BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?

Subject: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: jeffp
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 10:35 AM

I'm looking for any information I can get on Watheroo, Western Australia. My grandfather lived and worked there from 1921-1924 at the old magnetic observatory. My mother has collected the letters he and my grandmother wrote while they were there, along with her diary from the time. It's fascinating stuff for sure. They were newly married, from the midwestern US, and spent four years in the Australian bush.

I'm curious to see if any Oz mudcatters can fill me in with information about the area. I've sent an email to the Watheroo Development Association and also to a lady who displayed photos taken at her cousin's in the area.

Anybody who can help, I'll be quite grateful.

Jeff

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: jeffp
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 09:42 PM

Refresh

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: MBSLynne
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 08:13 AM

Well I know Waneroo, Western Australia, but despite having grown up in WA, I've never heard of Watheroo. Do you know whereabouts it is? WA is a BIG place. Though I live in England now, I can always ask my Mum and Dad or my sister about it

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 08:14 AM

have you contacted Geoscience Australia

They're likely to have info about past research stations & migh even be interested in your family documents.

sandra

ps. I'ver never even heard of the place & my 48 page school World Atlas doesn't show it.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 08:22 AM

I've got a Reader's Digest Complete Driver's Atlas of Australia.

No Watheroo, but there is Waneroo, and the Waneroo National Park. Must be an OK book, it even lists Banana, which I have driven thru - blink and you miss it...

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: Hrothgar
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 08:31 AM

There's a Waterloo in Sydney.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 08:33 AM

"Where will you meet your Waterloo?"

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: jeffp
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 09:45 AM

I did find their web site (http://www.watheroo.com/) and sent them an email. I probably won't hear back until Monday. There's an interesting hand-drawn map there which shows the site of the "old magnetic observatory." Another site shows the population within a 7km radius as approximately 89. A bustling metropolis indeed.

Thanks for trying, everybody. I'll contact the Geoscience Australia folks and see what they are interested in and/or can help me with. I'm also going to contact the Carnegie Institution, who were his employers at the time.

Jeff

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: Helen
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 10:46 PM

Try this

online australian map site

Just ptu Watheroo in the town/suburb search box and don't forget to use the dropdown menu to select the state of Western Australia.

You can zoom out to see that it is on the road between Perth, the capital of WA, and Geraldton.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 18 Mar 06 - 11:24 PM

I wonder if I can send my Reader's Digest Atlas back now? :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 05:51 AM

G'day Foolishtroupe,

30º 18'(S) 115º 51' (E)

The real Reader's Digest Atlas of Australia, Reader's Digest, Waterloo, Australia, 1998 has it on map 219 - about 200 km north of Perth. There is also a Watheroo National Park.

I think the compilers of the "Driver's version" mis-read (or had an OCR scanning error)!

Regard(les)s,

Bob

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 07:02 AM

OK
"No Watheroo, but there is Waneroo, and the Waneroo National Park"

Brain Fart! With better vision (no, I hadn't been drinking!) - without my contact lenses - for which I need reading glasses, but with naked eyes which allows me to see much better closer up!


Watheroo (and the National Park!) is between Perth & Geraldton

Wannewroo is near Mariginiup (largest local town)

Maybe I can send my eyes back instead! .. or my brain...

Sorry!

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: rich-joy
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 07:40 AM

Wanneroo is also to the North but is practically a suburb of Perth nowadays ...
I know I've been to Watheroo (and the Berkshire Valley Farm Museum mentioned on the site), but it's a long time since I lived in my home state, so, not much use, I'm sorry ...

Good Luck!


Cheers! R-J

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 07:47 AM

I wonder what happened to my second post - I made it a few minutes after the other one last night.

I found a reference to the Watheroo station on the Bureau of Meterology site. It was in existance from 1918 to about 1959

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: jeffp
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 11:51 AM

Thanks, everybody! I'll be pursuing this in a couple of days. Right now my in-laws are in town and the kids are here with their kids. Can you say pandemonium? I knew you could.

Jeff

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 12:45 PM

Yup on the 116 about 100 miles north of Perth, I have a map of Australia too you know.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: Helen
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 03:08 PM

Sandra,

I lost a posting to this thread yesterday, too. Spo-o-oky!

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 05:43 PM

I regularly lose postings - even ones that show up and if I save the page, I know they were there for a while.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: artbrooks
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 06:15 PM

That's because you're "down-under" and the Mudcat server is in the US, Robin. They fall off.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 06:16 PM

So I should glue them on?

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: jeffp
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 08:19 PM

I heard back from somebody at the Watheroo Development Association. She's working on a history of Watheroo, so we'll be exchanging information. This is really fun, chasing down my grandfather. He died the year before I was born, so I never got to know him.

Jeff

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Mar 06 - 04:10 AM

Helen & Robin - I'm glad to know you lost posts, too. I was so tired that I thought I must have somehow deleted the thread, instead of posting.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone know Watheroo, Australia?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 20 Mar 06 - 07:27 AM

I think what happens is that the system is regularly backing up the database, but occasionally the server crashes, and on restart, and posts not backed u are just lost. That's nicer to believe than conspiracy theories (and avoids the 'censorship' word) about malicious Joeclones running around deleting random posts...