Dowak is an abandoned town in the Shire of Esperance in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It is situated within the locality of Salmon Gums, on the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway.[1][2]
| Dowak Western Australia | |
|---|---|
 A 1928 map of the townsite of Dowak | |
  Dowak Location of Dowak and the Dowak Nature Reserve | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 32°53′14″S 121°36′06″E / 32.88736°S 121.60165°E |
| Established | 1928 |
| Postcode(s) | 6445 |
| Area | 3.38 km2 (1.31 sq mi) |
| Location | |
| LGA(s) | Shire of Esperance |
| State electorate(s) | Roe |
| Federal division(s) | O'Connor |
The townsite is on the traditional land of the Kalaako people, who are also referred to as the Malba or Malpa, a name given to them by the Wudjari people to the south in reference to their customs, meaning they were circumcised and subincised.[3][4]
Originally selected as a siding on the Norseman to Esperance railway in 1926, Dowak was gazetted as a townsite in 1928. Dowak is a Noongar word for the waddy, a hardwood club or hunting stick.[5][6] An official 1928 map of the townsite shows the town to include the area within the current boundaries and the neighboring nature reserve. The town itself was located west of the railway line and consisted of the north-south running Fitzgerald and Peak Streets and the east-west running North, View and South Streets, with 32 blocks off land allocated along them.[7]
The Dowak Nature Reserve, gazetted on 24 April 1980 with a size of 0.81 square kilometres (0.31 sq mi), is located in the Mallee bioregion. It is located to the west of the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway while the townsite is to the east, opposite the nature reserve.[2][8]
References
edit- ^ "SLIP Map". maps.slip.wa.gov.au. Landgate. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ a b "NationalMap". nationalmap.gov.au. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ "Map of Indigenous Australia". aiatsis.gov.au. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ "Kalaako (WA)". samuseum.sa.gov.au. South Australian Museum. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ "History of country town names – D". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ "Railway map of Western Australia 1946". Trove. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ Western Australia. Department of Lands and Surveys (1928). "Townsite of Dowak" (Map). Townsite of Dowak. Perth: Dept. of Lands & Surveys W.A., 1928. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ "Terrestrial CAPAD 2022 WA summary". www.dcceew.gov.au/. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Retrieved 25 December 2024.