Nannine Police Station

Region: Mid West
LGA: Meekatharra
Industry: Gold Mining
Alternate Name: Annean
Coordinates: -26.891808 , 118.340011
What3Words: ///gearbox.camcorder.crayfish
Population: 0
Gold discovered: 1904
Gazetted: 1893
Closed: 1930

Shows the men involved in the 1903 gold escort from Meekatharra to Nannie
1st Gold Escort Meekatharra to Nannine. Supplied by WA Police Historical Society 1

Nannine is located on the northern bank of Lake Anneen, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) south-southwest of Meekatharra. 2 The site of the first discovery on the Murchison Goldfield, northeast of Annean Station in 1890, the Murchison Goldfield was proclaimed in September 1891 and the town gazetted in 1893. It was the first town in the region.

In 1892, the Department of Lands surveyed the area that Lord Forrest referred to as “Annean”. The townsite was named Nannine when it was gazetted in 1893 as “it is situated 10 miles from Annean Station and 3 miles from Nannine Wells”. The Nannine Road District was established on 13 October 1893 and was abolished again on 24 January 1930. Constable Binnings was in the area by September 1891 although he cannot be specifically pinpointed to Nannine until April 1892 3.

Nannine then Yalgo Police Station

A Police Station was built in 1896. The station was closed in January 1922 and the building removed to Yalgoo sometime that year. In 1896 construction began on a railway between Nannine and Cue, Western Australia, which was completed in 1903. By 1919 the town was in deep decline.

Town Plan

Nannine Townsite Map4

Sources

  1. Photo supplied by our partner, the WA Police Historical Society
    Forensic Branch Photo Job No.s 92/8729 & 93/06086. Gold owners CM Roberts & JA Roberts with escort group (see photo for names) in 1903. Scanned, digitised & retouched by Peter William Thomas, retired Sen. Sgt 4891, in April 2004.
    https://policewahistory.org.au/ ↩︎
  2. Heritage Council, Government of W.A. – Nanine Town , accessed 5 April 2025.
    https://inherit.dplh.wa.gov.au/public/inventory/details/6cdc06fe-1ec5-4a3e-a5dc-28dcb1ce1ab0 ↩︎
  3. State Records Office of Western Australia, Item 1892/0824 – Murchison Goldfield Station. Report by Police Constable Binning , accessed 5 April 2025.
    https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/index.php/murchison-goldfield-station-report-by-police-constable-binning-left-nannine-to-visit-mount-magnet-and-other-new-finds-enroute-both-on-police-and-mining-matters-1892-0824 ↩︎
  4. State Records Office Western Australia, Item 1239 – Nannine Sheet 2, accessed 5-April-2025. https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/uploads/r/srowa/2/e/2eb5886a6fcbd7255b3575769c493ad86ec51fa6506613ceb03e6dd36be84042/Cons_5698_Item_1239.jpg
    ↩︎