga = Shire of Ravensthorpe
postcode = 6346
est =
pop = 438 (2006 census)
elevation= 232
maxtemp = 22.7
mintemp = 10.4
rainfall = 425.3
stategov = Eyre
fedgov = O'Connor
dist1 = 541
dir1 = ESE
location1= Perth
dist2 = 50
dir2 = NNW
location2= Hopetoun

Ravensthorpe is a town 541 km of Perth, 40 km inland from the south coast of Western Australia. It is the seat of government of the Shire of Ravensthorpe.

Overview

In 1848, the area was surveyed by Surveyor General John Septimus Roe who named many of the geographical features nearby, including the nearby Ravensthorpe Range that the town is named after. The area was first settled by the Dunn brothers during the 1868. [cite web|url=http://www.ravensthorpe.wa.gov.au/|title=Welcome to the Shire of Ravensthorpe|year=2008|accessdate=2008-09-15]

The Dunn brothers brought sheep farming to the area in 1871 when George and John Dunn drove a herd from Albany to the area they had established earlier. They were awarded a land grant in 1873 of 4049 ha. [cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/Western-Australia/Ravensthorpe/2005/02/17/1108500208673.html|title=The Age - Ravensthorpe|year=2004|accessdate=2008-09-15]

Another of the Dunn brothers, James Dunn discovered gold at Annabel creek and was awarded a claim by the government. More profitable discoveries followed in 1900 that resulted in a boom.The population climbed to over 1000 and by 1901 the government gazetted the town of Ravensthorpe. [LandInfo WA|c|R|2008-09-15] The government completed construction of a copper and gold smelter about 2km South East of the town in 1906 that was used to cast copper and gold ingots. At its peak of production the smelter employed over 120 men, the now disused smelter is still there and is surrounded by massive piles of tailings waste.

The area continued to prosper and the population grew accordingly, by 1909 the population was over 3000.The properity was short-lived, World War I took its toll on the town and by 1918 the local copper smelter had closed and many of the copper and gold mines had closed.

There was also one of the Western Australian Government Railways isolated branch lines between Hopetoun and Ravensthorpe. After the war Ravensthorpe survived servicing the farming in the district. Agriculture in the area began to grow following the great depression and pastoral land releases occurred in the 1960s and 1970s.

BHP Billiton commenced a feasability study in 2002 into opening a nickel and cobalt mine and processing plant [cite web|url=http://sustainability.bhpbilliton.com/2005/repository/socioEconomic/caseStudies/caseStudies39.asp|title = BHP Sustainability Report - Relationship building|year=2005|accessdate=2008-09-15] 35 km East of the town [cite web|url=http://www.totallybroadband.com/thiess/grad_rec_2008/final/pdf/Raventhorpe_Nickel_Project.pdf|title=Project Sheet Ravensthorpe Nickel Project, WA|year=2008|accessdate=2008-09-15] The project was approved in 2004 and construction commenced shortly afterward. The plant known as the Ravensthorpe Nickel Project was commissioned in late 2007 with first production occurring in October and the first 5000 tonnes being produced by December 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/ourBusinesses/stainlessSteelMaterials/nickelWest.jsp|title=BHP Billiton - Nickel West|year=2008|accessdate=2008-09-15]

The plant was officially opened in 2008. [cite web|url=http://business.smh.com.au/business/bhp-ready-for-laterite-challenge-20080520-2g9x.html|title=Sydney Morning Herald - BHP ready for laterite challenge|year=2008|accessdate=2008-09-15]

References

See also

* Ravensthorpe Airport

External links

* [http://www.ravensthorpe.wa.gov.au/ Shire of Ravensthorpe]