My artists residency has begun at IASKA in Kellerberrin Western Australia. i am just beginning to research the area and its history ..
Kellerberrin
Kellerberrin is a typical wheatbelt town located 246 metres above sea level and 203 km east of Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. It has an average annual rainfall of 350 mm and produces good crops of wheat, barley and oats.
It is widely believed that the town's name is a corruption of Killabin or Kellabrin. In the 1860s a nearby hill was always known as 'Killabin' which was supposedly a corruption of the Aboriginal word (or at least this is what local folklore says) 'Kellabrin' which was the name for a large ant colony which existed on the side of the hill.
The area around Kellerberrin wasn't settled by Europeans until 1861. In that year an expedition passed through the area and observed that 'there was a spring and about 2000 acres of tolerable grazing land'. Their description of the virgin land is far removed from the image the modern traveller has. They described the area as one of open forests and tree thickets.
The first settler, E. R. Parker, moved into the area in 1861 with a flock of sheep and over the next decade he was followed by a number of graziers who took up large runs and survived by a combination of sheep grazing, a little wheat growing, some sandalwood cutting and some horse breeding.
The area experienced a dramatic change in 1887 when gold was discovered at Southern Cross. Suddenly there were prospectors and fossickers wandering through the area on the Old York Road. The railway came through the area in 1893 and terminated at Doodlakine 16 km to the west. The original survey had placed the railway some 20 km to the north of the present site. It was moved further south after protests from the local graziers. A town grew up 5 km north of the present site of Kellerberrin near a waterhole.
When the railway moved further west the township at Doodlakine died and Kellerberrin became the district centre. The Doodlakine Post Office was moved to Kellerberrin and in 1897 the Agricultural Hall was built. It is a comment on the size of the town at this time that the member for Yilgarn observed that Kellerberrin was inhabited by 'one man and a dead kangaroo'.
knitting pattern for a kangaroo
KANGAROO SQUARE - FINISHED SQUARE 10 INCHES X 10 INCHES
Working with 8-Ply wool (two colour contrast)
Cast on 56 stitches and knit 24 rows of garter stitch.
1st row, knit, then next row knit 12, purl 32, knit 12.
Repeat these last two rows three times (8 rows in all).
Begin the Kangaroo graph (30 stitches) within the 32 stitches of stocking stitch.
After the Kangaroo is completed, work another 8 rows of stocking stitch within the border of 12 stitches of garter stitch on either side.
Knit top border with 24 rows of garter stitch.
kangaroo dishcloth
