Mundrabilla, Western Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids MundrabillaWestern Australia |
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Mundrabilla Roadhouse, 2017
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 Mundrabilla
Location in Western Australia
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| Population | 23 (2016 census) | ||||||||
| Established | 1872 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6443 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 20 m (66 ft) | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Dundas | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Eyre | ||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||
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Mundrabilla is in a very sparsely populated area in the far south east of Western Australia. The two significant features are Mundrabilla Roadhouse and Mundrabilla Station, which are approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) apart. At the 2016 census, Mundrabilla had a population of 23, 32% male and 68% female. The time zone in use is UTC+08:45.
Contents
History
Mundrabilla station, the first sheep station in the Nullarbor region, was established by William Stuart McGill (a Scotsman) and Thomas and William Kennedy (two Irishmen) in 1872. Thomas Kennedy died in 1896. McGill's first wife Annie (née Hairkness) died in childbirth in 1879. Annie McGill and Thomas Kennedy are both buried on Mundrabilla Station. McGill remarried Ellen Angel Fairweather of Adelaide in 1889.
Climate
Mundrabilla has a typical arid climate; however it is cooler in summer than much of the Australian desert due to its proximity to the ocean. Despite this, Mundrabilla still holds the record for the equal 4th hottest temperature in Australia, 49.8 °C (121.6 °F) recorded on 3 January 1979.
| Climate data for Mundrabilla | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 49.8 (121.6) |
48.6 (119.5) |
44.8 (112.6) |
40.4 (104.7) |
36.4 (97.5) |
27.6 (81.7) |
30.1 (86.2) |
33.5 (92.3) |
39.0 (102.2) |
43.1 (109.6) |
46.0 (114.8) |
45.7 (114.3) |
49.8 (121.6) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.6 (85.3) |
29.4 (84.9) |
27.4 (81.3) |
26.0 (78.8) |
22.2 (72.0) |
19.5 (67.1) |
19.2 (66.6) |
20.5 (68.9) |
22.5 (72.5) |
25.5 (77.9) |
27.3 (81.1) |
28.7 (83.7) |
24.8 (76.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 15.7 (60.3) |
15.9 (60.6) |
14.7 (58.5) |
12.5 (54.5) |
10.3 (50.5) |
8.0 (46.4) |
7.0 (44.6) |
7.3 (45.1) |
8.3 (46.9) |
10.5 (50.9) |
12.2 (54.0) |
13.7 (56.7) |
11.3 (52.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) |
3.9 (39.0) |
7.3 (45.1) |
4.2 (39.6) |
2.7 (36.9) |
0.1 (32.2) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
0.2 (32.4) |
2.7 (36.9) |
6.5 (43.7) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 15.9 (0.63) |
19.2 (0.76) |
19.3 (0.76) |
21.4 (0.84) |
25.9 (1.02) |
25.9 (1.02) |
22.2 (0.87) |
22.9 (0.90) |
18.8 (0.74) |
18.3 (0.72) |
16.0 (0.63) |
18.2 (0.72) |
244 (9.61) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2mm) | 2.6 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 5.6 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 63.1 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology | |||||||||||||
Present day
Like other locations in the Nullarbor Plain area, the area consists of nothing more than a roadhouse, open 6:00am to 9.30pm each day. The roadhouse includes a small wildlife park with emus, camels and an aviary. Pastoral activities continue in the area, and fragments of a meteorite spread over a 60 km range make it one of the largest meteorite sites in the world.
Mundrabilla Meteor
The largest meteor in Australia known as the Mundrabilla Meteor weighing in 12.192 tonnes was found by two surveyors in Mundrabilla in 1966, forms one half of the "Mundrabilla Mass". The other weighs 5.080 tonnes, where both pieces of the "Mundrabilla Mass" fell to Earth a million years ago.
