Northam
Northam is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, with a population of 6679 in 2021. It's 100 km east of Perth and like other nearby towns it was founded in the 1830s when the Avon Valley was colonised. It was never a mining town, but was a railhead for miners heading east to the goldfields, until the railway pushed further out towards Kalgoorlie.
Northam Visitor Centre, 2 Grey St, ☏ +61 8 9622 2100. Daily 9AM-4PM. Helpful informative place in town centre, with a small exhibition of local history.
Get in
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From Perth take National Highway 94 for just under 100 km. This continues away out east to Kalgoorlie and Norseman.
Highway 120 approaches from the south via Wagin, Narrogin and York. Highway 115 is a short cut from National Highway 95 from the north.
Transwa buses run Su-F from Perth East and Midland stations, taking 90 min to Northam, and continuing to York, Beverley, Narrogin, Katanning, Tambellup, Tenterden and Albany. (The Saturday bus bypasses Northam.) The bus stop is at the railway station.
Prospector Train runs from Perth East and Midland stations twice M-F and once Sa Su, taking 80 min via Toodyay. It continues east via Meckering, Merredin and a dozen out-of-the-way places to Kalgoorlie, another five hours. Merredinlink is an additional train M W F from Perth via Northam as far as Merredin.
Avonlink is a commuter train from Northam M-F at 6:30AM via Toodyay to Perth Midland Station, returning east at 5:50PM.
1 Northam station is east side of town. It has a staffed ticket office, toilets, and step-free access to the sole platform.
Trains gallop through the former racecourse station further east, ignoring all cries of "whoa!".
Get around
[edit]Town centre is compact and walkable, but the sun is hot.
See
[edit]- Town centre along Fitzgerald Street East has historic buildings dotted about, such as the two post offices, but mixed with modern. And it's the main highway so you don't get the old world ambiance of quieter towns.
- Bernard Park is a green space on the east river bank, flanked by Minson Ave. A suspension footbridge crosses the river, which is broadened in town by a weir at the north end.
- 1 St John's Church, 11 Wellington St, ☏ +61 8 9622 1016. F-M 11AM-3PM. The Anglican church was built in the late 19th century.
- 2 Northam Heritage Forum, 425 Fitzgerald St West, ☏ +61 8 9621 1739. F-M 11AM-3PM. Old locomotives in a disused railway station.
- 3 Mount Ommanney lookout is reached by a turnoff from Mitchell Ave, or you can hike up.
- 4 Silos in the rail depot west of town have been elaborately painted. Problem is, you can't properly see them without trespassing on an industrial site.
Do
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- Northam Recreation Centre is on Peel Terrace a quarter mile east of the station. It has a pool and indoor and outdoor sports.
- Burlong Park is a riverside park and picnic area on Highway 254 five km southwest of town. No toilets. You can kayak here.
- Golf: Northam Country Club is northeast side of town off Wood Drive.
- Horse racing: Northam Race Club has 20 flat-racing meetings per year. The track is two miles east of town on Yilgarn Ave opposite the caravan park.
- Ballooning events are staged in Northam, various dates, typically early morning and evening. Where best to see them is weather-dependent, check an hour or so before the event. Solo round-the-world balloon voyages launched from here in 2002 and 2016.
- Northam Aero Club offers flight training. The airfield is 4 km northeast of town; it has private aviation but no commercial flights.
- Vintage motors gather for a race and hill-climb in April.
- Avon Descent is a two day boat race in August, down the river from Northam to Bayswater. Each town on the route has a festival, with street parades, funfairs and general hoop-de-hoop. The Northam event is called Bilya Festival and focused on the race start, on Avon Mall on Minson Avenue.
- Northam Farmers Show is in September at the Showgrounds on Chidlow St.
Buy
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- Boulevard Shopping Centre is at 171 Fitzgerald St East, open M-F 8AM-9PM, Sa Su 8AM-5PM.
- Northam Village Square is on Gardner St (south end of the strip), same hours.
- Fuel: there are four filling stations. Ampol on Wellington St mid-town is likely to be the cheapest.
Eat
[edit]- Fitzgerald Street East the main drag has Nik's Fish & Chips, Avon Valley Bakery (below), Lume Bistro, Sokun, Maalaa, Northam Asian, Red Rooster, Sandy D's, Macau Cuisine, Northam Hotel (below) and Panda Chinese.
- Avon Valley Bakery, 217 Fitzgerald St East (within shopping centre), ☏ +61 8 9622 5272. M-F 5AM-4PM, Sa 5AM-1PM. Great selection of fresh-baked pies and pastries. Dine in or takeaway.
- Northam Hotel, 75 Fitzgerald St East, ☏ +61 8 9622 1041. This has a restaurant, bar and drive-through bottle shop, but doesn't have rooms.
- Riversedge Cafe, 2 Grey St (by suspension bridge and visitor centre), ☏ +61 8 9622 5635. W-Su 8AM-2PM. Serving breakfast and lunch, all-natural ingredients.
Drink
[edit]- Eating places mostly serve alcohol.
- Temperance Bar is within Farmers' Rest Hotel, open daily 3-9PM.
Sleep
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- 1 Farmers' Home Hotel, 112 Fitzgerald St East, ☏ +61 8 6500 3920. Restored Federation building of 1866 with 16 clean and comfy rooms. B&B double $300.
- 2 Rec Hotel, 197 Duke St, ☏ +61 8 9670 3450. Federation building of 1907 in a quiet neighbourhood. The beds are old and uncomfortable. B&B double $150.
- 3 Northam Motel, 13 John St, ☏ +61 8 9622 1755. Clean enough place just off main highway.
- 4 Northam RV Park, 55 Mitchell Avenue, ☏ +61 8 9622 6100. City-run RV park with 48 hour limit. It has toilets and a dump point. Free.
- 5 Fairway Manor, 41 Fairway Bend, ☏ +61 490 719320. Cosy welcoming hotel by the airstrip. B&B double $240.
- 6 Northam Caravan Park, 150 Yilgarn Ave, ☏ +61 8 9622 1620. Site with cabins and hook-ups. Some noise from railway and highway. Hook-up $44, cabin $175.
Connect
[edit]Northam and its approach roads have a patchy mobile signal from Optus and Telstra, but nothing from Vodafone. 5G has not reached this area.
Go next
[edit]- York 35 km south was bypassed when the goldfields railway was routed via Northam, so its historic centre is better preserved.
- Toodyay 27 km northwest is another Victorian old town.
- Kalgoorlie on the goldfields is 500 km east so you can do it in a day, or break the journey at Merredin.
- Perth is only an hour west, with lots of big city attractions.