Greenbushes

History

Greenbushes was founded as a mining town in 1888 following a surveyor's discovery of tin in 1886. Greenbushes was named after the bright green Oxylobium lanceolatum that contrasted against the grey eucalyptus trees. The railway from Donnybrook to Bridgetown opened in 1898, (later extended as the Northcliffe railway line with Greenbushes station located approximately six kilometres north of the main townsite. The town had its own post office, hall and strong community until the 1930s when most moved to the main town site. The town boasted its own cricket team as well as many other groups. The town experienced a period of economic boom until the international price of tin slumped in 1893, which caused the Greenbushes' industry to collapse. By 1913, approximately one quarter of Greenbushes' inhabitants were working in the timber industry, which was established shortly after the first mine.