Gingin resident Judy Treloar adopted a vintage look for the town’s 150^th anniversary yesterday and for the Gingin Netball Club’s dunk tank event.

The town’s anniversary celebration attracted a big crowd, who were able to enjoy billy cart racing, entertainment by Renee’s Dance Group, history displays, rubber duck racing, rocket making as well as horse and cart rides.

There were also stalls such as a reptile display and the Chittering Landcare Centre and the flavours of Gingin pavilion and the Gingin Gin garden.

The Granville Civic Centre was open for history displays and the Lost Trades section there were blacksmithing and lead lighting demonstrations.

In its promotional material for the event the Shire of Gingin said the town was one of the earliest settled areas in the Western Australia with explorers and pioneers arriving in 1830 only a year after the Swan River Colony was proclaimed.

“Since its foundation, the town has grown and prospered whilst retaining the charm and appeal of an English village,” the promotional material said.

“The first to submit an application for land in the area was Edward Barrett-Lennard who asked the Surveyor General J.S. Roe to grant a portion of land (5000 acres) to him.

“This was granted in February 1831 although shortly thereafter he requested that his grant be exchanged for land at Beverley owing to the difficulty of getting men to go there to establish a station.

“Explorer George Fletcher Moore also acquired land in the area in 1831 and in 1834-35, he made a thorough exploration of the area and recorded the Aboriginal name “Jinjin” on his charts.

“Later when a property was surveyed here for W.L. Brockman in 1843 the chosen name was “Ginginup Station”.

“The major stream in the area was also recorded as Gingin Brook in 1848.

“Gingin is an Aboriginal name, the meaning of which is uncertain, but is sometimes stated to mean “footprint”.

“Another study states that the word Gingin means the “place of many streams”.

“Today’s Gingin town site began life as a collection of cottages and the police station adjacent to the bridge over Gingin Brook.

“It was a meeting place and during the period of 1860-70 the farming community in the Gingin area continued to flourish so eventually a town site was proposed to the predominantly north-west area of Gingin Brook.

“It was originally proposed to be named “Frogmore” but this was greeted with derision by settlers so it was substituted with “Granville” and gazetted in 1869.

“However, this location was not well supported and eventually today’s current location was chosen and the town site of “Gingin” was gazetted in 1871.”

This article appeared on Yanchep News Online on 10 October 2021.