Harvey

History

The original inhabitants of the Harvey area are the Pindjarup (Binjareb) and Wardandi Noongar people, who have lived there for tens of thousands of years. Harvey's name is derived from the nearby Harvey River, named by Governor James Stirling in 1829, soon after the river's discovery by explorers Alexander Collie and Lieutenant William Preston RN. Although not positively known, the river is most likely named after Rear Admiral John Harvey. In 1817–18, Harvey was Commander in Chief of the West Indies StationStirling served under him while in charge of , and Harvey recommended him for promotion. Stirling named a number of Western Australian features after his former navy colleagues. According to James Battye, Stirling selected known as Wellington Location 50A and established the Harvey River Settlement. The only improvement he made to the land, as far as is known, was the erection of a hunting lodge near the present town of Harvey, known as "The Hut", featuring a shingled roof, jarrah walls and hexagonal paving blocks. In the 1880s, this hut became the childhood home of children's author May Gibbs. Stirling called the area around the town of Harvey "Korijekup", using the Noongar name meaning "place of the red-tailed black cockatoo". The area was settled slowly over the remainder of the 1800s. During the 1860s, Australind, originally the site of a failed grandiose settlement scheme, was the centre of the Harvey District community. In 1863, a road was gazetted from Pinjarra to Brunswick Junction, which was built by convicts between 1864 and 1876it was called the "foothills route" and later became the South Western Highway. Following the opening of a railway station in 1893, Harvey was developed as a private town by a group of investors. However, years before Harvey…

Most-observed species

• Australian Ringneck

  Barnardius zonarius (Shaw, 1805) · Aves
  348
• Australian Raven

  Corvus coronoides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  316
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  248
• Australian Shelduck

  Tadorna tadornoides (Jardine & Selby, 1828) · Aves
  245
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  240
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  229
• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  207
• White-faced Heron

  Egretta novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  206

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