Wooroloo, Western Australia

{{for|the prison|Wooroloo Prison Farm}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2012}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = town | name = Wooroloo | state = wa | image = | caption = | lga = Shire of Mundaring | map_type = nomap | local_map = yes | zoom = 11 | coordinates = {{coord|31.803|S|116.314|E|display=inline,title}} | est = 1900s | postcode = 6558 | pop =  | dist1 = 61 | location1 = [[Perth]] | fedgov = [[Division of Bullwinkel|Bullwinkel]] | stategov = [[Electoral district of Swan Hills|Swan Hills]] | elevation= 330 | maxtemp = 23.1 | mintemp = 10.9 | rainfall = 594.8 }}

'''Wooroloo''' is a town on the outer fringe of the [[Perth metropolitan region]], located off [[Great Eastern Highway]] in the eastern part of the [[Shire of Mundaring]]. At the [[2021 Australian census|2021 census]], Wooroloo had a population of 2,613.

==History== The name comes from a [[Noongar language|Noongar]] word that was first recorded in 1841, with other spellings also used. A timber mill operated by Byfield Brothers commenced operations in the 1880s, and Byfield's Mill was established as a railway stopping place for the [[Eastern Railway (Western Australia)|Eastern Railway]] in 1893, being renamed to Wooroloo in 1897.<ref name="landgate">{{LandInfo WA|c|w|17 January 2007}}</ref>

A school opened on 22 August 1903 with 22 children and one teacher, and a community hall was built with help from residents of nearby [[Chidlow, Western Australia|Chidlow]] in 1904;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mundaring.wa.gov.au/Council_Services/CommunitySupportServices/Rate_Payers/communitysupportservices_HallsPavRecCentres.htm|title=Halls, Pavilions and Recreation Centres|author=Shire of Mundaring|accessdate=2006-11-17 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060919201217/http://www.mundaring.wa.gov.au/Council_Services/CommunitySupportServices/Rate_Payers/communitysupportservices_HallsPavRecCentres.htm  |archivedate = 2006-09-19}}</ref> the townsite of Wooroloo was declared in 1913.<ref name="landgate"/>

The [[Wooroloo Sanatorium and cemetery|Wooroloo Sanatorium]] for people with [[tuberculosis]] and [[leprosy]] was built in 1915, but by the 1960s the sanatorium was no longer required and the institution became a general hospital for the surrounding district. The facility was subsequently converted into a prison after Corrective Services took over the site in 1972.

In 1970, Ray Williams, a Perth businessman, travelled around the world looking for what he considered to be the perfect horse to breed and cross with Australian horses. He decided upon [[Andalusian horse]]s after seeing them at an equestrian show in London, and subsequently travelled to [[Jerez de la Frontera]], [[Spain]] and in September 1971 bought the stallion "Bodeguero" and five purebred mares. He then started the first Andalusian stud in Australia at Wooroloo, "Bodeguero Stud",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ahaa.org.au/Association_History.htm|title=Association History|author=Andalusian Horse Association of Australasia|year=2004|accessdate=2006-11-17 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060821031510/http://www.ahaa.org.au/Association_History.htm  |archivedate = 2006-08-21}}</ref> which in 1974 was incorporated into [[El Caballo Blanco, Wooroloo|El Caballo Blanco]], now El Caballo Resort.

==Present day== Wooroloo contains a community hall, liquor and general store, post office and primary school (1903), and was also home to [[El Caballo Blanco, Wooroloo|El Caballo Resort]], with a convention centre and 18-hole golf course, as well as horse [[dressage]] displays.

The town is the site of two major prisons in the Western Australian prison system, the minimum-security [[Wooroloo Prison]] and the medium-security [[Acacia Prison]]. The pool at Wooroloo Prison is open to local residents.

The population in 1991 was 761, and in 1996 was 853.

== Wooroloo Brook== :''See also [[Wooroloo Brook]]'' The water course and catchment of the same name has its source in the locality.

==Transport== Wooroloo, at 36 miles and 40 [[Chain (length)|chains]] from Perth, was a booking railway station from 1897 to 1965 on the [[Eastern Railway (Western Australia)|Eastern Railway]].

Wooroloo currently has the 328 [[Transperth]] bus three times weekdays from [[Midland railway station, Perth|Midland]], with a journey time of approximately 50 minutes; also has two 331 trips during weekdays from Mundaring, with a journey time of approximately 35 minutes.<ref>[https://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/timetablepdfs/Bus%20Timetable%2097%2020200816.pdf Eastern 97 timetable], Transperth, effective 16 August 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-04</ref> All services are operated by [[Swan Transit]].

=== Bus === *{{legend2|#A60042}} 331 [[Wundowie, Western Australia|Wundowie]] to [[Mundaring, Western Australia|Mundaring]] – serves Werribee Road, Bailup Road, Wilson Street, Government Road and [[Old Northam Road]]<ref>{{Cite Transperth bus|328}}</ref>

== See also == * [[2021 Wooroloo bushfires]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== * Elliot, Ian (1983) ''Mundaring - A History of the Shire'' {{ISBN|0-9592776-0-9}} * Spillman, Ken (2003) ''Life was meant to be here: community and local government in the Shire of Mundaring'' {{ISBN|0-9592776-3-3}}

==External links== * [http://www.ga.gov.au/bin/gazd01?rec=292790 Wooroloo] on [[Geoscience Australia]] * [http://www.elcaballo.com.au/ El Caballo Resort]

[[Category:Wooroloo, Western Australia| ]] [[Category:Suburbs and localities in the Shire of Mundaring]] [[Category:Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia]] [[Category:Bushfire affected towns in Western Australia]]