Sam Coombs goes back in time to explore York, Western Australia's oldest inland town which offers a surprise at every turn.
Best known for its pristine, squeaky white beaches, fishing and water sports, Western Australia isn’t exactly renowned for its history and old-world architecture. However, just a 97km trip east of Perth is York, the oldest inland town in Western Australia which features perfectly preserved Victorian and Federation historical buildings and a surprise at every turn. With quirky shopfronts, arched doorframes, elegant facades, ornate mouldings and grand hotels of a bygone era, a visit to York is a leave pass far from the urban madding crowd and a refreshing step back in time.
Soak up yesteryear at any of the town’s attractions, enjoy a beer or three in any (or all) of York’s fabulous hotels — The Castle Hotel, Imperial Hotel or Settler’s Inn — and be transported to a time when hotels enjoyed grand entrances, decorative balconies, grand staircases and treasured heritage, where beer gardens and cosy fireplaces beckon.
It seems every building in York has an interesting story to tell. Keep your eyes peeled for heritage plaques dotted around town revealing the history of local buildings, while bibliophiles can savour the old-world bookstores, such as Barclay Books, once the town’s Fire Station.
Antique lovers can lose themselves with endless vintage offerings throughout town. Keep your arms firmly tucked beside your body when perusing The Rabbit Shed Collectibles on Avon Terrace, a mishmash, retro collection of anything goes, tumbling and spilling all over itself, while further along the street lies the aptly named The Grave Situation housing old wares and collectibles in the old York Mortuary.
I also took the recommended 10-minute drive out of town to Wongborel/Mount Brown Lookout, offering sweeping views over the York township and surrounds. Casting an eye over the landscape from the lookout point, the area does little to remind me of the town’s namesake on the other side of the world, but it must have drawn some similarities for the settlers in 1830 after Yorkshireman JS Clarkson suggested the name. Either that, or they were homesick.
Flour Mill Emporium
On the flyer for York’s Flour Mill Emporium — an imposing four-storey structure that signals a visitor’s arrival to York — it claims its status as ‘purveyors of all things quirky and unusual’. Wandering around its iconic walls, I can see why. Eclectic to the core, from Moroccan lamps to paintings, woodcraft, crockery, jewellery to antique wheelchairs and vintage World War I German helmets, this is a place where the weird and wonderful come to rest.
Home to an art and craft collective and host to vintage antique markets on the weekend, it seems a fitting place for these curios and collectibles, perched within its industrial spaces of lofty, beamed roofs and creaky Jarrah floorboards. Constructed in 1892 to mill flour for York and its surrounding areas, known as the Empire Roller Flour Mill it was the largest mill in WA at the time. Once abuzz with the finest machinery and picking up awards in its first year of production as far afield as Paris and London, it stands a proud testament to the town’s heyday as a wheat-producing centre.
While there may be no flour to purchase, it is worth a linger to soak up the ambiance of this red-bricked edifice, read about its former life, take in the weird and wonderful items on offer, browse the second-hand bookstore or perch outside its cafe, savouring a pot of tea and scones and under the shade of century-old trees.
York Motor Museum
Celebrating everything on wheels, the most famous of all of York’s attractions houses an impressive exhibition of cars ranging from veteran, vintage, classic, racing cars and motorbikes, all polished and primed in their splendid glory. It’s quite amazing to think that a town with a population of just 2500 people is home to such an esteemed collection of cars, but here it is, where you least expect it, the only community-owned and operated motor museum in the whole of Australia.
From the dawn of motoring to the classic 1920s and 1930s to the American Chrysler, Ford and Buicks, the museum plays host to the extensive collection of motoring enthusiast Peter Briggs with cars from virtually every decade on show. Starting in 1968 with the purchase of a 1925 Ruby Tourer, Cooper Climax and an MG TC, with several other classics to follow, Brigg’s diminishing garage space soon became a problem. Seeking a site that would not only have the room but complement the cars’ history, York and its Victorian and Federation-era style buildings seemed like the logical choice to host a fast-growing collection.
Opening its doors to the public in December 1979, the museum has always been York’s modern-day main drawcard, greeting its visitors at the door with BMW’s 1956 legendary Isetta 300, the three-wheeled mini said to conquer post-war Europe, motorising the masses and saving BMW from bankruptcy.
Now showcasing the likes of Ford Model Ts, the classic Porche Roadster, vintage Morris Minors and Chevrolets, cars from all corners of the globe stand side by side while classic, vintage motorbikes in front of a huge poster of Steve McQueen grace the room of another. Before you make your own great escape, be sure to check out the Penny Farthings, vintage toy cars, retro caravan, with vintage gas pumps, period workshop and overhead signs, for that full immersion of mechanical memorabilia.
Not forgetting the good ol’ 80s, the museum is also home to the Valiant ute of the Never Never Tours used in the movie Crocodile Dundee with Paul Hogan’s autograph featuring on the dashboard. Today, the award-winning museum draws hundreds of visitors from all over the world every year, another quirky surprise up this town’s sleeve.
York Town Hall
Standing proud in the heart of town, there’s no missing York’s huge and magnificent Town Hall. This striking heritage building has a commanding presence, its Edwardian features of tall columns, arched doorway and intricate detailing belying the site’s former occupancy. The town’s Mechanics’ Institute — designed to lure local men from the pubs and curb their drinking and gambling — was demolished in April 1911, with its bricks and timber given a new lease of life in the elegant building that stands today, now home to the York’s tourist office.
Inside the entrance, an Honour Board lists the local names of those whose lives were lost in World War I. Beyond the tourist office, to the left, lies a grand ballroom that once staged concerts, jazz dances, vaudeville theatre acts and picture shows in typical full swing of the post-war roaring twenties. The grand sweeping staircase, recently revamped after COVID’s harsh sterilisation chemicals took its toll and left it looking lacklustre, has been lovingly restored to its former glory and arches its way up under a pressed tin ceiling and stunning lead-light windows.
Upstairs is the seating pavilion, plush and opulent with an Austral projector at the ready, the very machine that brought news of the world and entertainment to York. Here, it’s easy to sit and imagine the ladies and men dressed in their finery absorbed in the York picture show, and with separate rooms showcasing His Majesty’s voice gramophone and costumes of a bygone era, furniture and lamps, I can’t help but feel that York is somewhat of a living history time machine.
York Courthouse Complex
There’s nothing like standing inside a tiny cell — with barely enough room to lie down — to get a feel for the life of a convict. Immaculately preserved, the town’s former lockup and its grim conditions for long-term prisoners (no bedding and a simple bucket for a latrine) serve as a poignant reminder of harsh conditions for wrongdoers in the 1800s. With some cells bearing graffiti, these plank-lined walls were home to the incarcerated for what must have felt like an eternity and somewhat bizarrely, were still in commission up until 1981. Bearing cold stone floors, with iron collars to chain prisoners to a metal bar, bushranger John Gray somehow managed a bold and brief escape here before being recaptured two weeks later for the princely reward of 20 pounds.
With two convict-constructed courtrooms attached, police quarters, trooper cottages and stables, the Courthouse Complex is an intriguing place of penal punishment, its walls now home to one of the largest collections of Australian art.
York Residency Museum
A little off the beaten track and across the Avon River sits this little slice of intriguing history. I approached the museum from the road but not before standing in awe of the striking abandoned building perched upon a sprawling lawn before me, a ‘For Sale’ sign planted firmly in the ground. Even before I heard the rumours, this place gave me the chills. The former York hospital, established in 1896 to care for gold rush miners who had fallen ill, it retained its life as a place of healing for 70 years before it was converted into a school camp and hostel before ultimately becoming a private home. Many a tale by former guests claim the National Trust Property has experienced its fair share of paranormal activity, and I wonder if claims of apparitions and moaning sounds within its walls have put off any potential buyers.
If ever there was a treasure trove of exhibits bringing to life the pioneering history of an area, this is it. Starting with the Indigenous history of this Ballardong Country, the exhibit follows the journey of pioneering settlers and the arrival of convicts where leg and wrist irons reveal a life less fun. Glass cases embody lives past with clothing, 19th-century sewing machines, dolls, clay pipes, butter churns, pots, musical instruments, sporting equipment, photographs and paraphernalia.
Once the York Convict Depot and later the nurses’ quarters, the building later became the official residence of York’s early magistrates, lending it its current name. The caretaker tells us the museum is often overlooked by visitors to York as it sits off the main street, which is a shame as it’s an excellent window into York’s rich history.
While there are no white, sandy beaches here, this place harbours treasures of a different kind and if you tuned into Sam Neil’s crime TV drama The Twelve, York might already be a little familiar to you with the town featuring as the backdrop in Season Two.
What's on
York Motorcycle Festival
The town swells in size in April with two days of motorcycle mayhem with motorbikes and markets gracing Avon Terrace.
York Festival
Held every September, the York Festival celebrates local community offering local music, arts, crafts and family activities.
Heritage Festival
Penny Farthings and vintage bicycles take to the streets with market stalls, free live music, poetry, storytelling, exhibitions, displays and various events bringing a country-style twist to ANZAC Day/weekend commemorations.
Caravan and campervans welcome
- There is a free 24-hour RV rest stop at Janet Millett Lane close to the town centre, river and Swinging Bridge (also known as the Avon Suspension Bridge). An RV wastewater dump point is available at this site — for scheme water, Avon Park is recommended.
- Another free 24-hour rest stop at Gwambygine Park, Great Southern Highway, with toilet facilities, potable water, free gas barbecue, picnic areas and is also pet-friendly. There is no dump point available at this location, however. RV travellers are advised to use the one located at the Janet Millett Lane RV site.
- York Travellers Rest Caravan Park — 15km out of town: Offering tent sites, powered sites for caravans and motorhomes (large and small), this well-equipped park lies under the shadow of Mount Bakewell and is also pet-friendly. W: yorktravellersrest.com.au
Fast facts
Flour Mill Emporium
P: 0428 751 412
E: ourflourmillemporium@gmail.com
York Courthouse Museum, Art Galleries and Gaol
P: 0424 445 794
E: info@yorkcourthouse.com
York Motor Museum
P: 08 9641 1288
York Residency Museum
P: 08 9641 1751
E: museum@york.wa.gov.au
York Visitor Centre
P: 08 9641 1301
E: info@york.wa.gov.au
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