Pingelly, Western Australia

Pingelly is a town and shire located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, 158 km from Perth via the Brookton Highway and Great Southern Highway. The town is also located on the Great Southern railway line.

The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops. The town is a receival site for Cooperative Bulk Handling. At the 2006 census, Pingelly had a population of 814.

History
The town was originally a railway siding along the Great Southern Railway line, built by the Western Australian Land Company, and opened in 1889. Later the same year the company designed the town and made land available. In 1896 the state government purchased the railway and the land and gazetted the townsite in 1898. It name is Aboriginal in origin and is the name of the Pingeculling Rocks fund to the north of the town. The mae was first recorded in 1873, and the original settlers referred to the area as Pingegulley for years before the town was gazetted.

In early 1898 the population of the town was 89, 52 males and 37 females.

Tenders for the construction of the local Agricultural Hall were advertised in late 1893, the contract was awarded to Thorne, Bower and Stewart in early 1894. The Hall was opened in September of the same year with a tamar hunt and a ball to mark the occasion.

Commercial area
The shire includes over 1,100 residents living both in town and on rural properties, and is a key agricultural centre, with wheat, barley, sheep and cattle farming being the main activities. Pingelly contains a TAFE college, a primary school, Bendigo Bank, shopping facilities, accommodation (hotel, motel, caravan park), golf course, council offices and a telecentre are located within the town. A school bus ferries high school students to Narrogin. Each year in September hosts an agricultural show.

The town is a stop on the Transwa bus service from Perth to Albany.

The Pingelly Health Service is part of the Upper Great Southern Health Services, and includes a 15-bed hospital facility as well as a General Practice. Home and Community Care (HACC) offers home help, gardening, respite and other aged care services. Narrogin Regional Hospital remains the primary centre servicing the Upper Great Southern area.