Benger

History

Before European settlement, the region was inhabited by the Pindjarup people, in whose language "Benger" may have meant "swamp" according to some sources (the word Pijar was also used). The explorers Thomas Peel and Stephen Henty travelled through the district in 1835. The area was known as the "flats of Mornington", and some years later, Mornington Siding was established with a hall, school and shop/post office. Sandalwood from the area was used in the Swan River Colony. In 1887, John Partridge founded a dairy in the area, which is still open today as the White Rocks Museum and Dairy. The town was renamed from Mornington to Benger in 1902, although many geographic names in the area (including the creek near the school) bear the original name. A bushfire broke out in the Benger swamp near the town in January 2013, burning out of farmland.

Most-observed species

• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  990
• Australian Raven

  Corvus coronoides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  930
• Australian Ringneck

  Barnardius zonarius (Shaw, 1805) · Aves
  926
• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  923
• Australian Ibis

  Threskiornis molucca (Cuvier, 1829) · Aves
  903
• Little Pied Cormorant

  Microcarbo melanoleucos (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  856
• Red Wattlebird

  Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  770
• White-faced Heron

  Egretta novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  739

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2006-03-04
  9 km ESE of Donnybrook, Australia
• M 2.5 — 2002-02-18
  22 km SE of Collie, Australia