Lynton, Western Australia
| Lynton/Yallabatharra Western Australia | |
|---|---|
  Lynton/Yallabatharra | |
| Coordinates | 28°13′S 114°19′E / 28.217°S 114.317°ECoordinates: 28°13′S 114°19′E / 28.217°S 114.317°E |
| Postcode(s) | 6535 |
| Location | 40 km (25 mi) NW of Northampton |
| LGA(s) | Shire of Northampton |
| State electorate(s) | North West |
| Federal Division(s) | Durack |
Lynton, gazetted in 1864, is a townsite in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is part of a larger rural district known as Yallabatharra. Lynton is situated at the mouth of the Hutt River, 7.6 kilometres (4.7 miles) by road from Port Gregory – between the larger towns of Northampton and Kalbarri. Lynton is best known as the site of the former Lynton Convict Depot.
History
On 22 May 1853, the Port Gregory Convict Depot (known later as Lynton Convict Depot) was built to supply convict labour to the Geraldine lead mine, in the bed of the nearby Murchison River.
The supervisor of the depot, Captain H. A. Sanford, had a residence constructed in the area during 1853 and named it Lynton. The reason for Sandford's use of the name is unknown,[1] although it was soon being applied to the broader area around the convict depot.
Anna Harriette Leonowens, later famous as the author of Anna and the King of Siam, lived in Lynton during the mid-1850s, while her husband, Thomas Leonowens, worked there for the Commissariat.[2] Their son, Louis was born at Lynton in 1856.[3]
The convict depot was moved to Champion Bay (Geraldton) in 1857.
Lynton townsite was not officially gazetted until 1864. The adjoining townsite of Pakington (later renamed Gregory), was gazetted in the same year.
References
- ↑ Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of country town names – L". Retrieved 2011-03-12.
- ↑ Habbegger, Alfred and Foley, Gerard. Anna and Thomas Leonowens in Western Australia, 1853–1857, State Records Office of Western Australia, March 2010.
- ↑ Louis Thomas Leonowens' birth was officially registered at Port Gregory as Lynton had not yet been gazetted (Register of Births, Western Australia, 1856, no. 3469). His mother gave her name as "Harriet Leonowens", neé Edwards.