York (pop. 1120) is the oldest settlement in the interior of Western Australia.
In order to secure grazing land for the new colony on the Swan River its first governor, Captain James Stirling, caused the Avon valley to be surveyed and settled at a very early stage. York was declared a town in 1836, but at first, as a result of a shortage of labor, it failed to make headway. It was only in the 1850s, when convict labor was brought in, that roads were built and agricultural produce could be brought to York for sale. The town also developed as a gold-mining center after the discovery of gold in the Yilgarn district.
When the railroad was built through Northam, to the north of York, further development passed the town by and it remained a quiet little 19th C. town preserved almost intact down to the present.
The rural setting of the Avon valley and the old houses of the pioneering period and the town's Victorian heyday make York a kind of open-air museum. The National Trust has classified it as a Historic Town, and local people have made great efforts to preserve the old buildings.
Balladong Farm, the oldest farm in inland Western Australia, is now a working museum with demonstrations of old farming practices such as sheep shearing with a knife and ploughing with horses.
Faversham House is one of York's oldest dwelling-houses and a handsome example of colonial architecture, was built about 1831 as a two-story house; a third story was added around 1850.
Address: Faversham House, 24 - 26 Grey Street, York, WA 6302, Australia
Forming a harmonious group are the post office, the old police station and the courthouse. The jail was begun about 1850, the other buildings completed between 1892 and 1895, bearing witness to the town's prosperity at the end of the century. The police station and courthouse, with the jail, are open daily.
Holy Trinity Church, one of the earliest churches in the country, was consecrated in 1848 and later enlarged. Its square tower was rebuilt, reduced in height, after suffering earthquake damage in 1968.
Kairey Cottage (1859) is the only remaining cottage of a group built to house army pensioners. The cottage is now a bed and breakfast which has been restored and decorated with antique furniture. The cottage is surrounded by traditional garden.
Address: Kairey Cottage, 16 Newcastle Street, York, WA 6302, Australia
The two-story railroad station of 1886, in neo-Gothic style, saw many prospectors passing through on their way east to the newly discovered goldfields. In 1894 the railroad line was moved farther north, bypassing York.
The Residency Museum is an early colonial building (1843) with an overhanging roof. Once the residence of the local judge, it now houses a museum, with colonial furniture and a collection of old photographs.
Address: Residency Museum, Box 156, York, WA 6302, Australia
In Settlers' House, built in the mid-19th C and enlarged in 1877, the first newspaper in Western Australia, the York Chronicle, was printed; it is now a hotel and an elegant restaurant.
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